Give Back, Feel Good

The holiday season comes with a few inevitable truths you simply must accept:

• You will love The Nutcracker…for one week. After that, you won’t want to hear about sugar plums or The Land of Sweets.
• The malls will be crowded.
• Parking spaces at said malls will be sparse. Getting a good one is both fiercely competitive and unlikely.
• Your list of people to shop for will continue to grow.
• Despite your best intentions, your gift wrapping will not be flawless. (No one minds, promise.)
• Despite your best intentions, your “I’m going to be super healthy this holiday season” resolution will lead you to the dessert tray at every fiesta.
• You will become stressed out at some point, whether it’s over wrapping or rehearsals.

We get it: The holidays are a festive time, but they’re also a crazy-busy one.

When I’m feeling particularly overwhelmed with life, one thing always helps: making someone else feel good.

There are a few really easy things you can do right now to boost your winter mood and lift someone else’s spirits:

Buy a gift for a child who may not get one.
We like to think Santa can hit up every home this Christmas, but for some, they won’t be a stop along his very busy way, for a myriad of reasons. Reach out to an organization like New York Cares—Winter Wishes to find out how you can get involved.

Use your talents for good
. Check out these dancers who are doing just that. 

Be randomly kind.
After the Newtown shooting, Ann Curry championed a campaign to get people doing good things. She dubbed it #26Acts, and the goal is to commit to 26 acts of kindness in memory of the 26 victims at Sandy Hook Elementary. I love this and I’m taking part, myself. Join me! It’s so easy—think of things like holding the door for someone, paying for a stranger’s cup of coffee or offering your seat to someone on the bus.

Now take a break from your wrapping and your cookie baking and get involved—someone out there will appreciate it.