5 Ways to Restore Peace This Holiday Season

5 Ways to Restore Peace This Holiday Season

The holidays often arrive with equal parts excitement and overwhelm. Between family dynamics, full schedules, sensory overload, and the internal pressure to “make it magical,” our nervous systems can become stretched thin before we even realize it.

But peace is not something that happens after the holidays—it’s something we can intentionally cultivate throughout the season.

Drawing from the three themes of my Restoring Peace Workshop Series—
🤍 P.E.A.C.E. Mindfulness Practice
🤍 Creating Energetic Boundaries
🤍 Self-Care + Reclaiming Joy
—here are five gentle, supportive ways to restore your peace this holiday season.

1. Practice P.E.A.C.E. in the Moment

Pause. Exhale. Acknowledge. Choose. Engage.

The holidays bring countless micro-moments that can activate stress—running late, receiving unsolicited advice, navigating overstimulation, or simply feeling rushed.

The P.E.A.C.E. practice creates a mindful reset:

  • Pause: Notice the moment you feel tension rise.

  • Exhale: Let your out-breath be long and slow, signaling safety to your nervous system.

  • Acknowledge: Name what you’re feeling without judgment.

  • Choose: Decide what you need—space, grounding, a boundary, or compassion.

  • Engage: Respond with intention rather than reactivity.

Even 10–20 seconds of P.E.A.C.E. can shift your physiology and your mindset, helping you stay rooted in calm.

2. Create Energetic Boundaries (Before You Need Them)

Not all boundaries are verbal. Some of the most powerful ones are internal, energetic, and invisible—but deeply felt.

Before attending a gathering or heading into a potentially draining moment, try:

  • Grounding through breath

  • Visualizing a soft energetic boundary around your body

  • Setting an internal intention (e.g., “I protect my peace,” “I choose calm,” or “I stay rooted in myself”)

  • Deciding ahead of time what you will or won’t take on—emotionally, energetically, or physically

Energetic boundaries help you stay connected while not absorbing what isn’t yours to carry.

3. Honor What’s Yours to Hold (and Release What Isn’t)

The holidays can stir up old stories, expectations, and “shoulds.”

To restore peace, gently ask yourself:

  • What’s actually mine to manage?

  • What pressure am I carrying that I can set down?

  • Where can I soften my own expectations?

Letting go doesn’t always mean detachment—it often means permission:

🤍Permission to not do it all
🤍 Permission to rest
🤍 Permission to change tradition
🤍Permission to say “no, thank you”
🤍 Permission to protect your emotional and energetic landscape

Peace returns when we stop carrying what was never ours in the first place.

4. Nourish Yourself with the 7 Types of Rest

Rest isn’t just sleep. During the holidays, your system may need many forms of replenishment:

  • Physical rest: restorative yoga, stretching, stillness

  • Sensory rest: dimming lights, quiet time, less screen exposure

  • Emotional rest: expressing your true feelings, journaling without judgment

  • Mental rest: single-tasking, unplugging, simplifying your to-do list

  • Social rest: choosing people who feel safe and supportive

  • Creative rest: beauty, art, music, inspiration

  • Spiritual rest: meditation, nature, meaning, ritual

Ask yourself which type of rest you’re most depleted in—and gift yourself even five minutes of nourishment.

5. Reclaim Joy Through Small, Simple Rituals

Joy is a form of radical self-care.

Amid the hustle, reconnect with what genuinely brings you delight—not what you think you should enjoy.

Try creating small rituals like:

  • Playing your favorite holiday song while making your morning coffee

  • Adding a grounding breath before every transition

  • Going on a quiet winter walk

  • Re-imagining traditions in a way that feels gentler

  • Choosing cozy over rushed

  • Bringing back a childhood memory that made you smile

  • Letting moments of joy be tiny, sacred, and enough

Joy doesn’t have to be grand. It just has to be yours.

A Gentle Reminder

Peace isn’t a destination—it’s a rhythm.

And you’re allowed to choose it again and again, especially during the holiday season.

If you’d love deeper support with your nervous system, self-care, or mindful boundaries, you can explore my Restorative Rest Sessions or Restorative Self-Care Coaching. It would be an honor to support your journey.

With Care,

Kinzie

Kinzie Eckstein