It’s the most wonderful time of the year… until the wonderfulness becomes a little too much and it becomes the most overwhelming and hectic time of the year. At Rue, we are all about living the most beautiful version of your life, and life isn’t beautiful if trying to create the perfect holiday centerpiece is making you want to crawl into bed until Valentine’s Day. We’ll be honest, as much as we love holiday decorating and hosting events, we also prize time with our families and prefer being able to enjoy the holidays over styling them.

When we’re feeling overly caroled and partied-out, here’s how we reclaim our holiday calm, all of which take twenty minutes or less! How do you give yourself a break and find calm in the holidays?

Fill the home with a holiday scent. Put a pot of homemade potpourri on the stove or light a candle in a wintery scent like evergreen or cinnamon.

Dim the lights. Changing the lighting can create a whole new mood, so when we need a quiet evening we always opt for low light, especially with all the twinkly holiday lights.

Write a thankful year in review. Make a note of five things you are thankful for in the past year and tuck it someplace you’ll see it for when the holiday plans are getting a little crazy. Sometimes a little reminder is all we need.

Stretch your body. Exercise tends to fall to the wayside in a season of chilly weather and lots of indulgences, but think of holiday exercise less as a “because I ate all those cookies” way and more of a “treating my body well” way. Skip the elliptical and opt for a de-stressing walk or short yoga session.

Plan to give back. This is season where we often try to give time to charity but that actually leads to many charities being short on volunteers in January. It’ll just take a few minutes to look up a charity you support and schedule volunteer time after the first of the year when you are likely to have free time as well.

Image originally from Holiday 2012’s Magnolia Wreath DIY.