Preparing Our Hearts for the Holiday Season

Let’s look at the idea of preparing our hearts for the holiday season. This is the time of year when excitement is running high. The holiday season. So, why do we need to think about preparing our hearts for the holiday season? It is because you would be hard-pressed to find a family who isn’t broken a little. And while we heal and move forward, the holidays have a tendency to rip open those old wounds.

Preparing our Hearts for the Holiday Season

1. Lower your expectations. We all want the perfect Hallmark holidays. My goodness, there are channels dedicated to making movies about this very thing. The reality is, that there is no perfect holiday. Inevitably, something will go wrong. So, plan your heart for it. It will make you feel better in the long run.
2. Set boundaries. If you do not want to open your home to family, don’t. If attending the office party is triggering for some reason, skip it. Only you know what you can handle. So, set boundaries and keep them.
3. Don’t over-plan and overspend. There is nothing more terrifying than a holiday paid for on a credit card that you can’t pay off. Live within your means, always. But, especially during the holidays. The extra financial stress is just not worth it.
4. Don’t use this time to try to make amends with seriously broken relationships. Families are so hard. And family hurt can run deep. If you are faced with a family dynamic that is severed or strained, don’t choose Thanksgiving dinner as the time to mend those fences. Serious conflict resolution takes time and relationships are not usually mended over turkey.
5. Lastly, remember that you are enough just as you are. You don’t have to be a super parent, colleague, or friend. Those store-bought cookies are just as good as homemade ones. That dollar store card to the mail carrier is thoughtful enough. You don’t have to give them a handpainted ornament like your neighbor. Watching a movie with your kids is just as special as a trip into the city to see a big show.  You. Are. Enough.

Preparing our hearts for the holiday season is just as important as celebrating it. We are in this together.