Baby it's cold outside, but it's warm fuzzies in here!

The holidays tend to bring on a flood of emotions: Joy, surprise, anticipation, gratitude, love, maybe a little stress from time to time... Spending time with loved ones, carefully selecting the perfect tree, bedazzling the home, swapping gifts, cooking and eating traditional feasts, and traveling can truly cause one to experience every emotion on Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions (see image below) simultaneously. I'd argue that no other season has this impact on so many people.

Robert Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions, 1980 (Notice its floral shape!)

Like the holidays, flowers have an emotional impact on people, and their effects are resoundingly positive. Some of the top emotional benefits associated with flowers (according to a 2006 behavioral research study by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D. of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School) are increased compassion towards others, diminished feelings of anxiety, stress and depression, and increased energy, happiness and enthusiasm. All particularly beneficial during the holidays!

Increased compassion for others

Reduced feelings of anxiety, stress and depression

Increased energy, happiness and enthusiasm

As it turns out, these favorable emotional shifts aren't only associated with receiving flowers - the flowers just have to be present in the home. So, they can be given as a present to a friend or a present to yourself - everybody wins! According to Etcoff, placing flowers in a high-traffic area (oh, let's say maybe the kitchen or living room this time of year) gives the most emotional bang for your floral buck. This makes sense really - higher exposure to flowers = elevated feelings of elation.

It's cold out there. You could light a fire or spike your eggnog to keep warm, but why not use flowers to make things warm and fuzzy?

Happy holidays from Lily and the Sun Valley Team!

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