{"id":3470,"date":"2025-12-22T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T07:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/?p=3470"},"modified":"2025-12-22T09:31:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T08:31:45","slug":"tien-tips-voor-een-gezellig-kerstdiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/tien-tips-voor-een-gezellig-kerstdiner\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Ten tips for a fun Christmas dinner<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Here we go again. The Christmas dinner is on the horizon, but how do we keep it really fun?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Odd, isn\u2019t it? Christmas, a time of peace, but we can still argue at the dinner table \u2013 before, during and after. But things can be different, and you can help to make this difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You already start walking on eggshells during the preparation. After all, you start thinking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u2018he\/she is always difficult\u2019<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2018I have known him\/her my whole life\u2019<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2018that\u2019s just how they\/we are\u2019<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2018always the same tune during the family dinner\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These mindsets, which you cling to and can last for years, come from somewhere. They are ego roles and family roles that you have known in yourself and each other for a very long time. And sometimes they have been reinforced over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it is precisely <strong><em>these familiar old mind-sets<\/em><\/strong> that ensure that we are more likely to start a war than cultivate peace at the Christmas dinner table. Sometimes simply in <em>in our thoughts<\/em> <em>about each other<\/em>but sometimes also in <em>words and gestures.<\/em>. A <em>self-fulfilling prophecy<\/em> to which you contribute by continuing to think in that way. Pity, because things can be done differently. And you play the leading role in this. Contributing to peace on earth, right where you are. Take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A peaceful Christmas dinner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Look at your <em>own mindsets<\/em> and simply ask yourself the question: \u2018Is that so?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like: \u2018I have known him\/her my entire life.\u2019 Is that so? No, of course not, because you don\u2019t see them <em>every single second.<\/em> You simply don\u2019t know what someone else says, does or shares in another way, without your involvement. You have always only seen <em>a part<\/em> of your father, mother, brother, sister or child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, experiences in families quickly lead us to stick ego labels on each other, such as them always being difficult, egoistic, antisocial, cynical, insolent, rude, etc. And there were undoubtedly reasons for this. But do you want to stay in the same place? A place of conflict? And can you <em>see and approach the other part<\/em> of your family?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let go of that place for a while at Christmas. Try approaching your brother, sister, father, mother or child from a new place with a fresh, new mindset and try the following 10 tips below. And don\u2019t make any prejudgements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10 TIPS FOR A PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS DINNER<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol style=\"list-style-type:1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Let go of all your impressions, feelings and past memories about the other person.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Temporarily forgive everything that the other person has ever done to you and do the right thing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Approach others neutrally and without prejudice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Break the ice and use some (not sarcastic or cynical) humour.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ignore any judgement you have about them for the evening.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you don\u2019t like what someone says, try to look beyond your own judgement to find out why someone says something. Out of curiosity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not enter into verbal conflict, but \u2018agree to disagree.\u2019<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask how things are really going with your mother, father, brother, sister or child out of genuine curiosity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Say something positive about the other person.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enjoy what is good together.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Try these tips and I predict that you will feel much happier during the Christmas season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Give yourself or the other person a Christmas present<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Would you like to learn other ways, big or small, to contribute to a better world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At home or at work? Take a look at this Christmas present \u2013 the book \u2018Personally Inspiring Leadership.\u2019 For more effective work, a meaningful life and a better world. View or order a copy here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Spirited-Personal-Leadership-effective-meaningful\/dp\/9090368027\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1T35YC0885VAQ&amp;keywords=spirited+personal+leadership&amp;qid=1689054493&amp;sprefix=spirited+personal+leadershipaps225&amp;sr=8-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Spirited-Personal-Leadership-effective-meaningful\/dp\/9090368027\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1T35YC0885VAQ&amp;keywords=spirited+personal+leadership&amp;qid=1689054493&amp;sprefix=spirited+personal+leadershipaps225&amp;sr=8-1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wish you a truly Merry Christmas! Martin<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a92025: Martin Thoolen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>#spirit #synchroniciteit #synchronicity #persoonlijkinspirerendleiderschap #persoonlijkleiderschap #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #personalleadership #leiderschap #spiritueelleiderschap #spiritedleadership #executivecoaching #leiderschap #leiderschapsontwikkeling #teamcoaching #collectiefleiderschap #professionalcoaching #coaching #businesscoaching#psychologyofselves #voicedialogue #egozielspirit #egosoulspirit #vrede #peace #awarenessatwork #martinthoolen<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ja hoor, daar gaan we weer. Op naar het kerstdiner, maar hoe houden we het echt gezellig? Bijzonder eigenlijk, h\u00e8? Kersttijd: Een tijd van vrede en toch hebben we soms mot aan tafel: vooraf, tijdens en achteraf. Maar het kan anders, en jij kan hierin een rol spelen! Je begint in de voorbereiding al op [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,9,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws","category-artikel","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3470"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4798,"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470\/revisions\/4798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martinthoolen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}