A Christmas Gift For Positive Change

In last week’s blog, I promised I would share a special festive idea with you. So, here it is… A Christmas gift that will bring you positive change all year.

This is an idea that I’ve been using for a couple of years, both for me and for my Mum. So, let me explain…

You probably already know about my beaded Advent calendars…

(If you don’t, then this was my first Advent calendar. Twenty four little beaded boxes, all labelled like Christmas gifts, and with five Advent candles that you can light with beaded flames…

Click here to get the Advent calendar beaded box pattern

…and then, the following year, I made another ‘accidental’ Advent calendar. I say accidental because I didn’t plan it as an Advent calendar. My only thought was to make a Christmas tree with drawers. But as it turned out, I ended up with 24 drawers, plus a bonus box on the top. So, why not use it as an Advent calendar?)

Click here to get the Christmas tree beaded box pattern

So, this begs the question: what do I put in my Advent calendars…?

The answer is…

A Christmas Gift to bring Positive Change all year round

So, what is this miraculous Christmas gift?

Well, there’s a limit to what you can fit in the beaded boxes and drawers. Yes, they will take a tiny sweet treat, or maybe a small pack of beads. But I had a better idea.

In the lead-up to Advent, I spent some time on Google Images, searching for something specific. I wanted 24 little positive thoughts or memes.

Now, I’ve been giving the Christmas tree to my Mum each year. So, I found 24 messages that I wanted to pass on to her. In fact, the first year, my brother and I did this between us. So, we both included messages that we wanted to say to Mum.

Every day when she opened another drawer, she found a message of love from one of us.

Last year, I decided to do the same thing for myself. So, earlier in the year (the earlier the better, since you’ve then forgotten about it by 1st December!), I printed out my little ‘positive thoughts’, courtesy of a favourite (very wise) character: Winnie-the-Pooh.

I confess, I did also include a couple of chocolates in one or two of my boxes. Then, of course, I had the candle flames too. But it was such a lovely surprise to give myself a positive thought at the start of each day.

How does this work all year round?

Now, it’s all very well spending December getting some positivity, but how about the rest of the year?

Well, I used all my little messages to make a collage. I chose some bright card, added in some doodles (and some things with personal meaning), and put all this together.

I’ve then stuck it to the inside of my wardrobe door. Why there?

Well, one of the first things you do each day is open your wardrobe and select an outfit to wear. So, since my collage is so bright, I can hardly avoid noticing it! That means, I start every day of the year with a reminder of a lot of positive ideas by which to live life.

And trust me, it’s a lot better, and a lot healthier, than scrolling your social media feed or inbox!

In fact, this has been such a positive change for 2020 that I’m definitely going to do a new collage with a new set of messages for next year too.

I invite you…

…to try something similar. So, you could do this for yourself, or for someone you love.

Make it your own. Maybe you want to bead one of my Advent calendars (after all, July is the perfect time to get started, so you’ll be ready for Advent!). Or maybe you have another Advent calendar that you already use.

You don’t have to add in the same kinds of messages as I chose. Perhaps you want to include favourite quotes, religious or secular. Or maybe you want to write your own ‘love notes’ to yourself or the person you’re doing it for.

And maybe you choose not to make a collage. Perhaps you add these to a diary, or something else. But the important thing is to make sure you save them somewhere you will read them every day. It’s a great way to start your day with a smile…whatever else then comes your way.

And, if you like this idea, please share it. This is truly a Christmas gift that is free to enjoy and will bring some positive energy into life well beyond the Festive period.