What makes a holiday season look and feel truly luxurious? If we go by the more traditional definition of luxury, you might assume I’m talking about decorating the Christmas tree with gold-leaf ornaments, hanging the stockings with diamond-encrusted hooks, drinking an expensive bottle of bubbly at each holiday party, and donning that couture dress with a chic pair of Manolo’s when you go to see the Nutcracker ballet with your sweetie.

These are all great ideas of luxury, and many might appeal to you! However I’m talking about something distinctly different here. When I talk about a luxury, what I’m talking about are those things that are indeed high quality and extraordinary by anyone’s standards. But perhaps they don’t carry that enormous price tag, and maybe they are more aligned with your personal values and the things that hold the most meaning for you.

One of the most luxurious things that you can do to create a truly exquisite holiday season for yourself is to make space for the things that really matter the most to you. For most of us, this looks and feels a lot like less of the run-run-run, do-do-do, stress-stress-stress, and more of the joy, play, rest, dream, laugh, connect, give and receive.

Are you nodding your head yes? Are you ready to learn more?

Here are my top 10 tips for creating a luxury-filled holiday season this year. I invite you to take my ideas and make them your own!

1. Schedule rejuvenation time for yourself into your calendar.
   When our lives get full and busy, there are some very predictable ways that women put themselves and their needs on the back burner. You can do things differently this year! Schedule a spa day for yourself – and maybe with a girlfriend! – then plan some of your holiday shopping either before or after your day of rejuvenation. Even planning to receive a 20-minute chair massage at the grocery store when you go to pick up everything that’s on your list for that holiday feast you’re planning can change everything for you…
2. Get grateful for what you already have.
   Every year I create a gratitude list. I love doing this because it really helps me to fully appreciate all of the blessings that are in my life. When you focus on the things that feel good, and when you take the time to really feel how abundant your life is, it shifts something inside of you. Try this, and notice how it brighten your outlook and mood even when things are full and brimming with busy-ness!
3. Create a wish list for yourself, and share it.
   When you take the time to get clear on your own desires, and when you express your desires to others, it gives them the chance to do something nice for you. It also creates a beautiful opportunity for you to receive your desires.
4. Clear the clutter and make space.
   For most women, their lives are teaming with fullness! Errands, to-do lists, house work, keeping up with their professional life, being a mom, a wife, a girlfriend or any of the other 34 roles she’s playing… Life is F-U-L-L. Clearing the clutter and making space in your life not only feels good – clutter is a sign of stagnant energy, and stagnant energy feels heavy – but it also creates more room for something new, something exciting, and something truly fantastic to come in. Put some lively music on, set a timer for 10-minutes, and the start with that pile of “stuff” that’s been sitting in that one place for weeks. Then move on to your wardrobe, your kitchen pantry, all of the papers that need to be filed… Donate what you can, recycle what you can, and toss the rest. Then revel in how good your home feels, how less anxious you feel, and how there is now space for what your really want to enter in to you life.
5. Simplify in the ways that you can.
   The holidays can be the time of year when you like to “go all out” and really do something special. Do you have the energy for that this year? If the answer is yes, GREAT! There are times when “going all out” can really energize you and make you feel super inspired, creative and powerful. But if the answer is no, then simplify, simplify, simplify. Host a potluck instead of cooking everything yourself. Let the store clerk wrap your gifts for you, or hire a neighborhood kid to come and do it for you. Do what feels manageable and inspiring to you, and let go of the need to “push” and “make things happen” for everyone else. Remember, if you’re in a good place inside of yourself, everyone else will feel that, too. And that is the best gift you could ever give to anyone – including yourself!
6. Take a vacation.
   Not everyone can travel to Fiji or Baja or Thailand for the holidays, but you can still take a vacation even if you’re staying at home. Take a break from social media, TV, or all electronics. Why not sink your teeth into a good novel, or get your paints out for a day and flex those artistic muscles that you long to use? Take a bath in the middle of the day, then take a nap (that one is calling me!). Leave an auto-responder on your email account and take a break from responding to everyone right away. Let yourself rest and take some time just for Y.O.U.
7. Nap.
   Does this little 3-letter word sound good to you? Then you’re in need of a great little day-time rest. A 25-minute cat nap could be just what your body is asking for. Or, maybe a luxurious 90-minute snooze is more like it. The days are short and the nights are long – this is the time of year when your body actually requires more sleep! So give in to your body’s needs, listen to the fatigue you’re carrying around with you. Take care of yourself. Giving from an empty cup is never very giving.
8. Find new ways to truly connect.
   There may be some very long standing holiday traditions in your family, and some of them may not feel very good to you anymore. It’s okay! You can let go of them and create something new that does feel good to you. The important thing is for you to stay connected to yourself and the things that feel good to you, and to remember that you have a choice – no matter the circumstances – to choose what feels amazing to you. Find new ways to stay connected with yourself, and you’ll discover that your connections with others feel stronger, lighter, and more authentic to you. Sometimes you have to break tradition to find the new one that resonates most with you.
9. Ditch the stress.
   What always stresses you out the most during the holiday season? Is it shopping for the perfect gifts? Is it cooking the turkey? Is it figuring out what you’re going to wear to the office holiday party? Is it spending time with your in-laws? Take notice, and then assess if you want to participate in those things again this year. Recognize that you always have a choice – to not participate, or to change the way that you’ve been relating to it. Either way, diffuse the stress for yourself by making a new choice that feels truly luxurious to you.
10. Buy yourself a holiday gift.
    Do something nice for yourself by giving something to yourself that you’ve had your eye on. Something happens inside of a woman when she’s generous with herself. She beams with beauty. She feels energized and alive. She looks well-cared for and is more capable of caring for others. Buying yourself a gift is about the gift, and it’s not about the gift. Just remember that generosity towards yourself never goes out of style, and it always feels luxurious!

Make space for the luxury that you really desire, and notice how easy it is to create your most memorable, meaningful, intoxicating and luxurious holiday season to date!