Creating Christmas Spirit in the Home
Play Christmas music in the background while you prepare for Christmas. Great songs such as "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, "O Holy Night" by Josh Groban, and "Believe" by Josh Groban are great examples, and they will help you lift your spirit.
Make a batch of Christmas cookies. Make sugar cookies, and decorate with frosting, sprinkles, etc. They'll smell wonderful while baking and are sure to help out the Christmas fun. Have the kids decorate their own cookies for something to do. If you can't make cookies, but want your house to smell nice, you can get some scented candles or some christmas-y scented room spray. It makes your house smell like the holiday season, but without the mess!
Hang up Christmas ornaments. When you focus on the ornaments, and just on getting it done, it's not fun. But when you have fun, dance with the Christmas music, put a garland up, put little trinkets of Santa Claus, angels and whatnot. You will see, you will have fun. Have other family members help with the tree.
Put up your tree early. It doesn't matter if you put it up after you read this article, or in a few days, just get it up early. That way, you can decorate the tree and have fun with it, expressing your creativity and feeling like you are really into the spirit.
Learn a Christmas song, one that you've never heard before, or one that is your favorite. Print it off the internet and sing the verses quietly to yourself at work, or at the store. Create your own Christmas song if you like.
Feeling the Christmas Spirit in Company
Get out of the house. Go to stores like Macy's and Target and shop in the Christmas aisles. Have fun picking out what stuff you could possibly need. When you see other spirit around you, you're more likely to have that special feeling once again.
Spend time with family and friends. This probably is the most important way to feeling happy. Make some cookies, and invite a few friends over, and watch a Christmas film like "White Christmas". See if you can find a party to go to this year instead of organizing it all yourself. It makes for a nice change.
Give a gift, it doesn't matter to who. But take time and thoughtfulness with the gift, wrap it, and make your own card, add a special poem or heartfelt Christmas greeting. giving a great gift to someone is a great way to get into the holiday spirit.
Caring for Yourself
Realize that some of your lack of feeling the Christmas spirit may be related to feeling overwhelmed and stressed by the seasonal festivities and preparations. Take time out. Go and do things for yourself now and then, to relieve the pressure of always preparing and being around frantic activity. You cannot please all of the people all of the time, so do not even try; by taking breaks, you will feel refreshed and able to cope with difficult people all the more constructively.
Have reasonable expectations of the Christmas season. If you expect too much, you may feel disappointed. Instead, expect things to be low key and easy and you will feel a lot calmer and happier about the season, being able to enjoy the experience more. Realize that the commercialized version of Christmas is the marketer's dreams, not yours. Don't try to live up to that version and don't fall for thinking that you can buy happiness at Christmas time. Enjoyment does not mean expense.
Be jolly. Laugh more, see the funny side of things, even more so when things don't go to plan. Be genuine in your mirth; forcing jolly feelings will feel artificial. That might just mean watching something that makes you laugh for real or taking time out to watch a frolicking puppy or your children at play.
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