The holidays are a mixed bag for a lot of people. Plan ahead with strategies to maximize the fun and minimize the non-fun.
Aries- You get moody when you're "sitting around," so make a visit with relatives short and sweet.
- Take your bike with you, and escape to explore.
- If you're visiting relatives, check out a local novelty attraction.
- Bring mental stimulation for downtimes, like something you've always wanted to read.
- Be a champion and volunteer at a soup kitchen.
- Take along challenging games like chess, backgammon, cards.
- Go to the gym where you are, and work out!
- Try preparing a dish with unusual spices.
- Explore the landscape where you are, by getting lost in the woods.
- Take many long afternoon naps.
- Schedule a holiday massage.
- Experiment with aromas, and use candles to set a warm mood.
- Make sure you get lots of hugs from the right people.
- Be careful not to overeat. Take smaller portions of everything.
- Tweet and update your status on Facebook with witty observations about your crazy family.
- Stock up on reading material, especially stimulating magazines.
- Watch your nerves...don't overdo it on the caffeine and other stimulants.
- Send "postcards from the edge" with witty observations of familial quirks.
- Have in place a long distance phone buddy (or phone tree).
- See if you can lead repressed relatives into conversations on bizarre topics.
- Spend time collecting family memories from the old timers.
- Try lavender and healing oils for a soothing bath.
- Start a new holiday tradition that makes your eyes water.
- Look up an old friend and catch up.
- Try keeping a gathering small -- for you, more is not always the merrier.
- Listen to the soothing sounds of the ocean, or travel on or near water.
- Have on hand a few party outfits that you feel hot in.
- One warm colored scarf or hat brightens your look.
- Use candles to set the mood.
- Keep it playful, and look to the kids for inspiration.
- Encourage the creativity in others, and make time for your own.
- Make or buy little tokens for each person -- unexpected gifts start things off on a high note.
- Try to remember a favorite holiday treat or activity as a kid, and do that.
- Make sure you stick to your healthy routine, with plenty of 'me' time.
- Purify at the holidays, in the sauna and by drinking lots of water and cleansing warm teas.
- Be generous (and stay positive) with your ideas for family self-improvement.
- Find ways to keep it organic and simple.
- Make holiday presents instead of buying them this year.
- Watch your nerves: go on long walks alone, retire early for solitude.
- Develop a signature holiday aesthetic for this season.
- Be curious and resolve to listen to others.
- Consider co-hosting a holiday bash with someone whose company you enjoy.
- Share your gifts for mediation, but don't pressure yourself to re-build fragile alliances in the family.
- Seek out holiday music or decorations that lift your spirits, and appeal to your discrimination tastes.
- Brief, meaningful visits with relatives keep things from getting ugly.
- Make sure you've got your own space to retreat to.
- Think twice before reconnecting with that sexy girl or boy next door.
- Don't stir up trouble that isn't there -- keep the holidays light and gay.
- Try not to take anything too personally...family is there to push your buttons!
- Get lots of rest and eat foods that make you feel healthy.
- Take breaks from the house to move it, move it....and let everyone know you're "in training."
- Opt for a travel adventure over the holidays.
- Some holiday interpretive dancing (privately or with an audience) could lift your spirits.
- Surround yourself with funny things, maybe having a comedy film festival with friends.
- Try having an exotic-themed holiday, with food from another culture.
- Keep a pile of intellectually stimulating books on hand.
- Research an ancestral tradition, and make it uniquely your own.
- Spend plenty of time resting, drawing nourishment from your season of hibernation.
- Draw out family history from relatives, and follow it up with readings on the era/place/culture.
- Try your hand at an heirloom holiday recipe.
- Take a true break from work, and just revel in the holiday spirit.
- Try corralling friends or family to volunteer as a group for a local charity.
- Bring along an obsession to occupy your mind, and escape with.
- Revel in being the "odd one" in the bunch.
- Scare away sentimental relatives by saying something shocking.
- Have a very experimental holiday, with unusual or futuristic themes.
- Bring plenty of reading material and your laptop.
- Bring some new imagination candy along for nourishment, such as movies, books on audio, and music.
- In very negative situations, burn some sage to discreetly clean bad vibes from your aura.
- When the familial cacophony is too much, go for a long walk in nature.
- Try carrying a healing stone like rose quartz or kyanite in your pocket.
- Keep reminding yourself -- you're not responsible for the happiness of others.
