Martha Says the Holidays Aren't a Time to Be Zen—'Live It Up a Little'

From buying gifts, hosting cookie exchanges, and attending festive dinners—most of us are booked and busy during the holiday season. But, according to Martha, the hustle and bustle is what this time of year is all about.

Recently, our founder was asked to share her "no-fail tips" for remaining zen throughout the holidays, to which she replied, "You cannot stay zen at the holidays."

She continued, "If you're zen, you're boring. Live it up a little bit. Do some new things. Do four Christmas trees instead of one." Enews shared the clip of Martha on Instagram with the caption: "The queen of #Holiday hosting has spoken 👏 #MarthaStewart."

Our founder has always been vocal about how important it is to stay busy—even during the holidays. From hosting Thanksgiving dinner to Christmas brunch at her Bedford, N.Y. home, you'll never find Martha's calendar blank during the holiday season.

Brunch is one of her favorite ways to host during the holidays because it's more inclusive to guests who have plans with family later in the day. One Christmas, she hosted a 200-person brunch where she served ham, oysters, cookies, and her famous eggnog. "I feel like those are two things I always want to have: oysters and ham. I know they're splurges—but people always remember how many oysters they ate," she said in the December 2011 Martha Stewart Living issue.

Beyond hosting, Martha also makes time to decorate her 153-acre property, putting one to three trees in every room of her home, which she decorates with vintage and not-so-vintage ornaments she has collected over the years.

"My windows and doorways are always garlanded, and wreathed indoors and out," she said in the December 2016 issue of Martha Stewart Living. One year, she purchased more than 40 evergreen wreaths for the windows of her house and the eaves of the outbuildings and affixed shooting stars to the roofs and sides of the buildings.

Martha's love for Christmas stems from the years she spent celebrating the holiday with her five siblings and parents. The family spent the holidays decorating, cooking, and making homemade gifts in their Nutley, New Jersey home.