Low Stressed Celebrations!

May is the season of celebrations, especially graduations. It's a time when everyone come together to celebrate the achievements of our loved ones. The milestones they have accomplished. It's a time to show our love and care towards them and to participate in their journey.

However, the celebration is not natural for everyone. For some, it can be anxiety-inducing to think about how you would celebrate those you love and what they have accomplished. They worry about having to control every aspect of the celebration. Otherwise, they will feel out of control. They are anxious about all the different family dynamics that will show up in their gatherings. They feel they have to manage other people’s expectations and emotions. What if there were no more flowers, parking spots, or cake? Celebrations can be overwhelming for some people, and it can cause a lot of stress.

But the celebration doesn’t have to be so stressful. It can be simple and meaning. Celebrating is about participating in someone’s victory, and making sure your loved one feel loved.

Using Gary Chapman’s “The Five Love Languages”, here are some ways you can celebrate someone. These tips are meant to be simple, easy to achieve, and hopefully reduce a lot of stress.

• Words of affirmation

  • Writing a heartfelt note

  • Tell them how proud we are of their achievements and how inspired you were about what they have accomplished.

  • Saying how much they mean to us

• Acts of service

  • Cook them a meal, or just a dish. Have other family members contribute.

  • Offer to drive them to the graduation or run errands for them on that day.

  • Ask them what tasks they need help to complete, and help them.

• Receiving gifts

  • Give a gift that you have heard your loved one mention.

  • Personalizing a gift with their name or photo or your writing.

  • Creating a DIY gift such as a homemade cards

• Quality time

  • Flip through photos of their journey and have them talk about it.

  • invite them out on a meal or go on walks with them, and ask them about their journey and story.

  • Invite them to do something they enjoy to celebrate their achievement, such as movie night, mini golf, or go to the beach.

• Physical touch

  • Giving them a hug

  • High fives.

  • Patting them on the back

Celebration is about the people you love and what they have accomplished. it is about acknowledging and recognizing their milestones. It is more important to give them time to be with the people they love and share their stories. It is about remembering them and honoring them.

Celebration is not about you. It isn’t about you feeling that you have adequately celebrated others. It is about the person you are celebrating feeling celebrated. It is not about you. It is about them.

So in this season of celebration, celebrate the people around you and what they have accomplished!

If you accomplished something amazing, invite others to celebrate with you, and that’s a whole other blog post!