Not literally crackers….But so many people feel they are going crackers with stress over the holiday period.

Stressing about:

Shopping for presents
Cost of Christmas
Trying to please everyone
Working out who you will spend time with on Christmas day/Boxing day
Stress from family (seeing certain relatives)
Can you get time off work
Writing Christmas cards
Wrapping presents
Travelling over the holiday period
Dealing with high expectations
Christmas festivities
Food preparation
Weight gain
Loneliness
Illness

…….and breathe.

There isn’t a magic pill to take, which allows you to buy the perfect gift for everyone that is perfectly wrapped (showroom worthy) and be at three different places at the same time, cook the perfect dinner while all the children are well behaved and grateful for everything!!!

The good news is that it is possible to have an amazing festive season.

How? you say.

It is never too late to set intentions that involve all your wants and I repeat your wants not anyone else's. You can’t control what other people do or want, I just want to make that clear!!!

So, what is setting an intention?

Basically, an energy thought, a seed that gets pushed out into the universe so you can create/manifest your desires. This can be challenging and maybe strange at first if you have never consciously tried it. We do set lots of intentions throughout the day, but we are usually not conscious of it. Trust me you do, we say negative intentions all the time like, I can’t afford that; I’m not good enough; I can't lose weight or I hate Mondays, for example. These intentions get stronger when they are repeatedly thought and you wonder why you are not getting what you want, well actually you are getting more of what you don’t want.

Focus on the wants you would like for the festive period, Like:

The holiday season is peaceful and loving
I am so lucky that my family is very understanding
I always find the perfect gifts
I am so grateful for the help I get wrapping presents
Christmas day is full of love and peace
I have time for everyone this festive season
My home is a happy place to be during the festive season
Throughout the festive season I am grounded, centered and balanced
I am grateful for all the good that is coming my way

I think you get the idea. The next stage after setting your intentions are to feel positive emotions like joy and happiness when you repeat them. This helps to make the intentions energetically even stronger.

Write your intentions in a journal or on Post-it's and put them somewhere you can repeat them throughout the day. Repeat them enough that you know them inside out and when you say them they automatically make you smile and feel joy.

It's not always easy to feel happy or joyful particularly if you are having a tough day. Before repeating your intentions, get in the mood. Sometimes I listen to music to get motivated, read inspirations quotes or text from my favourite books or have a cup of tea and my favourite chocolate. Anything that gets you in the mood.

This whole process is about self-care, something that I was a stranger to until recently. I would alway think of others first and leave me last. "You can't pour from an empty cup" so if you take care of yourself it's so much easier to give to others.

I also wanted to share something special. I have gotten to know Gemma from The Seashack, their artwork and self-care quotes are super inspiring and I can't get enough of their beautiful products. I have one of their inspirational quotes on my bedside table, which I see when I go to sleep and when I wake up, setting myself up for a wonderful day.