How to create meaningful gatherings this holiday season

The holiday season is upon us! It’s an exciting time. Lots of colour, time of giving and a time for connection! However, are you also slightly dreading the end of year family gatherings? Do you wonder how you will survive and conserve your patience while trying to connect with certain members of your family?

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This year has been a tough one for gatherings. But for the lucky few who are able to meet up with their family members this holiday season, there is still an underlying anxiety about how to handle the different personalities and attitudes.

Many of us spend a lot of time and effort into making our events perfect. From planning the menu to the seating arrangements, decorations…it’s a lot of work! The one thing we don’t give much thought to, however, is the type of connections and interactions we could encourage at the event. This is the part we often leave to chance.

It seems we maybe missing the mark on how to host successful family events. According to Priya Parker, “how we gather is how we live”. She believes we can do much better with our everyday events and gatherings. We are wired to connect as humans but when we get together with our family members, many people feel quite disconnected, isolated and forced to behave unlike their usual selves. How can we ensure that this year our family events will be more meaningful? How can we plan an event where everyone can walk away feeling well connected, understood and energised?

Below are a collection of tips to ensure your gatherings this year are full of meaning and positive connections, inspired by experts in the field. May the time spent with your loved ones be full of compassion and offer you much significance.