I’ve had such luck recently when trying to time things out.  When you’re an entrepreneur in the creative entertainment field with photography and publicity as extra offerings, you sometimes wear yourself a little thin.  It took many years for me to be able to regulate myself to the point where everything was balanced.

This can sometimes be the case with the holidays.  Invitations to social, work, family, and special events on all days of the week can leave you with precious little time after you’ve already gone to work and taken care of your own personal errands – starting to see where I’m coming from with this?

In today’s society, it’s considered more polite (and classy) to attend a few events a week and not make it a point to make sure you are at everything that is going on.  As much as people love seeing your smiling face, it can also turn on you in a heartbeat if you’ve over-extended yourself and appear tired and worn out.

So lucky you, I’ve put together a few helpful hints to get you through your holiday season.

Plan it out.
Get a calendar and mark down all of the events you have been invited to.  Decide which ones are most important to you to attend and ensure that you are prepared with holiday cards and appropriate cheer.  Make sure that the events you won’t be attending receive cards as well wishing that you could have made it (and make it a point next year that their event is to be attended).

Get Some Rest.
Being a good guest is just as important as being a good host.  Make sure that you are properly rested, prepared, and lightly fed, before heading out to a holiday event.  This will make sure that you are alert, smiling, and a pleasure to be around (plus having a snack beforehand will prevent you from gorging yourself at the snack table or cheating on that new diet).

Drink Responsibly.
While the holiday season does bring people together, it can also bring a lot of glasses together in celebration of said holidays.  As much as the host of an event is responsible for you, it would be so much easier on them if their guests were respectful enough to make sure they were responsible for themselves.  Monitor your alcohol intake and keep an eye out for others – not everyone had as great a year as you did.

Enjoy yourself.
Nothing says ‘happy holidays’ more than a genuine warm smile and a hug when you see someone you know.  The holidays are supposed to be a time of people coming together and celebrating their year.  I’ve noticed recently that people have become more hands off in their greetings.  While certain flu strains are keeping people from being friendly, there is no harm or foul in a good old fashioned holiday hug.  Just make sure it’s someone you know, or if truly in the spirit of the holidays – hug someone new.

Take Some Time.
Nothing is more important during the holidays then remembering that you do need time for yourself with all the saintly goodness you’ve done to everyone else.  To avoid burnout and irritability, make sure that you do have time set aside to do some things that you want to do this holiday season – you’ll be jollier all through winter if you do.

In closing, everyone is in a rush during the holiday season, be kind to each other and forgive the little mishaps that might happen along the way – nothing destroys the holidays like a grouchy Grinch.

SERIAL SEAN
xo

PS:  Recovering from surgery is coming along faster then expected.  I’m up and around the city again so keep an eye out for a maniacal holiday smile and a slight limp.  Special thanks to those readers who took the time to send me ‘get well soon’ emails : )