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The Three Holiday F’s
The 3 F’s – Family, Friends and Food. They’re all an awesome part of lives but when your entire social calendar is jam packed with the F’s over just a handful of weeks you start to feel your head (and your body) spinning. Here’s a simple sur-thrival guide for breezing through the holiday happenings with joy and ease.
Family: OK, we all have some amazing and some not so amazing family members we see around the holidays. While we can try to dance around some people at large parties, family parties tend to be more about mingling and catching up with those you haven’t seen in a while. My best tip for handling those you’d rather avoid? Breathe. Simply breathe. As they approach you, commit to tuning in and maintaining a full, long and peaceful breathing pattern. This will put you at ease and likely them too. I also like to think in my mind, “I am love, you are love”. This helps remind me that we’re all connected and all we want and need more than anything is love. And if that doesn’t work you can always play the bathroom card. 🙂
Friends: If you’re anything like me, you have friends from all different parts of life and you try to spread your time out among all of them. I love my friends, and I love seeing them whenever I can, but around the holidays I often feel like I’m disappointing someone when I can’t squeeze their visit in or make it to their party (including both coasts!). My solution? I throw my own party and invite everyone! it gives me a chance to catch up with everyone at once and it’s also an opportunity for new and old friends to create new friendships. Hosting your own gathering also allows you to be in charge of the menu and have friends bring wine or items for killer cocktails. Need helpful tips for party planning? This cooking video series on Easy Entertaining from {Healthy} Cooking Camp has got you covered.
Food: This is the one thing that people who are conscious about what they are eating fear the most about the holidays. Relax! Here are a few tips to follow:
- It’s OK to say no thank you. You don’t have to try everything. Your friends and family will understand that you don’t want to try every single item on the holiday menu. And if they don’t understand, that’s OK too. Do what feels right.
- Stock up on veggies. Chances are you won’t feel deprived if your plate is full of delicious veggies instead of those dubious dips and cheeses that can upset your belly.
- Choose to socialize outside of the kitchen or away from the food table. Purposefully plant yourself on the other side of the event and chances are you’ll forget about the food all together. Or better yet, engage your family and friends in a game! Whether it be a game played outside like touch football, or inside like a board game, it’ll allow you to enjoy the holidays outside of all the food.
- Enjoy a fun and relaxing workout! In Shrink Sessions, Erin Stutland gives you a great workout but uses Jedi mind tricks so you don’t realize how hard you’re working. When you say Erin’s positive affirmations, while doing powerful moves, you turn off that inner nonsense that sabotages you.
What are some of your favorite tips for surviving the 3 F’s? I want to hear how you thrive during the holiday season! Share in the comments below!
Happy Holidays!
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