Tips to de-stress during the Christmas season

For a number of people, the Christmas season can be a very stressful time of year.  During this season there is an increase in social interactions with family or relatives, some of whom you may rather not see.  In some cases, it's the fact that some friends and relatives will be missing that is the reason for the stress.

There could well be expectations, or at least perceived expectations, to create a ‘wonderful Christmas’ with presents and perhaps the most important meal of the year.

Therefore, it's important to know what stress relief strategies work for you.  Aside from the obvious tip of planning ahead of time, here are a few that may be of assistance:

• don't forego your exercise routine
• have some pre-planned excuses to escape some of the social gathering
• plan for smaller gatherings with key friends or family members
• get back to nature and go for a walk
• listen to relaxing music
• make time for your hobbies, such as painting.

If none of the above will help due to circumstances, consider going away for a vacation and escape it all.

I know a few friends who may not have a difficult time this year and my heart goes out to them. I'm trying to spend time with some of them in the coming weeks.

I'm lucky that I have my watercolours when I need to escape.  When painting, my mind goes into a zone where I don't think about anything else.

On a different note, one of the great things about watercolours is that you can touch up a painting months after you think it is completed.  Here is one painting that I touched up last weekend. The shadows weren't dark enough, so I made them darker and I added a bit of turquoise in a couple of key spots.

Here is what the painting looked like before. The change is minor, but still makes an impact

Have a wonderful week,
Danielle