Lights are twinkling in the streets, sheds are setting up in anticipation of your town's famous Christmas market, temperatures are dropping, homes are adorned with bright and shiny decorations. Yes, there is no doubt about it: Christmas is at our door! Like every year, we see a bustle emerging in the families where like little ants, everyone goes about their traditional occupations. While some are busy baking Christmas cookies, others are preparing the gift wrapping while others are putting up garlands here and there in the house. Isn't it also the season of the famous hot chocolate that we enjoy nicely on our sofa with a big plaid and a Christmas movie on TV?

The clichés!"

Don't these images seem a bit clichéd, straight out of American movies where everything is always fine in the best of worlds? Indeed, the reality is far from that, even if we aspire to it every year, our active and proactive world prevents us from locking ourselves in a wonderful bubble where Santa Claus would come ringing at our door with arms full of presents.

According to several articles and studies on the subject, we finally acted that the reality was quite different. Indeed, Christmas would be more of a source of stress for much of the population. A frantic race to find the perfect gift, financial difficulties, the fatigue accumulated during the year, family obligations, relationship problems and conflicts to get along with all the guests, the anxiety to prepare the ideal meal for each guest, the fear of gaining weight with these meals that follow one another and this commercial pressure that pushes us to create an atmosphere in our lives that can make us feel very uncomfortable.

In fact, behind the facades, it is often said to oneself "I can't wait for this period to be over" because the stress that the end of December brings is really problematic for too much of the population.

" According to an Opinionway survey for insurer Amaguiz, conducted in late October among 1,029 people and published Wednesday, 35% of French people see the Christmas holidays as "an obligation" that they "dread."

Another Yougov study for MaReduc on a representative sample of 1,222 people also showed at the beginning of November that 19% of respondents considered the end-of-year holidays to be a stressful, lonely, even depressing time. " 11/23/2016 www.lepoint.fr

In addition to all the societal pressures that the holidays can bring, there are also those who bring back difficult memories such as the death of a loved one, the disappearance of a family member, the sadness of not being surrounded with the people we miss, etc.The emotional aspect is just as impactful as the financial and moral approach to this end of year.

The magic of Christmas?

Recovering a bit of magic this Christmas season is possible by installing new routines or climates of life in your festivities. Here are some ideas:

• Take this time as moments of joy where sharing will be in order. Don't try to give the most expensive or the most suitable gift, just be in conscious sharing, because kindness is the best gift you can give. Or why not make a simple gift like homemade cookies or passing on your favorite book to share real moments together?
• Think of all those people who are sad and suffering greatly from lack or illness during Christmas. Give them your time and it will also allow you to grow internally.
• Don't force yourself to do anything and always stay aligned with your values.
• Don't stress about running around because it won't bring anything beneficial to your life.
• Find your balance for the end of the year meals 

The most important thing is to do the best we can within our means. Listen to yourself.

Awaken the magic of Christmas within you,

Happy Holidays.