Creating an Intentional Holiday Season: 4 tips for softer, slower approach to the holidays

The holidays come with a lot, whether it be excitement, pressure, expectation, or nostalgia. For many of us, it’s also the season where we slip into the role of creating the magic for everyone else. We juggle invitations, traditions we didn’t choose, obligations we quietly inherited, and routines we keep doing simply because… we always have.

But what if this year looked different? What if instead of bracing for the whirlwind, you created a holiday season that feels softer, slower, and more true to you?

Here are simple ways to shape a more intentional, meaningful holiday season, one that leaves you filled up, not worn out.

Focus on How you Want to Feel

We often build our holiday plans around what we need to do: events to attend, meals to cook, gifts to buy, traditions to uphold, moments to make “special”. But when you shift from doing to feeling, everything change.

Maybe you want to feel peaceful, connected, present, joyful, or even rested, as wild as that sounds during the holidays. When you lead with how you want to feel, your decisions become clearer, gentler, and far more aligned. Once you know the emotion you want to anchor into, you can shape your plans around it instead of trying to squeeze yourself into everyone else’s expectations.

Some reflections:

• How do you want to feel this holiday season?

• What helps you to cultivate those feelings? And what tends to pull you away from them? 

Choose Experiences That Match Your Intentions

Once you’ve named how you want to feel, look toward the experiences that support those emotions instead of fighting against them. If you want to feel connected, maybe it’s smaller gatherings or intentional time with a few people you love. If you want rest, maybe you keep certain weekends wide open. If you want joy, maybe you prioritize the traditions that genuinely light you up, and release the ones that drain you.

Let your intentions guide the invitations you accept, the moments you create, and the pace you move at.

Some reflections:

• What experiences naturally support the feelings you want to cultivate this season?

• What can I start, stop, or continue doing to honour the way you want to feel?

Creating an Intentional Holiday Season

Honour Your Boundaries

The holidays can be full of “shoulds”. You should go, you should host, you should keep that tradition, you should say yes. But intentional living means honouring your desires and protecting your peace, even if it means stepping away from things you’ve always done.

If something overwhelms you, drains you, or disrupts your sense of calm, it’s okay to say no lovingly. Boundaries aren’t about pushing people away, they’re about staying rooted in what matters most to you. They help you show up with presence instead of resentment, clarity instead of burnout.

Some reflections:

• What obligations, expectations, or traditions are you ready to release this holiday season?

• What can you say “no” to in order to honour your desires and protect your peace?

Pause and Check In Often

Even the most intentional plans can drift once the season is in full swing. That’s why small check-ins matter. They pull you back to your center, remind you of how you want to feel, and help you gently adjust when things get overwhelming.

These moments don’t have to be long or complicated. A simple two-minute pause to breathe, reflect, and reconnect with your intentions can help you stay grounded and aligned, even on the busiest days.

Some reflections:

• Where are you drifting away from the intentions you set for the season? And what can help you reconnect with them?

• What emotions have been coming up for you lately, and what might they be trying to tell you?

At the end of the day, you don’t have to create the perfect holiday, you just have to create one that feels true to you.

A slower, more intentional season isn’t selfish. It’s a gift, one that ripples out to everyone around you.

Happy journaling!

P.S. If you want support creating the moments to pause and check in, check out our free daily, weekly, and monthly reflection guides to help you build grounding moments into your holiday routine.