18 Ways to Stay Stress-Free During the Holidays

Creating Stress-Free Holidays With Feng Shui

If you tend to get exhausted, burnt out, or stressed during the holidays, here are some ideas to support you:

1. Give yourself lots of restorative and quiet time by doing less (not more!); taking naps, and going to bed earlier-perhaps after a nice warm bath
2. Don’t use the blinking or red lights; instead, go for the steady lights in cooling blues.
3. Go Zen with the amount of décor you use
4. Walk in nature

If you tend towards winter melancholy or feel a lack of holiday cheer…

1. Accept invitations to be with friends and even host your own party
2. Play uplifting music
3. Light fires
4. Use bright red lights–even blinking!–in your decor

Peace on Earth

Consider contributing to ‘peace on earth and goodwill towards all’ by performing one act of loving kindness each day. You might also wish to offer cash donations to charities, spiritual teachers, or organizations inside a red envelope.

Reduce family squabbles and tension by…

1. Giving your home a good de-cluttering and deep cleaning. Use pine essential oil in your water before you decorate
2. Removing all sharp things pointed towards your body (“poison arrows”), such as sharp carving knives at the table or furniture placed too close with sharp edges.
3. Playing beautiful sacred music (the less radio and TV noise, the better)
4. Peeling lots of fresh oranges and tangerines to uplift your chi
5. Be careful of too much fire energy (too much red décor or too many lights). You can have water bowls with floating blossoms or blue lights on your trees to help “cool things down.”
6. Meditating before everyone arrives
7. Wearing the color pink and using pink sheets on the guest beds
8. Displaying photos of your family during very happy times
9. Inhaling peace, silence, joy, love, calm, bright (sound like a carol?!) and exhaling stress, exhaustion, expectations

I hope these Feng Shui tips help you create stress-free holidays for you and your family.