As we all prepare ourselves for the potential onslaught of holiday debauchery, it’s time to get real with ourselves – ‘tis the season to strengthen our resolve and maintain a healthy lifestyle… but it’s also totally fine to temporarily shift our body composition to 20% shortbread and 80% buttertarts. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.

To me, the most special aspects of the holidays are the magic and the music. Growing up I loved everything about the whole Santa situation and creaved the excitement of the buildup and countdown ‘til Christmas – I even enjoyed the 1 time a year we went to church for Christmas Eve mass. Where else do you get to belt out bangers like O Holy Night?

Regardless of when/if/how you celebrate, there’s magic to be found in this season,  so this week we’re going to dive into a little lighthearted goodness, brought to you by The Holidays™.

elf on the self

When I was a kid, I was 100% convinced I was an elf. No joke. As silly as it sounds, I was sure of it. I just didn’t feel like I fit in; at school I was teased pretty consistently and at home I was the middle child of 3 boys – with both my brothers being sporty and me being the “artsy” one.

Oh… and there’s the fact that I have elf ears! Yes, I have always had pointy elven ears and no one else in my family does. At a young age, this led me to believe that I was, in fact, an elf that Santa had misplaced. So much so, that for a few years I would leave a letter for Santa expressing my discontent for my life in Canada and wished that he would take me back to the North Pole where I belonged. I know this might sound devastatingly sad, but it’s actually pretty funny to me.

Every year I left a letter to Santa, I would receive a very generic response which completely avoided the topic of me being a wayward elf. To think my poor mother had to read about my request for relocation on Christmas Eve each year and then craft a response that skirted the topic to focus on literally anything else… it makes me laugh.

What did I think was going to happen? What was my plan? That Santa would read my letter, wake me up, and say “bro… get in the sleigh”? Kids are funny.

Eventually, when I finally realized that Santa wasn’t real, I was absolutely devastated. Not because the man in the red suit was a metaphor instead of a man, but because it meant Christmas magic wasn’t real. That hit me hard and I felt like, if Christmas magic wasn’t real — that magic wasn’t real, and I wanted… nay, needed magic to be real.

I recognized in my adults years what a blow it actually is to have an entire belief system ripped from underneath you. Especially a belief system based in joy and excitement and magic. You have this constant thing to look forward to every year, something you love so much that defined a big part of who you are and – poof – none of it was ever real.

Of course that’s going to f*#@ you up a bit!

Lucky for me (thanks to a plant medicine ceremony or two) I’ve tidied up the energy around all that stuff, and now I know there is so much good to be found in it. And, thankfully, I would come to learn that magic comes in many different forms and is around us all the time.

the magic of music

I love Christmas music – always have. It’s the music that makes the season for me. The way that a song can make you feel something instantly is incredible. And the fact that songs come out of thin air, they are made through imagination – brought out of the ether into our ears – that’s magic.

With my lifelong love of holiday hits, it was only natural that eventually I would write some Christmas songs. There’s a couple that are floating around on the internet and I figured I might as well share them with you to enjoy if you’re into that sort of thing.

When Steve and I moved to San Diego in 2016, we were prepped to celebrate our first Christmas on our own. Given the fact that I didn’t have a ton of money for a present that year, I wrote him a song called… Christmas on Our Own. I eventually recorded and released it the following year. It’s a catchy lil’ ditty that has made it’s way into tens and tens of homes across the globe.

The blessing for me is getting videos sent to me every year of people’s kids decorating their tree and singing along to a song I wrote when I was too broke to get Steve a present for Christmas. Give it a listen here.

The next year, a couple friends and I wrote a silly new-age satire about trying to keep your $#!% together during the holidays. It’s called Om For Christmas. It’s pretty fun and funny and there’s a ridiculous video I made for it here.

There – those are my gifts to you this year. And you can’t regift them because I’ll know… obviously.

ho ho hold on to that feeling

Keeping the music train going, there’s a great song written by Bryan Adams, and performed by my girl Céline Dion called Don’t Save it All for Christmas Day.“Find a way to give a little love every day”, she sings in that unmistakable, wildly French-Canadian way that only Céline can. Now, whether or not you celebrate Christmas specifically doesn’t matter. I think we can all agree that December has become The Holidays™ and most of us are aware that this time of year brings a whole lot of hustle – and quite a bit of bustle.

I also think it’s interesting that we’ve collectively decided that once a year we’ll be extra kind, extra joyful, extra giving – “it’s that time of year” they say.

This is beautiful on many levels but, if I may be cheeky, it’s also bullshit on many levels. Why? Because we’re fully capable of this kindness, joy and generosity year round.  Think about it. The holidays have this magical way of softening us, making us smile more, give more, love more. It’s as if the world collectively agrees to be a better place. But here’s the catch – we’re capable of this all year round! Imagine a world where kindness isn’t seasonal, and joy isn’t reserved for holidays.

Understandably, our lives are pretty well controlled by the 9-5, Monday-Friday culture and a lot of people have to hold out for holiday weekends in order to bring the fun, but what if we prioritized the ideas of kindness, joy and giving as staples in our self care? All of these things make us feel good, so why concentrate it into a few weeks of the year?

I can’t help but wonder why we box up these feelings and actions like our holiday decor. Why not keep them out, dust them off, and use them throughout the year? Or at least til March (like all those stragglers who leave their lights up too long.)

Let’s bring the vibe of the holidays to our everdays. What if we gathered with our favorite people more often, not just when the calendar gives us a long weekend? What if we made kindness, joy, and giving part of our daily routine, not just a December thing?

So, here’s to making every day feel a touch more festive – to finding your daily dose of December, whether it’s through a random act of kindness, a spontaneous get-together with friends, or simply taking a moment to appreciate the beauty and magic around you. And if you need a lil’ boost from a happy little elf in a wellness wonderland, you know where to find me.