Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the food, the family, the meaning…I even love the football! I know having parties can be a bit stressful, so I put together 5 simple tips to “stress-proof” Thanksgiving to create a calming mood and great environment for our family and friends.
1. Feng Shui Your Space
First things first, clear the clutter from your home so you and your guests can instantly feel “at peace”. Make sure your furniture placement creates an open environment. Circles mean harmony and unity, so make sure you have a circle (wreath) on your door or even inside your home, like the one (below) featured on Country Living. Mirrors create the illusion of light and space, and can provide an expanding feeling of positive energy. Using principles of Feng Shui, you can place mirrors in your space, along with other furnishings, to create a balanced and comfortable environment, which will in turn create a calm mood (and even promote a balanced life!).
2. Create a Custom Soundtrack
Ask your guests to suggest their favorite songs. Create a custom soundtrack and let it play all day, and give your guests a CD soundtrack as a favor. This may be a fun task you ask of a willing teen relative or techie significant other. Once the CD is made, you can even have everyone decorate their own CD-covers or print out CD-jackets with photos you’ve taken from the day, or pre-wrapping them in simple, beautiful, seasonal textures and colors, like this one (below) from Domestic in the City.
3. Bring Nature Into Your Home
Using elements from nature NATURALLY creates a calm environment. Get the woodburning stove or fireplace going. Bring plants inside, collect pine cones and place them in bowls, make your centerpiece out of stones or chestnuts like the one below from Happy Nester.
4. Memories Make a Fun Day
Instead of talking about politics, the economy, and just plain “energy draining” discussions, pull out old photo albums, videos, soundtracks. Have fun talking about your most embarassing moments, your favorite times, share your wedding album or your first grade pictures. Get a family “gratitude journal” like the one pictured above from Etsy, and pass around the room so everyone can write what they are thankful for each year. You can create little “conversation starter” cards like the ones below from Tangarang and place them around your home at random. And, get out the video camera to create memories for years to come!
5. Music Makes the World Go Round
So, your nephew is playing guitar? Ask him to bring it and share a song! Dusty old piano sitting in the corner- clean it off and invite guests to play. Pull out that karaoke machine you got years ago, or download the Karaoke Anywhere app your ipod, iphone, or android (below). Incorporating music and acknowledging people’s talents is the best way to relax and have fun…
And, even though this post is for Thanksgiving, we can always incorporate these tips for “every day life “, not just for the holiday…How do you “stress-proof” and create a calming mood for Thanksgiving?
