So, some of us just celebrated Thanksgiving. Does everyone else need a moment to pause after that meal, or just me?
Christmas seems to come racing towards us now at a scary speed.
Do not get me wrong, I love the festivities, but I find myself in the annual slump around this time.
There are so many emotions, tensions, thoughts, and, God, present to balance at this time.
I have some suggestions:
You can say no
Take the time for yourself.
I swear whoever you asked to take a raincheck with will be fine.
If you take this time for yourself, you will be more rejuvenated to have other plans in the future.
Plus, the holidays are not solely meant to be running around doing things with the people you love.
You also love you, duh.
Family sh*t
Pardon my French, if you have a better way to describe it be my guest.
It can be exhausting, especially if it is age-old.
I think the best way to approach this common feature of families is to not approach it at all.
This is a hard one, I know, but ignore their antics for this brief time.
Let your anxiety lie low as a gift to yourself.
Keep consumerism in mind
We are no dummies. Christmas is capitalism with a red, shiny bow on it.
You have to get gifts, yes, but how much is enough.
Every year it feels like more and more is expected to meet the care-about-you-quota.
Your gift for under $20 will be just fine, and if it’s not, oh well, that was not the point of the gift anyways.
Keep doing things that make you feel good
We are not going to submit to that “my diet starts tomorrow” culture because we are better than that!
Eat and drink what you would like this holiday, I know I will.
One thing I ask is do not shame yourself for it, or anything for that matter.
So much pressure and emotion comes with the holidays which I think sometimes make us forget about our daily routines or practices that feel really good.
And if that is doing nothing at all, that’s good too.
Send some emails, take that walk, grab a coffee, you got this.
Consider others
I apologize for the confusion this tip may cause relating back to my earlier memento about ignoring the family drama but let me explain it in a way that illuminates my reasoning.
The holidays are so hard for so many people for reasons you and I may never know.
Even if it takes a minute, hug that relative extra hard, send that Christmas card to someone you haven’t talked to in a bit, and always, always put a couple of coins in the Salvation Army Santa’s bucket.
These are just some things that I have picked up on over the years and I still need to reassure myself of these reminders as I go on.
With all of this said, I hope you have the most wonderful holiday season.