DO THIS BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS meaningful gifts habits tips

Okay, before the holidays start rushing in, before the events, before the pastries, before the gift giving, the gift wrapping, the gift buying, all of the above, I want you to take a deep breath with me. This video isn't about doing more and putting more on your plate, it's actually about doing this season smarter. As a mother of four, I'm sharing what I'm doing to prepare for the holiday season to keep it calm and peaceful and actually enjoyable. Enjoyable for me, enjoyable for my kids, enjoyable for my marriage, from easy and simple gift giving to healthy habits that I'm starting before January, and even some recipes. Yeah, we're going that deep, we're getting that detailed. Let's set ourselves up for success this holiday season and peace. And I put him in his little Christmas outfit that he'll probably be too big to wear. He's got a little Santa Claus and he just looks so perfect. You look so perfect. It's getting me in the holiday spirit. Yes, it is. Okay, by the way, I have a little gift for you if you stayed for the fifth point. I only have five, it's not going to be that long, but I think it'll really benefit you and I think you'll really love it. So, stay tuned for that. It's coming in a few minutes. Okay, number one, creating a wants and a needs list. Wants are on one side of the paper, needs are on the other side. This will help you stay grounded when the sales happen for the next four months. When you see somebody else buy something or get something, just come back to this list, stay grounded. It will really reduce your stress and your jealousy and overspending. This is one of the best tools I use all year long. So, just stay authentic and grounded and smart. Okay, that leads me to number two. I've created a simple gift guide. There's a lot of moms out there that are already stressed out about gift giving for their children. I'm going to do a dedicated video and I'm going to give you intentional and mindful gifts for you and your whole family. I love gift giving just because I love studying people. That is the art of gift giving. It's studying somebody. So, I'll give you plenty of ideas and I'm going to do it very soon. So, you can start now. That's kind of where we're going with this, is getting ahead of the game. Okay, really quickly, I want to thank the sponsor of this video, Byheart. Byheart is a baby formula brand that I will have in my pantry in case of emergency. I'm actually planning on exclusively breastfeeding, but I've been put in a situation where I had very low milk. I had a hungry baby. It was 11 p.m at night and I was very alone. It was terrible and I didn't have an option, a clean option that I was happy with using and I just had to use it. It wasn't a great feeling and from that night on, I will always have a high quality, clean baby formula in my pantry in case of emergencies for myself, for other women who may need it. Byheart is just a great option. It's the one that I'm going to choose to have in my pantry. They actually are the first American baby formula company that has certified organic grass-fed whole milk in their product. Not skim milk, whole milk, which is so wonderful and definitely something that checked a box for me. They also have a patented protein blend and they want to do things the right way. I say that every single time when I am working with a company, I choose the company that does things the right way. If you look at a shelf, all the shelves, all the options you have with baby formula, this is the one I'd be reaching for. Hopefully, a lot of other people know to look at the ingredients and reach for the right one. They've just got clean ingredients and I'm really grateful for companies that do things the right way. If you guys are interested in getting your hands on some Byheart formula, I have a link down below for you guys. Thank you, Byheart, for sponsoring this portion of the video. I feel like I need to say this as well. I was honest with them and I told them that I'm exclusively breastfeeding and I don't plan on using baby formula. They were like, Margaret, we'd be honored to be in your pantry just in case of emergencies. I think that's authenticity there and I was really grateful for that. There's a lot of shame that can happen in the, come here buddy, baby formula industry and in just this act in general as a mom is trying to feed her baby. They didn't make me feel bad at all. They were so welcoming and that allowed me to talk honestly and authentically about this company on a whole nother level too. Honestly, it was a joy to talk about a company that I really respect. Thank you, Byheart. Really quickly before number three, I want to invite you to join my email subscription. I send out an email every Monday. It's a blend of encouragement, tips for minimal living. I've got simple recipes in there. Sometimes it's just a little like love letter. I just want to be a form of peace and encouragement and friendship to you in a space that doesn't really feel like that pretty often in your inbox. So I've got a lot of really fun recipes coming to my blog and that's where I'm going to be sharing most of them, so that's very exciting. My gift guides will be through my email, so I just want to encourage you to sign up and get all those goodies. Okay, on to number three. Healthy habits starting now, not January. There are tons of studies that show the epic failure rate of new year's resolutions, not to burst anyone's bubbles, but also here to burst your bubble at the same time and encourage you to do it differently. If you start a habit on say a Wednesday, you're much more likely to keep that habit than you are if you start January 1st. So do a few of these with me. My videos include like the normal interruptions of my life because that's wonderful and it's not something I want to be upset about. Like these are sweet interruptions, cherished interruptions. I don't want to be like 50 years down the road and regret the way I responded to these little interruptions. So anyway, um, did you say I have to go outside? I'm filming right now. You can finish your math tango. Please go into your room. Thanks. Close the door. Okay, close the door. Was I just saying how much I love these interruptions? Okay, but that's the reality. I love them, but also I'm like, it's not perfect over here. Sorry if I sound like everything's perfect. No, I'm being massively sanctified right now as a mother of four. Okay, let's continue. Habits. Eating a full, protein-rich breakfast before I enjoy my coffee. I'm actually diving into a little bit of coffee. Not every morning, but like when I feel like it. Not out of desperation. More so out of like, this sounds yummy. Oh, number two. I've been walking in the evenings when my husband gets home from work. I take a solo walk. A lot of people want to boost their fitness in January. Why not start now when it's not super cold and be ahead of the game. Be three months ahead. Two. Two and a half. Number three. A habit that I've been doing since I had this baby was leaving a journal on my bedside table. So at night when I'm tempted to, you know, watch Netflix, to, you know, watch a show or be on my phone or even in the mornings or when I'm nursing in the middle of the day, I just want to have this journal with me and a pen ready at all times so that I'm more inclined to go there and to write out why I'm needing a dopamine hit or why I'm needing to numb out because that's why I get on social media. I think that's why a lot of us get on social media and I want to be aware of that instead of letting myself receive the fake dopamine that's not actually serving me. That habit. Like I just forget where my phone is often. Oh, you had some spit up on your face. I'm sorry. I missed that. Did you guys see that? I missed it. I'm sorry. Yeah, just reach for your journal instead of your social media. It's really healthy. It's actually been really wonderful. Number four. People. Write down a list of five people that you want to hang out with this holiday season. You're just going to be tossed from side to side. You're going to be tossed by the waves of the sea. I don't know what I'm, I don't know what I'm looking for there. You're just not going to be as happy if you're not hanging out with the people that you want to hang out with. For instance, I want to hang out with my husband. I don't want to be giving my energy and my time to dozens of people. I'd rather say no to something and yes to a quality, quiet, fun night with my husband. And I've spent plenty of holiday seasons not having this list and not feeling fulfilled and not feeling very happy. Yeah, it'll take 20 seconds and it'll make a huge difference. These little tiny things will make a big difference for you guys. I promise. They made a huge difference for me. Last one, this is the one where I'm giving you a little gift, is five recipes. You don't have to do five. You can do two. You can do one. One to five. You pick. But pick some recipes, print them out, and master those recipes. Fall in love with those recipes this season. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to come up with new stuff, bring a new dish to a party, get your signature stuff going and really feel the benefits of cooking from scratch. Feel the way it calms your central nervous system when you know what you're doing when you're cooking. This can be, you know, someone who doesn't cook. It can be for someone who cooks all the time. But I think recipes and food are such a beautiful part of the holiday season. So pick five recipes that you're going to master and welcome into your life for the next few months. This is where the gift comes in. I have created a fall. It's called Simply Beautiful Fall Around the Table. It's a mini ebook and it has five recipes for you. It has questions that you can be asking around the table, encouragement, inspiration for setting your table, for dimming the lights, lighting the candles, music playlists, everything you need to create a healthy and romantic and peaceful dining room table and dinner table experience with you and your family. That is in this little ebook. It's normally $12 and for this video in the next 48 hours I'm gonna give it to you 50% off. The link is right down below. This is something that was such a joy to create because it's things that I am utilizing in my own life, in my own family, around our table and it just makes life more beautiful. It's not all beautiful. I'm a mother of four boys and I homeschool and I work from home. It's not all beautiful. But at the end of the day when I have the recipe that I've nailed, it smells amazing, the candles are lit, the music is playing, we have good conversation, I feel on top of the world and that is the holiday season. That's what people crave. It's this connection, this romantic ambiance, cozy warm feeling. It's all there for you in this little ebook made with so much love. Those are my five tips to definitely try and start before the holiday season to welcome peace. I hope this helps you guys. Thank you for being here. I'll see you in my next video. Bye. what if the world had more of your smile what if the wind could spread your love