The holiday season is picking up fast and while there’s a lot to look forward to, living in the moment can be overwhelming and stressful.  For the times you are not ready to embrace the frantic work deadlines, freeway traffic or shopping lines, here are a few activities I enjoy to help keep the Grinch at bay.  

1. Getting Outside!  While the weather isn’t always optimal, breathing fresh air and seeing the Fall colors never hurts.
2. Drinking Some Tea!  Make yourself a cup of your favorite tea and enjoy the warmth in your hands that you cannot properly appreciate during the summer months.
3. Play Some Music!  And when I say play, I mean play it as loud as you can and scream the lyrics.  While your ears may not appreciate the beating, studies show that listening to music, especially when it’s loud, increases your dopamine levels and stimulates brain activity.

Take a few minutes out of every day to do the thing that helps you destress, whether that’s kickboxing or reading, make time to take care of yourself!

If you guys haven’t already heard, we’re taking a few hours out of our day on Friday to make some blankets that we will then donate to Project Linus for our Holiday Service Project. I thought I’d provide you all with some information on the initiative beforehand, as it’s a pretty awesome organization and we’re excited to be helping them out.

Project Linus began in 1995, when founder Karen Loucks decided to provide homemade security blankets to Denver's Rocky Mountain Children's Cancer Center after reading an article about a certain cancer-ridden child and how her security blanket had helped get her through chemotherapy. And thus, Project Linus was born. Based in Missouri, it continues to grow, and it now has chapters in all 50 states (with 24 in California alone!)

Essentially, these chapters collect new, handmade blankets and afghans for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need within hospitals, shelters, and social service agencies. As put by the organization: "Purchased blankets are nice, but handmade blankets are from the heart...We receive thousands of letters and thank you notes every year from children. Over and over they express how touched they are that a stranger would take the time to make something for them. They really know the difference." Since its launch in 1995, they’ve successfully collected and donated over 6.6 million blankets!

The chapter that we’re donating to specifically provides blankets to kids in Head Start, The Giving Tree, and Toys for Tots.

We’re excited to be partnering with Project Linus and are pumped to make allllll the blankies on Friday!