A better festive season?

Ah, there you are, December. Just like that. A hard year; full of surprises, but worthwhile. You probably need a break. But will you get one? Or will you run, head-long, fast-paced, eyes-closed into Christmas?

If this sounds like you, maybe it's time to pause. You don't have to take my word for it. There's research that tells you how to have a merrier Christmas. Some time ago, Kasser and Sheldon (2002) asked 117 people what made a happy Christmas. Their findings shouldn't surprise us:

Quality time with family and friends

Religious activities and experiences

Consuming less and appreciating more

That’s a great to-do list. But there's more.

A study by Páez et al (2011) found that participants who actively engaged in rituals with family and friends showed higher levels of life satisfaction and lower levels of loneliness. Likewise, research by Mutz (2016) supported these findings, showing subjective well-being increased for Christian participants over the Christmas period but decreased for non-religious participants.

So, what’s the point of this? I think you can have a better Christmas break if you stop, think about what's good for you and yours, and make a psycho-social plan. Assuming you prefer contentment over stress, here are six questions that might help:?

1. Who will make you laugh?
2. What games will you play?
3. Where will you sing or watch the carols?
4. What's something in nature you'd love to do?
5. What can you put some boundaries around?
6. What expectations could you lower?

?This will take you ten minutes, but it might save you some longer-term pain.

Wishing friends, colleagues and my LinkedIn community a peaceful, restful run into Christmas.

References

Kasser, T., & Sheldon, K. M. (2002). What makes for a merry Christmas? Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(4), 313-329.

Mutz, M. Christmas and Subjective Well-Being: a Research Note.?Applied Research Quality Life?11, 1341–1356 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-015-9441-8

Páez, D., Bilbao, M. á., Bobowik, M., Campos, M., & Basabe, N. (2011). Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The impact of Christmas rituals on subjective well-being and family's emotional climate. International Journal of Social Psychology, 26(3), 373-386. https://doi.org/10.1174/021347411797361347

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