Flexible Thinking Forum

 

 

A new seasonal holiday – ‘Twixtmas’ (December 27th-31st) aims to change your world – with the power of five

A major effort to put a new name on the holiday calendar - ‘Twixtmas’ (December 27th -31st) - and transform the time between Christmas and New Year is underway  with five leading charities getting behind a campaign to encourage everyone to do at least five things to change their world. 

 

The five days of Twixtmas, campaigners argue, is an ideal opportunity for the estimated x million people in the UK who will be on holiday during the period to overcome time poverty and do something positive instead of scoffing, shopping and slothing in these credit crunch times.

 

Each of the five days of Twixtmas is themed to offer a way of making the most of each day where people are invited to celebrate themselves, do something unselfish by celebrating others, and do something for a friend, for the planet, or for their future.

 

Heading up the Twixtmas call are leading charities the Foundation for Peace, Global Action Plan, Jumble Aid, the National Autistic Society, and World Vision.

 

To spread the Twixtmas cheer people are being encouraged to give their friends and family a ‘Twixtmas High Five’ hand greeting and share their Twixtmas pledge - the five things they are doing to change their world, as well as spreading the word about Twixtmas and what it stands for.

 

The campaign is also providing a range of valuable tips and advice from leading experts in personal development and well-being to help everyone make the most of the opportunity of the Twixtmas period on the campaign web site www.twixtmas.com. Visitors can also download their own Twixtmas Pledge form.  

 

The Twixtmas campaign has been developed by the Flexible Thinking Forum, a not-for-profit organisation promoting flexible and creative thinking skills in business and the community, encouraging people to challenge set ways of thinking.

 

Commenting on the launch of Twixtmas, Andy Green of the Flexible Thinking Forum said: “Most of us live in abject poverty when it comes to a key part of modern day life – we are incredibly time poor. 

 

“The time between the Christmas and New Year holiday is a fantastic opportunity to take the Twixtmas Pledge and do at least five things to change our world for the better covering the spectrum of caring for people, peace, poverty, passing things on, or the planet. Who knows, Twixtmas could become as recognized as the other festive holidays.”

 

For further details about the Twixtmas campaign visit www.twixtmas.com

 

ENDS

Note to News Editors

 

For further details about Twixtmas please contact Thomas Atcheson or Kathy Burke of GREEN communications on 0845 450 3210

 

 

 

The 5 Days of Twixtmas

Below are the themes for the five days of Twixtmas, with five suggestions for each of the days.

 

Day 1  Do something selfish – celebrate you

 

1. Enjoy an indulgence

 

2. Have a good laugh

 

3. Do some exercise – physical, musical, literary, artistic or dance

 

4. Read a book

 

5. Eat something good

 

Day 2 - Do something unselfish – celebrate giving to others 

Do a random act of kindness

 

Let someone you care about speak to you uninterrupted for 5 minutes

 

Help a neighbour

 

Have a mini-Lent and give up something for the day

 

Give to charity

 

Day 3  Do something for a friend – celebrate someone else

Get in touch with someone you have not heard from for a while.

 

Think of things to say ‘thank you’ to your friends

 

Think about their ambitions/Help them with their ambition

 

Share an old photograph

 

Make a new friend today/smile at, or be a friend to a stranger in some way.

Day 4  Do something for the planet – celebrate the world

 

1. Support life: Plant something or save an insect

 

Be kind to an animal

Have a new plant in the home

Plant a tree: e.g. from here http://www.native-tree-shop.com/ 

Plant you Christmas tree (buy one with roots) 

Go and hug a tree 

Sponsor a tree somewhere: http://healthyplanet.org/default.aspx 

 

2. Pick up a piece of litter

 

Don’t create litter: reuse your plastic bags 

Have a look in your rubbish bin… how can you reduce your waste? Recycle? Composting? Buy things with less packaging? 

Give stuff you are not using to your charity shop or to JumbleAID 

 

3. Turn the heating down 

 

Turn off your appliances at the wall (don’t use standby) 

Unplug your mobile charger 

Do baked potatoes for dinner to warm up the kitchen… then have 5 friends over and tell them about Twixtmas 

 

4. Identify a habit to change to lessen your environmental impact

 

Eat less meat 

Use the car less 

Consume less: can you go one week without buying something non-essential? 

Sign up to http://www.dothegreenthing.com/about 

 

5 Support an environmental campaign

 

The one to join: http://onehundredmonths.org/  as well as www.globalactionpan.com

 

 

Day 5   Do something for your future – celebrate your tomorrows 

1. Write a list of 10 things you will do during 2009

 

2. Count your blessings and ask how you can share your blessings for the year ahead.

 

3. Ask a spiritual question: “Why am I here?”

 

4. Be more creative – aim to think flexibly and ask beautiful questions for every day of 2009.

 

Identify 3 action steps to make your goals for 2009 happen now.

 

Details of the 5 charities supporting Twixtmas

World Vision

World Vision is a Christian charity and one of the world’s leading international relief and development agencies, currently helping more than 100 million people in nearly 100 countries in their struggle against poverty, hunger and injustice, irrespective of their religious beliefs.

 

World Vision is dedicated to improving the quality of life of the world’s poorest people. By becoming a child sponsor, you’ll be joining us in our pledge to provide the food, clean water, education and healthcare they deserve. 

National Autistic Society 

The National Autistic Society protects the rights and interests of all people with autism and aim to provide individuals with autism and their families with help, support and services that they can access, trust and rely upon and which can make a positive difference to their lives. 

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. Without the right support, it can have a profound - sometimes devastating - effect on individuals and families.

Some people with autism are able to live independent lives but others may need a lifetime of specialist support.

Help the National Autistic Society today visit www.nas.org.uk

JumbleAID

Having a Twixtmas clean out of your possessions - or unwanted Christmas presents? Check out JumbleAID, the new environmentally smarter way to help the environment and support charities.

If you have any unwanted items that are too good to go to landfill, now you can use them to raise valuable funds for your chosen charity. JumbleAID lets individuals and businesses post unwanted stuff online and anyone can pledge a donation in return for an item. It’s FREE and easy to use, and it’s good for the environment too! And, not a penny of the donation goes to JumbleAID. Visit www.jumbleaid.co.uk now.

 

Global Action Plan

Global Action Plan was created in 1993 as a different kind of environmental organisation, focusing on people and how they can take practical action in their everyday lives for a better world. 

Global Action Plan delivers tangible environmental, social and financial improvements by working practically and creatively with hundreds of thousands of people from all sections of society.  In homes, the workplace, schools and the wider community we help to make the small changes that have a big impact on the things that matter. 

If you’re looking for help to cut your carbon footprint, tips on how to make more environmentally friendly choices or compelling and innovative ideas on how to communicate environmental messages you’ll find them here.

Visit Global Action Plan at www.globalactionplan.org.uk

 

Foundation for Peace

Working for a more peaceful 2009 is The Foundation for Peace. It aims to help create a better tomorrow by promoting the understanding, management and non violent resolution of conflict. Since its formation in 1995, it has worked to enhance relationships and promote respect for diversity. 

The Foundation is secular and takes no side in armed conflict. Instead, we help people of all races, faiths and nations to understand the causes, management and non-violent resolution of conflict. The Foundation’s sole purpose is to help inspire people to lead more peaceful lives by resolving their conflicts non-violently.

Based in a purpose-built £3million Peace Centre, the Foundation currently operates across the U.K.

The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace is a British based charity (charity no.1048990) created by the parents of 12 year old Tim Parry and supported by the parents of 3 year old Johnathan Ball. Both Tim and Johnathan were tragically killed as a direct result of the IRA’s 1993 bombing of Warrington (a town in the North West of England) as part of its political agenda to force Britain to withdraw from Northern Ireland