---
title: How to Coach Your Clients Through the Holidays and Into the New Year
description: How to coach your coaching clients through the holiday season.
---

[Coaching Blog](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog)

# [How to Coach Your Clients Through the Holidays and Into the New Year](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/bid/102642/How-to-Coach-Your-Clients-Through-the-Holidays-and-Into-the-New-Year)

 Written by [Julia Stewart](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/author/julia-stewart) | Nov 26, 2013 4:41:00 PM

*Written by [Julia Stewart](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coach-julia-stewart/)*

**The "Holiday Season" officially kicks off this week in the United States. **Hanukkah starts this Wednesday and American [Thanksgiving](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/bid/91660/Upgrade-Thanksgiving-With-a-Gratitude-Visit-from-Positive-Psychology) is on Thursday, followed by a variety of religious and spiritual holidays, including Bodhi Day, Muharram,  the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and Kwansaa; and it's all tied up with a bow (or bottle of champagne) on New Year's Day.

 

**By then, many of us are exhausted, broke, and carrying ten extra pounds.** It seems virtually every culture finishes the year with holidays and in this extra-small multi-cultural world we live in, we're all celebrating a lot of extra holidays, too.

**I think of my personal end-of-year holiday trio, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, as [Gratitude](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/bid/17661/Gratitude-Don-t-Miss-It) Day, Generosity Day, and Create the Future Day. **So I regard the holidays as:

1. Give thanks for what's gone before (past)
2. Plug into the spirit of generosity (present)
3. Decide how to create the new year (future)

**And that's how I celebrate.**

 

**But already my clients are bringing problems to their coaching sessions that are directly related to the holidays:** how to deal with difficult relatives, or co-workers, how not to blow the budget - or the waistline, how to deal with the extra-busy schedule - or travel, how not to give in to temptations, etc. All coaches, whether life, business or executive coaches, hear about holiday issues - and we have our own, as well!

 

**In my book, holiday "problems" are "good problems", a.k.a. luxury problems, first-world problems, the kind of problems you want to have.**Not being able to feed your children is the kind of problem you don't want. Fortunately, most of us are worry-free in that area.

 

**So first, congratulate your clients on their great problems.** That helps put it all in perspective.

 

**Then remind them that becoming their best selves means sacrificing good for great.** And everyone benefits when we're at our best (a.k.a.: Grump-free, Sarcasm-free, Tantrum-free).

 

**Transforming holiday problems into holiday blessings boils down to just two things:**

1. Choosing what really matters to you (a.k.a. your [Values](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/bid/93181/6-Ways-Life-Coaching-is-Like-Hostage-Negotiation))
2. Setting boundaries (that protect what matters from what doesn't)

**Help your clients identify what matters, according to what they most value, and from there, boundary-setting is pretty easy.**

 

**Here are a few ideas my clients have come up with, so far: **

 

- Do plan what you really do and don't want with key family members
- Do set a time limit for family get-togethers; they don't have to be marathons
- Do decorate only as much as you really want
- Do shorten or eliminate activities you do solely out of obligation
- Do schedule escape activities, so you have an excuse to leave parties you don't enjoy
- Don't serve alchohol if some guests can't handle it
- Do attend extra 12-step meetings, if they help
- Don't expect the whole family to get together, if they don't like each other
- Don't invite people who repeatedly behave badly - and skip the guilt, please
- Don't be afraid to stay home if you really enjoy it
- Do talk to your therapist, if you get depressed
- Do emphasize the aspects of holidays that are meaningful to you and respect others who focus on other aspects
- Do cut back on your gift list - or make a contribution to a worthy cause, in their names, if they'd value that
- If you really want to get into the holiday spirit, do volunteer some time, face-to-face, with others who are less fortunate

 

**The holidays are a wonderful opportunity to truly appreciate life.** Don't blow that opportunity by celebrating on auto-pilot. You get to choose your life and your holidays. Have fun!

**Here's a gift from us to you:** Thomas Leonard's 28 Principles of Attraction.

 

[View full post](https://www.schoolofcoachingmastery.com/coaching-blog/bid/102642/How-to-Coach-Your-Clients-Through-the-Holidays-and-Into-the-New-Year)

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