The One Thing You Really Need Before December Hits

(And no… it’s not more mince pies.)

We are nearly there my love. Tomorrow is December. Start of the season of:

• fairy lights

• carnage

• expectations

• mincepies

• creativity

• sequins and glitter

• eating too much

• champagne

• drinking too much

• rest

• being ‘on’

• Christmas songs

• connection

• loneliness

• mistletoe

• the homemade decorations that you get out each year and make you smile exactly because of their imperfections

I wonder what else would you add to that list?

(I’d add my birthday, my brother’s birthday and my eldest’s birthday - it’s all go in our house in December..!).

You know what the run up to Christmas always reminds me of? That amazing moment when the old shoe boxes, that doubled as Christmas decoration boxes, got opened and everyone got nostalgic pointing out their favourite decoration. I still have the very weird (as I like to call it) devil Santa one that came from my Grandmother’s tree. I remember seeing it on there when I was small and it always intrigued me!

I love that smell of dusty tinsel and old paper and the tangle of lights that you swore blind you’d wrapped carefully to put away. You’d pull out something you made when you were seven (inevitably lopsided, covered in glitter that never quite stuck) and feel this strange mix of pride and embarrassment. My sons carry on that tradition which is why my tree will never be the perfectly curated ones I hanker after. It’s an explosion of memories, and actually, that feels way more me!

That’s sort of how adulthood December feels too, isn’t it? A jumble of the magical and the messy, all tumbling out together. And every year we swear we’ll ‘keep it simple’ next time, and then real life happens. Again.

Life starts ramping up, in a momentary flurry before the quietude sets in again. So, let’s take a moment to sit together, and think about how we can keep our compass steady when life gets busy. Here, take this cuppa, help yourself to a cookie. Cosy up. Let’s think about keeping our course steady…

Photo by Amandine BATAILLE on Unsplash

I’ve been quietly tinkering away behind the scenes to bring you something special: Your Guilt-Free Christmas.

It was inspired by the same thinking that led me to create The Secret Society of Women Who Say No — the women who do everything for everyone… except themselves. (If that’s you, by the way, welcome. You’re in good company.)

This little festive guide is a free, loving nudge to drop the “perfect Christmas” pressure and create something that’s sometimes messy, mostly joyful, and entirely yours. It’s the exact set of prompts I use to keep myself grounded at this time of year, and I made it for you, because I know how much lighter it can make everything feel.

At this time of year, and let’s face it, it starts with Black Friday (which seems now to start on pretty much the 1st November!), it feels like there is constant pressure to buy, spend, do and be ‘on’ all the time.

In this Coaching Café session, I wanted to ask you about what you need during this time? I can pretty much bet that at the heart of it, it’s not more pressure or unrealistic expectations. And yet, that’s often what we put on ourselves.

Let’s explore a super quick and simple way that we can anchor ourselves right now, and come back to all the way through December and beyond…