#SmileStyle

This time of the year, it’s all about the holidays and entertaining!  It is the season for wonderfully planned events for family and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  The clock says to come together to celebrate life and love for one another.  It is said the best gifts are the ones that make people happy and don’t have to be wrapped.  I say the best gift is a smile.  A smile is the most potent gesture we can all easily give one another any time of the year, not just during the holidays. Who or what makes you smile? What is your #smilestyle?

I ask the question, what is your #smilestyle? We live in a world linked by social media, where we connect with photographs and smiles.  By now, with the popularity of selfies, many have mastered their smiles. According to scientist Andrew Newborn, the smile is the symbol that was rated with the highest positive emotional content.

Let’s investigate the science of smiling. You know I like exploring; the following two studies provide some exciting and thought-provoking facts on smiling:

In the famous yearbook study, they tracked the lives of women with the best smiles in yearbook photos compared to the rest. Women who smiled the most lived happier lives had more satisfied marriages and had fewer setbacks.

The baseball card study also found a clear correlation between how big a smile someone made on a baseball card photo and how long they would live—the people who smiled the most lived seven years longer than those who didn’t.

Why smile? You know the answer, but let’s see what we uncover. According to recent studies, smiling reduces stress in your body and mind, almost like getting good sleep. Smiling helps generate emotions within you. It takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.

That’s why we often feel happier around children—they smile more. On average, children smile 400 times a day, while happy people smile 40 – 50 times a day, and average people only smile 20 times a day.

Who makes me smile? My friends and loved ones. What makes me put on my #smilestyle? My favorite holiday tradition is creating the fresh fruit Colonial Williamsburg swag over our home’s front door. This is my DIY signature decoration to help usher in the atmosphere for my holiday entertaining.

Like the famous song about Christmas, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” whether you’re watching timeless classic holiday movies, singing Christmas carols, baking cookies, decorating your home or tree, or exchanging gifts while hosting your family and friends, use every opportunity to master your #smilestyle.