Here we are again, back in the holiday season and a new year is right around the corner. It feels like these past 12 months just flew right on by, don’t you think?

Didn’t the holidays just end! ;-)

And now here they are again. I’m getting ready to travel to see my family in Australia and starting to feel some of that holiday stress creeping up on me.

It’s absolutely normal to feel tension during the holidays - so much pressure to be cheerful, family dynamics come into play, melancholy can descend on people, and so on and so forth. That’s why it’s important to de-stress and take care of yourself during this busy and sometimes hectic time!

With all of the activity and bustle around this time of year, I’ve been talking to the team and my friends about how to de-stress during the holiday season. Since we all need those life tips to de-stress, I wanted to share them with you, our Mind Movies community, as a way to hopefully ease some of that holiday stress!

So, without further ado, here are 7 tricks to de-stress this holiday season:

1) Manage Your Expectations

This should go for any time of the year, but particularly the holidays when most of us just put too much on ourselves and others. Also, it can be easy to slip into having expectations of how others will behave and that’s a set-up for disappointment. Try to remind yourself that everyone is feeling stressed and overwhelmed. My best advice is to just show up as the best version of yourself, be loving and mindful, and remember that it’s a season to be grateful and generous! I promise if you get into this mindset you’ll be way ahead of the game.

2) Plan Ahead

I’ve found that when I start planning at least a month out, then it really helps to take a lot of the stress out of the holiday season. Even if I don’t get everything done ahead of time, I at least have an action plan mapped out, then the weeks leading up are so much easier and flow so much better.

3) Be Kind To Yourself

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself; in fact, do something nice for yourself each day. Whether it’s taking a bath, or getting a massage, or finding some sunlight to take in for a few minutes - find a way to decompress and take care of yourself.

4) Get Organized

Or, if you’re already organized, then stay organized. It’s so easy to let things get into disarray with all that goes on these last couple of months of the year, and life flows much smoother when you stay on top of what you’re doing and don’t let things get messy or out of control. Easier said than done, I realize - but practice being your inner personal assistant :-).

5) Get Enough Rest

It’s hard to stay in the holiday spirit or feel much in the giving mood if you’re running on empty, so make sure to get enough sleep. If you can grab a short 20-minute nap during the day, even better. We tend to overdo it these last couple of months of the year, and that includes - for me, anyway - a lot of social activities that can keep me up late. So adjust your schedule to allow for maintaining a good night’s sleep or a power nap during the day.

6) Keep Up With Your Healthy Habits

Obviously, there are going to be holiday events with food you might not normally eat or spiked punch :-) that you’d ordinarily pass on - I’m not saying that you need to avoid all of these things, just don’t stop doing what you do on the regular to stay healthy. Keep working out, keep eating healthy, so that the indulgences are balanced with your healthy lifestyle.

7) Be Okay With Saying No

You don’t have to take on everything for everyone. If you’re overwhelmed or have too much going on, or if you don’t have the bandwidth, it’s truly okay to say no to requests. Remember, you need to take care of yourself first or you won’t be at your best for the rest!

How about you? Do you have some tips for de-stressing during the holiday season? I’d love to hear them. Please share in the comment section, I could always use some more.

And when it comes to stress and feeling overwhelmed, it could be that your Chakras are blocked. And since it’s the holiday season and all, I have the perfect FREE quiz for you that will reveal which of your Chakras is block and how to unblock it!

This quiz is a really great way to find out why you’re stuck, so make sure you take the time to check it out here.

Cheers to a wonderful holiday season!