I don’t know about you but right around mid-December is when I start feeling both the excitement and the anxiety of the holiday season! It’s all mixed together. Projects need to be wrapped up for the year. Kids are about to get out of school. Gifts need to be bought. Holiday parties are still in full swing. Final travel arrangements need to be made. Menu planning needs to commence.
A lot of it is fun but there’s not much space or time for rest. In the midst of all of the frazzle and festivity, I invite you to consider some simple and smart self care strategies that you can employ to help make the remaining part of the season fun and easy.
Self-Care Strategies regarding your business (or career)…
Wrap up as many projects as you can before your holiday break. You’ll feel better knowing that you put some big items to bed.
Clean off your desk (Note to self!) before you turn off the lights at the end of 2016. Returning to a blank slate will be so much more inviting!
Create an inspiring To Do list for the new year. Make a list of the fun new projects on your plate and sketch out your goals and dreams for 2017…AND/OR….
Create a Vision Board to help get in touch with your desires. Imagery is powerful and speaks to us in ways that words can’t. Spend some time creating a visual representation of what you want to manifest in 2017. It can be a fun activity to do with kids over the holidays, too… speaking of kids…
Self-Care Strategies regarding your kids…
Have a family meeting and set expectations–make some plans so you all have something to look forward to. For the little ones, explain that you won’t be entertaining your kiddos every minute of every day they are home on break. For the bigger ones, explain that some family time is expected and to please not disappear into your phone/computer/TV for two weeks!
It’s OK to put your kids in a holiday camp for a few days OR send them to a friend’s house (and reciprocate, of course!). Winter break can be really long and kids need lots of play time. If you need to work some of the time they are home from school, chances are good, they’ll enjoy a few days of camp!
More screen time than normal is OK. Really. You are not a bad mom or dad if you let them overdose a bit.
Ask your relatives to watch your kids so you and your partner can have a date night or even a mini-getaway. (Wanna see where we’re sneaking away to for a few nights before Christmas?)
Self-Care Strategies regarding your family & friends…
Agree to either not exchange adult gifts or just pick a name–makes life so much simpler! This year, for the first time, we are not exchanging presents with Eric’s aunt and uncle. Instead, they are coming to visit us in January and we agreed to buy tickets to a show and go out to a nice dinner. We’ll spend our money on an experience that we’ll have together which is much more rewarding than any “stuff” we could exchange.
If you do agree to exchange gifts, consider a “consumables” gift exchange like my friend Sara did a few years ago with her family. Every gift had to be used up one way or another – think movie tickets, sporting event tickets, food to be eaten, art supplies to be used up, etc.
If you are hosting a big gathering at your home, ask for help! You don’t have to do it all alone.
Make it fun! My mother-in-law is the best for engaging our family in games. We do minute-to-win-it style games every Christmas when we are all together. Super fun and easy.
You don’t have to say YES to every invitation you receive. When we were first married, Eric and I went to 8 holiday functions our first December together. After that, my poor introverted husband was exhausted and looked at me and said “Never AGAIN!” In subsequent years, he has agreed to go to one holiday function on a weekend with me and if I want to attend a second, I need to find a friend or go on my own! A good compromise for us–and excellent self-care on his part!
Self-Care Strategies regarding YOU!
Exercise! Get outside as much as possible. Exercising will help you feel better about saying “yes” to that second helping of chocolate mousse or spiked eggnog!
Make healthy food choices for two meals/day. If you know that you’re going to a holiday party, make sure your breakfast and lunch are normal healthy meals. Then it’s OK if you splurge at the gathering.
Sleep. Sleep often gets neglected over the holidays because of parties and kids being excited. But sleep is so critical for maintaining the necessary energy to get through the busy time at the holidays! Make it a priority!
Pick a great novel and start it over the holiday break. It’s a great excuse to get some quiet time away from your noisy family for a bit of rest! I recommended a few in my holiday gift guide.
Also, if you have to work, make sure to build in some down time in the evenings or on weekends. A lot of people don’t get a full week or two off at the end of the year.
Carve out time for you–tell your partner and/or kids and/or relatives what you plan to do. Maybe get a massage, go to a movie alone or have dinner with some friends. If you’re the one usually looking out for everyone else over the holidays, make sure you build in some time to look out for yourself!!!
Here’s to surviving… and thriving… during the holidays!
Elizabeth