Feng Shui Decorating for Christmas

Feng Shui plays an important role in creating a harmonious environment for the holiday season. This ancient art can help you enhance the positive energy in your home as you enjoy the excitement of seeing friends and family. It can also help you balance holiday stress from days of shopping and the exhaustion from late-night parties. Fortunately, there are many things you can do so your home will provide a refuge from the hectic pace of the holiday season.

Traditional Feng Shui as practiced by the Chinese for thousands of years is much different than the simplified version in many popular books. It is based upon calculations that determine the best placement for furniture and water elements such as fountains. These formulas are also used to select the best place to locate your Christmas tree.

De-Clutter

This is one of the most basic and effective ways to improve your home before you begin your holiday decorating. Take a good look at each room in your home, and remove anything that would be considered clutter. If you use it or love it, keep it, but if you don’t, then give it away to someone who needs it. This will make room to showcase your Christmas decorations. If you can’t make a decision about some of your treasures, place them in a box and pack them away until after Christmas when you have a clearer mind and more time to think.

Decorations

When you have removed the things you really don’t like you can start decorating for the holidays. Choose your favourite decorations and place them in your rooms first. Less is more… enjoy a few of the most attractive or sentimental decorations rather than all of them. Often people decorate with things they don’t like because those are the ones they have used year after year. Treat your family to some new decorations every year for an updated look. Let everyone choose something that represents his or her own personality such as a special tree ornament, and label it with the year it was chosen. This will enable your decorations to represent the energy of your family members. It will be interesting as the years go by to see the changes.

Colour Scheme

The first colours that come to mind for Christmas decorating are bright reds and greens. In every home there are some areas that should not be activated by red or "fire" colours. These specific areas are determined by a Feng Shui professional and are different for each home. They are calculated from the year the home was built and the direction it faces. Often too much red can trigger negative energy in these locations, so it is best to balance bright colours with more calming colours such as pale blues, cream, winter white, and gold.

When friends and family come to visit their first impression is your front door. Make it cheery with lights and a wreath or other decorations, but don’t overdo it. The entrance to your home should be free of clutter, with a welcoming aroma from potpourri or a scented candle. Balance red colours with more calming ones such as blues and pale colours, along with gold and silver accents. Play music because favourite holiday tunes will calm frayed nerves and create a festive feeling. The entrance to your home is the where many significant first meetings take place, so it is important to create a welcoming ambiance.

Your tree should be the right size for to your room. If it is too large it could make you feel overwhelmed. Personal preferences determine whether a natural or artificial tree is better for your home. This year the best location for your tree is in the South West sector of your room. This is a good area to use fire elements, such as red decorations, red apples etc and lots of lights.

If your tree must be located in the North East sector, be very cautious about adding red elements. Round white and gold balls are much better, and do not have any pointed decoration at the top of the tree. Turn the lights off if you are not in the room.

Balance the prickly points of the evergreen tips by adding soft fabric bows and garland on the tree.

Holiday Entertaining

Round or oval tables are preferred because they keep the conversation moving and the energy flowing. If your table is rectangular be sure none of your guests sit too close to the edges. Holiday meals and snacks are laden with sugar, so balance the Christmas meal with selections of fresh vegetables and fruit. Too much sugar can deplete your energy, so have healthy choices readily available.

Drink lots of water, take your vitamins, and get enough sleep over the holidays so you can enjoy all the festivities.

Christmas is the time to surround yourself with the people and the things you love, and by keeping yourself and your environment balanced and harmonious, you will enjoy the excitement of this magical time of the year.

Dianne is the founder of The Feng Shui Way, and has been conducting Traditional Residential and Commercial Feng Shui consultations since 1999.

URL: www.thefengshuiway.ca
Tel: 905.631.8818
Email: diannefengshui@cogeco.ca