Friendsgiving has become a staple and so has white elephant, but how else can you celebrate winter holidays with friends?
Here are some examples of what people around the world do to share the joy with their friends.
Hold a glass pickle hunt. One of Germany’s favorite holiday traditions, this centuries-old game involves hiding a pickle ornament in a hard-to-spot place on the tree. The person who finds it first gets an extra present.
Bake Challenge. Invite everyone over and challenge yourself and your friends by attempting homemade eggnog, candy canes, or cookies with a secret ingredient.
Fried Chicken Until recently Christmas was not a big deal in Japan. A new, quirky “tradition” has emerged in recent years – a Christmas Day feast of the Colonel’s very own Kentucky Fried Chicken. Invite pals over and fry up some chicken with an award given to the tastiest one.
Celebrate a holiday that is not your own There are 6 holidays celebrated in December all around the world that are not Christmas: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Las Posadas, Diwali, Chinese New Year and many more
Hangover can be defined as {a severe headache or other after effects caused by drinking an excess of alcohol or a thing that has survived from the past}
Let’s focus on the latter definition, a thing that has survived from the past…you have over indulged in shopping, consumed food in excess, participated in family, friends, and other social activities in abundance, and of course sampled many libations.
But now it’s the ‘morning after’ and:
decorations need to be packed up
pounds need to be shed
debt needs to be repaid
gifts need to be returned
liver needs to be detoxed
family relations need to be stabilized etc
So basically all of the negative carryovers from the holiday season without the joy and sparkle. It is normal to feel blue and sad when the jubilations come to an end. Having places to go and people to see makes every one of us feel loved and cared for. But when it’s over and normal life starts back up withdrawal symptoms can occur.
The cure can be found by going back to the basics of the Five Love Languages written by Gary D. Chapman.
I present to you a new spin on the five love languages and how you can give the love you need to yourself
Touch – cuddle with your pet,
Words of affirmation – meditate on what you value about you
Gifts – buy yourself a gift that you didn’t get or give yourself a gift of time and spend one hour they way you want to
Quality time – exercise, visit museums, hike with friends
Acts of service – cook clean food, organize your closet, volunteer
Also consider how much time you spent perusing social media. Did you, like many others, compare yourself to your Facebook Friends? If you did your mood can significantly be negatively affected by the feeling of not measuring up or being excluded. Digital and social media addiction is real and extremely prevalent over the holidays. It makes you aware of the party you were not invited to or family vacations that your friends took which were soooo much nicer then your trip up North to visit Aunt Bertha. Start your year off by swearing of social media and watch your mood improve.
Another good antidote to the post holiday blues is to plan a party. Valentines Day is coming up soon, the Oscars give a good reason to get a group together, or even random Sunday for brunch. Give yourself something to look forward and help your creative energy find a new purpose.
Maybe your down mood is a sign that it is time to see a therapist to deal with your underlying depression. Therapy can be short term and solution focused. You will learn more about yourself and how you show up in the world. Discovering new coping skills will make life more pleasant and normal irritants will seem less bothersome.
There is an absolute necessity to maintain focus in any type of sports; be it golf, tennis or soccer. Even at work or in life generally, maintaining focus is very important. Sports is a task you do for satisfaction and that needs physical skill or struggle, normally done in a special location and in accordance with fixed rules. The ability to maintain concentration in the present and remain focused on this task is key in achieving optimal performance.
As a competition progresses, an athlete frequently turns his or her concentration on and off with the competition’s flow and ebb. And with this attitude of switching concentration on and off, getting into a rhythm becomes a bigger difficulty. Total concentration is highly necessary in any sports, and this happens when an athlete gets totally involved in an activity, feels that there is suspension of time, and gets rid of a sense of separation from his or her surroundings.
The absolute ability to control attention to a significant thought, object, or feeling is a major element for keen focus in any task. Athletes must also possess an ability to ignore or restrict distraction or insignificant thoughts to maintain focus. These qualities will trigger optimal performance by athletes during a competition.
There is a tendency for athletes to get distracted during sports. Most times, irrelevant cues are the main causes of these distractions. An example of these distractions is the persistent thought about future outcomes of the game. The first step to take in preventing or conquering these distractions is for athletes to recognize immediately when they are off task and take necessary action. In taking necessary action, athletes must develop the ability to refocus on the actual relevant cues whenever these distractions occur. This requires the athlete to fix or narrow his or her attention. A great way through which athletes can refocus on relevant cues when distracting thoughts come to mind, is by convincing themselves to suspend thoughts about the final outcome, such a thoughts will not help them in any way at the moment; rather, it may trigger anxiety and unnecessary pressure in them which may hinder optimal performance. Irrelevant cues also include thoughts not related to the present game; for example, athletes may be thinking about what to have for dinner, a project that must be finished the next day, or how tough the next opponent will be if they win. Athletes can overcome such distracting thoughts by going back to putting their full focus on the present task. Putting their full focus on the present task or refocusing requires athletes asking themselves a question such as, “What exactly do I need to do at the moment to perform and deliver my best?”
For years, focus has been misunderstood by athletes as concentrating on a particular thing for long period of time. This gross misconception should be eradicated and athletes should now be educated that focus actually means concentrating only on relevant cues in your sports field. With this, athletes would be free from distractions that prevent them from giving their best in any game.
The holidays provide us with a valuable opportunity to spend time with friends and family, but they can also provide us with a great deal of anxiety and stress. Fortunately, there are a few ways to reduce the level of strain that we place on our mind states during the holidays, so be sure to read on and learn more.
Ditch The Perfectionism
There is a pervasive sense that the holidays have to unfold perfectly or else they are a failure. However, even the best laid plans tend to go awry and by allowing yourself to let go of the idea that things can be “perfect”, you are able to embrace all of the best aspects of the season, as opposed to worrying yourself sick trying to live up to some ideal that doesn’t even exist.
Don’t become excessively focused on the result. Train your focus on the process and enjoy every minute of it. Even if things do not go the exact way that you expect, you can still derive maximum happiness from your holiday season. After all, the destination is never as important as the journey that you will take to get there.
Be Grateful
The holidays only come once a year and the ability to regularly spend time with our loved ones is something that we tend to lose out on as we grow older. That is why we need to be truly grateful during this time of year, especially when we find ourselves becoming stressed out and anxious. Stress and anxiety only serves to keep us from the true meaning of the season.
Taking the holidays for granted is how stress ends up being magnified. When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed, stop and take a moment to think about your true objectives. Chances are, they have very little to do with buying the nicest gifts or preparing the fanciest meal.
Make a Budget and Stick To It
When it comes time for your holiday shopping, it is in your best interests to make a budget and stick to it, so that you are not spending money that you do not have and causing additional stress and anxiety. Making a list of each person that you have to purchase a gift for is a great way to keep spending to a minimum.
Truly savvy shoppers who wish to avoid stress will even start their shopping early. There are a plethora of after holiday sales that can get you started for the next year and by keeping your eyes peeled throughout the year, you can significantly reduce the amount of work that you will need to do once December rolls around. As an added bonus, you can also reduce those unsightly credit card bills that arrive in your mailbox come January.
