Feng Shui For Thanksgiving and the Holidays

Greetings:

Starting this week we are offically into the Holiday season. I know some people start with Halloween, but lets just say we are in full swing at this point. My friend and feng shui go to gal Kathryn Weber shared some valuable tips in her recent e-zine about how to feng shui the holidays.

Holiday Feng Shui -- Make Your Holidays More Auspicious

Well, it's that time of year: Thanksgiving. In America, we celebrate all our blessings and bounty with a holiday that features food and family. For some families, this is only the first, or maybe, second time they have eaten in the dining room this year. Regardless of whether you dine in there regularly or not -- or whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not -- there are some simple feng shui rules about the dining room that you will want to observe anytime.


DO display your china and crystal. The dining room is a place of wealth, and for that reason, it is always auspicious to display your family crystal, china, or silver. Consider adding mirrors to the back of a china cabinet to "double" the amount of crystal and china you have.

DO have bright, beautiful lighting. A beautiful chandelier is a wonderful addition to the dining room. If yours isn't bright enough or attractive to you, replace it with another fixture. Lighting is very auspicious.

DO hang mirrors here. Mirrors are stimulating and they double the good times by doubling the food and company in the room.

DON'T have clocks in the dining room. Clocks in the dining room bring bad energy. Remember, the passage of time is not important while you are enjoying a meal and the company of those closest to you. Take clocks out of the dining room.

DON'T eat with the dead. So many people have pictures of deceased relatives in the dining room. Avoid doing this because it creates an extremely yin dining experience -- and that can create health problems.

DON'T eat with animals. It is better not to have animals in the dining room, real or otherwise. If you have pictures of birds or statues of animals -- or even your dog, Spot -- take them out of there. Animals symbollically eat your food. Better to put them in another location.

Feng Shui for the Holidays -- and the Winter
This year the holidays will be right in the middle of a Mercury Retrograde, which can create all kinds of travel delays, snafus with mailing packages, and greeting cards getting lost. The Retrograde begins November 30th and goes until December 20th. For this reason, do consider planning and shopping early for gifts.

Be prepared this holiday season by getting your gift list together early, shopping early, and preparing the house so that when the holidays roll around, you'll be all set -- and AHEAD of schedule! Won't THAT feel nice?

Prepare the house for the holidays
The holidays are coming and they're bringing winter with them. This year, be ready for winter by doing a thorough FALL cleaning. Remember, you are going to be shut up with all the dust that has accumulated all during the year. You don't want that do you? Dust is very yin and it creates a negative environment. Cleaning the house makes it brighter, lighter, and more energetic -- just perfect for holiday gatherings and enjoying being indoors.

Here are more ideas for preparing the house for the holidays:

Have the carpets and upholstery cleaned. Steam clean upholstery and carpets (don't use carpet cleaners that use soaps...these only make your carpet and furniture get dirty FASTER). Don't forget: a clean house is a lucky house!

Take bedspreads and comforters to the dry cleaner. This is usually inexpensive to do and would be nice to have fresh bedding for the winter.

Vacuum blinds and lampshades. Make sure all these dust-catchers are clean.

De-clutter and donate unwanted, unused items to charity. Before all the holiday bounty comes through the doors, try to take some things OUT of the house first.

Clean out the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. Have popsicles from the summer still in the freezer? Pitch them. Make a clean pantry, fridge, and freezer your goal. It will help when it comes to adding room for storing all the extra food for the holidays and entertaining.

Get rid of unused decorations. Tired of hauling that set of lights that don't work in and out of the attic? This year resolve to pitch the decorations you no longer use.


Happy Thanksgiving!

©Kathryn Weber

Related articles and information
Is Your House a Downer -- How to Improve a Yin House

Start Fresh with Feng Shui -- Removing the Blocks to Successful Living

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©Kathryn Weber. Kathryn Weber is the author of the ebook Applied Feng Shui and the publisher of the Red Lotus Letter Feng Shui E-zine with tips and information for abundant living. For more information or to subscribe to her popular Red Lotus Letter feng shui e-zine, log on to www.redlotusletter.com and get her FRÉE Special Report, 16 Feng Shui Tips for Greater Prosperity.