Only 24 Days Left Until Christmas… Give Yourself Permission!

I just love the winter holidays! The excitement starts for me in late August, right after my birthday. That’s when everything I do has the future goal of the holidays. I start purchasing marked down holiday décor as it inspires my vision for my decoration theme for the year. My daughter pointed out that we don’t do “Spring Cleaning” but “Fall Cleaning”. She’s right! We are getting ready for the holidays in August. This year I didn’t begin holiday preparations in August. It was then that my grandmother’s health was declining and so I spent that time with my grandmother; visiting making food to deliver to she and my Uncle, and styling her hair. So, I started in late October. By Thanksgiving, my house was not perfectly clean and decorated, with “zillions” of cute cookies made and appetizers frozen awaiting room temperature as in years before but I realized I was the only person that knew. My house looked tidy and festive. I was actually very proud of my holiday décor. Perhaps it is OK to give ourselves permission to not be “perfect”. The definition of “holiday perfect” I have created and no one else has a clue about it. I am glad I spent the time with my grandmother and not creating “holiday perfect” because I will forever remember time spent with my grandmother and “holiday perfect” is fleeting. So in the last 24 days before Christmas, give yourself a gift, the permission not to have “holiday perfect”. Gifts start in our hearts. When we are more relaxed then the gifts we give others are better with so much more meaning.

Health Tip: Holiday Party Ready, Get Your ZZ’s On – Make Time For Beauty Rest
People, there is some real science behind those “eight hours” of suggested sleep time. Maybe when you were 16, you could party all night and cover up those dark circles the next morning with a dab of tinted moisturizer, but if you’re like me and you’ve just realized you aren’t 20 anymore but almost 50, living on 6 hours of sleep just doesn’t to cut it when it comes to the skin on your face! Get some sleep and your skin will thank you. Not only does your skin require downtime to repair itself, but sagging skin and puffiness around the eyes make wrinkles look much worse. I haven’t found a dermatologist that disagrees. You want to be holiday party “beautiful”, right?