A Zen Holiday season ahead.

The fact that it is snowing today on Halloween (jeepers) got me thinking of the holidays that are going to be here in a blink.  I am determined to have a zen holiday season & winter ahead. And zen - to me - does not mean that this season will lack the festive vibe that we all love so much. 

Zen is the sprinkles on top of overall wellness.  Whenever you are truly loving yourself & making wellness a lifestyle, a feeling of 'zen' starts to come through your pores.  It just takes over. 

The Urban Dictionary defines zen as "One way to think of zen is this: a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind. Zen is a way of being. It also is a state of mind.

Zen is a 'way of being' just as wellness is a 'way of living'.  Combine the both and well, you will have a blast because both bring so much JOY to life!

Now that we understand 'zen', I wanted to share 5 things that I am personally doing to create a zen holiday season and winter ahead.  I hope that my ideas create a mental stirring of your own to get you thinking of how to really bring some zen-joy-wellness into your holiday season & chilly months ahead!

5 Tips to Create a Zen Holiday Season & Winter ahead:

• Christmas is going to be celebrated the entire month of December for me.  Try it! Rather than cram every festivity w/ family into two days, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, this year, my family and I are having a celebration earlier in December.  And the festivities will continue throughout the month so that there is just less stress to fit it all in in less than 48 hours. 
  
• I have joined a yoga studio for 4 months, November-February. Check your neighborhood gym for discounts because most offer holiday deals (Groupon has some amazing deals for yoga classes). This will help keep me relaxed, limber, working up a good sweat and surrounded by others vs. say, a Monday night at home. 
  
• I made a winter bucket list of all of the beautiful activities to partake in this Chicago winter (and there are so many): Strolling to see the holiday lights everywhere, warm coffee shop dates, Christkindlemarket, museum days, ice skating at Millennium Park, etc.
  
• I shared w/ my family this year that I won't be purchasing gifts. I just feel it's so excessive and I wanted to be more creative so, I am making homemade jams, cookies and breads in bulk - freezing - and then sharing as hostess gifts.  This saves me so much time, money and it's such a joy to give healthy treats to those I love.
• Finally, I made a reading list of books that I am so jazzed to get started. When the winter really kicks in & the days we are all stuck inside, I am going to spend some evenings curled up in bed w/ a warm fire, reading some classics.

Combining these 5 approaches to the holidays - for me - guarantees a lot more zen than any previous holiday & winter season.  I never thought to 'prepare' for a winter season but due to last winter being so brutal and the stress I have felt during some holidays (being so hectic), my mind turned to wellness this year.  What are some ideas that you incorporate wellness & an overall feeling of zen into your holiday season and winter?

And Happy Halloween everyone!