Getting into the Spirit of The Holidays

Wishing you a happy holiday season, from the HealthKick Team! The spirit of the holiday season revolves around reflecting upon what is important to us, the things we cherish and sharing the spirit of hope and joy with others, so we wanted to share a few ways that we as a team get into the spirit!

Giving Gifts to Children: 

My absolute favorite thing to get myself into the holiday spirit is to buy gifts for children in need. I will either support Angel Tree, Operation Christmas Child or Toys for Tots. There is nothing like fulfilling a child’s holiday wish during this time of year!

Practicing Gratitude:

I’ve been doing a gratitude challenge which is lifting up my spirits lately and just being able to feel grateful for the things and people in my life. I also do deeksha every Thursday – which lifts my spirits every week and feels especially magical around the holiday season. 

Make Meaningful Memories:

My husband and I’s tradition is to provide each other with memories and experiences in lieu of physical gifts every holiday season. In 10 years, I likely won’t remember the sweater he gave me. But I will always remember the special moments and memories we’ve built throughout the years.

Serve Others:

The one thing my family does (starting December 1st) is find one thing each of us can do each day to help or serve someone. For example, my oldest daughter may help my son with his homework. Or one child may pull the trash bins back to the neighbors garage. 

Remember Loved Ones:

While I love the holidays, I miss loved ones, such as my dad, who are no longer here.  I recently read that a great way to make a missed loved one part of the holiday is to purchase a gift with that person in mind and give it to  someone less fortunate in memory.  I’m looking forward to trying that this year.  

Spend Time Unplugged with Family: 

During the time we have all spent in Pandemic, this Holiday season I will be taking a week off to spend time away from my computer, phone, and zoom calls. I think it can be so easy to get wrapped up in today’s technology, especially when we have all been in WFH mode. This Holiday season, I hope we can all make promises to ourselves and our family that they will have our undivided attention so we can express gratitude, engage in relaxation, eat amazing food, and be around those who love us most. 

Digital White Elephant Party:

My in-laws do a holiday party every year with their friends from the block where my husband and sister-in-law grew up. It’s a tradition that has been going on for around 30 years. We typically do a white elephant gift swap and this year are taking this fun tradition online with a digital white elephant using photos to select and swap ‘gifts’ and mailing or dropping them off based on location.

Watch Christmas Movies:

It’s a tradition for my family to watch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ together every Christmas Eve. While we won’t all be in the same place this holiday due to travel restrictions, we plan to host a watch party where we can all view together — keeping the tradition alive while we stay safe at home! 

Decorate for the Holidays:

After Thanksgiving it’s tradition to put up holiday lights and decorations throughout the house to create a fun and cheery holiday environment. We also make it a tradition to check out the holiday lights in the neighborhood!

Holiday Baking:

My biggest tradition is baking with my mom! We always make an apple pie using her mother’s recipe which is a nice way to commemorate my grandma as well. Our family also always makes a point to take daily morning walks with our dog when my brother and I are home – not really a holiday specific tip but it helps keep us all moving amongst all the holiday food!

Cut Down Your Tree:

A family tradition is to go to a fir farm, pick out our tree (the tallest we could find) and my dad would cut it down then have donuts and apple cider and decorate it together. 

Donate Food:

One Holiday tradition we’ve recently incorporated in our family is donating Breakfast bags to a local shelter. Last year we did one outside of Baltimore. It ends up costing less than $100 and you help almost 90 kids.

Breakfast Bags:

Morning hospitality bags should contain a muffin, bagel, or box of cereal, a piece of fruit and/or energy bar, and a juice box.

We hope these tips and ideas help you get into the spirit of the holidays! Share with us below your favorite ways to get into the spirit!