I cannot believe it is almost the end of the year! Where did 2016 go? Am I the only one that feels like it just flew right past us?. Well either way, there are only 10 days left to go until 2017 arrives, and saying that, christmas is just around the corner, one of my favourite times but also emotional times, because I am quite far away from my family, so it is a super happy time for me but also sad that we are not together due to the distance and dividing time between my family and my husbands through out the year- (Thank goodness for face time and Skype 🙂 ) now back to what I am here to talk about today

Since we are almost at the end of the year, and 2017 is coming to us soon, I wanted to share with you what I will be doing this season to fully enjoy the celebrations and special moments, to create more happy memories

Here are 5 ways to fully enjoy the last week of festive fun

1) Be fully present: Have you got a christmas lunch at Grans, dinner at Mum and dads? Boxing day bonanza buffet at Aunt Jennies…. whatever holiday plans entail, make sure to fully be present in the moment, look around and see all the loved ones you have in your life, if you have gone through some obstacles, tough times, and experienced more hard ships than usual this year, don’t dwell on the past, or fret about the future, just Be here Now, look around and think, what a blessing is to be alive and experience the gift of life. Enjoy every moment of the holidays, it will go so quick that yet another year passes, so perhaps try to make peace with your past, send good loving thoughts to people who may of hurt you, and focus on this moment and day…every wakening minute of it.

2) Be mindful: Being mindful will help you make much better choices and actions during the holidays. Although christmas is a time where loved ones come together and should be a joyful time, it can also mean petty family fights, over eating, and druken disasters. When you stay mindful, you eat until you feel satisfied, drink wisely, and if you feel some kind of drama stirring up, try to be a mediator, or don’t let the person who is being the drama queen destroy a perfectly planned celebration, tell them to get some air, breathe, and take a chill pill.  It is christmas after all, not a jerry springer circus show.

3) Make the most of your time: As this time only comes around once a year to be with your loved ones in a full festive style gathering, make the most it! Catch up with loved ones, play fun board games, pump up the holiday tunes, throw out some kid friendly jokes, and just make sure its filled with love and laughter!

4) Digital detox: Hey, I am no saint when it comes to flipping though my phone as I “work from my phone”, but I also give myself boundaries during special moments. Why not put it away during dinner, and only take it out if you want to take a family photo, try to  refrain from constantly scrolling, snapping, and taking selfies, as the special moments will be missed. Funnily enough I will actually will be phone less for the next 2 weeks, which in hindsight is a blessing in disguise ( this is how tip 4 came about, instead of throwing a fit about not having a phone over the holidays, I thought, I can use this time to just switch off, mentally) I do have an iPod I will use for some posts, but the emails, instant messaging and work related stuff can wait until the new year. I want to come back to London, fully rested, excited and most importantly optimistic about 2017!  I will put all my energy into my loved ones, health, wellbeing, work and aston our pug 🙂

5) Year review: December is one of the craziest months of the year because of all the festive feasting and fun times with friends, but it is also the last month of the year, which means the new year is soon to arrive. The last week of December, why not take the time to pause, breath, and reflect on the year, remember all the good things that happened, celebrate small or big achievements, learn from mistakes, and make even bigger plans for the next year! I love nothing more than evolving and reinventing myself on a yearly basis .. Like “ How could I make this year better the last? What better habit could I adopt and one I could drop? What new places do I want to see? What hobbies do I want to pursue?  Where do I want to put my energy into this year? What friends did I not see enough of?  and What are my 3 big rocks for the year aka goal digging goals? This is a great way to put your thoughts, plans and dreams into action.
Bonus tip Enjoy this time of year, eat good food, get merry, and have a blast during the festive fun.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and sending you good wishes for 2017.

Ashley xoxo