Reclaim Your Holiday with Intention
We’ve been hearing from some of our members that the level of material consumption in our society has taken some of the joy away from their once treasured holiday season. If you’re feeling similar, perhaps think about and even discuss with your family about holiday gifts and the intention behind giving.
Intentional gift giving is about being conscious about what you put into the lives of others. Make sure your gifts align with your agreed upon and shared family values.
A few simple yet meaningful intentional gift ideas to consider:
- Experiences: self-care like a massage or fitness package, sports lesson, music lesson.
- Handmade gifts – wearable textiles like scarves, hats, bath salts, nourishing teas, or kombucha.
- Artwork – repurpose children’s artwork into practical goods like wall art, fridge magnets, kitchen towels, etc.
- Name Draw – Suggest drawing names to create more focus on one person.
- Acts of Service: offer to babysit, remove snow for a neighbor, cook dinner, etc.
- Donation – make an honorary donation to a charity in your loved ones name.
- Community Service- One of the most satisfying, fun, and productive ways to unite as a family is volunteering for community service projects.
Reclaim Your Holiday and Once Again Find Joy
Sometimes you just need to take the time to identify what matters to you and your family to figure out how to align your season with your values, what matters to you most.
If you’re part of a larger family a good place to start to identifying what matters most is to consider a household discussion or series of discussions. We’ve put together a guide to help with this process. Be creative about how to accomplish this based on your household. This process can be a series of formal meetings, conversations around the dinner table, or informal query performed by you as time and opportunity arise. The important thing is to honor everyone’s preferences and ideas without placing undue pressure on those less inclined to plan and/or participate in holiday traditions.
Intentional Living
The idea behind intentional gift giving can also be applied to all areas of our lives. When we choose to live with intention we can better understand how all areas of our personal health ad wellbeing (relational, emotional, and physical) must be functioning well in order for a person to experience optimal health. Living with intention can also help us identify key areas of well-being that need attention so you can determine the best solution.