It’s the holiday season! Time to decorate the house, bake cookies for your neighbors, attend holiday recitals, welcome guests in from out of town, send Christmas cards, attend plenty holiday parties, drive around town to see the Christmas lights, buy gifts for teachers, your hairstylist, the post(wo)man, coworkers, friends, family, you name it, and stay up all night wrapping said gifts. Phew! What an exhausting time of year!
Ok, maybe it’s just me, but most Decembers I find myself spending the first 3 weeks of the month doing a gazillion things for other people, only to spend the last week of the year facing the reality of how I feel and my goals year ahead. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the holidays and get so much joy out of doing things for others, but it’s so easy to forget about my own wellness and self care during this time of year. When you really think about it, is there a better time of year to make yourself a priority?
December 1, the season of advent, and the countdown to the Christmas marks the perfect opportunity to make myself a priority! For the next 24 days, take a few minutes or opportunities each day to focus on yourself. 24 days of self care should look different for every person. While one person may find renewal through 24 days of meditation/prayer/or yoga, another might find personal revival through cleaning/organizing/and decorating.
Today, take a few minutes to think about how you want to feel at the end of December as you look towards 2018. Do you want to feel revived, focused, and ready for a brand new year or do you want to feel discouraged, overwhelmed, and exhausted. Ok, maybe that’s a stretch, but I know a lot of people reach that week between Christmas and New Years and often question their direction as they look towards the new year.
Whether you take some time today to choose 1 thing to do each day, like a traditional advent calendar, or just make the decision to prioritize your own needs each day, make yourself a priority these next 24 days!
Here are some ideas for 24 days of self care…
Bundle up, go for an evening walk, and soak up the holiday lights and atmosphere
Create a Brain Dump and get everything off of your mind!
Light a holiday candle
Put on your PJ’s and watch your favorite holiday movie (I could watch one every night)
Make yourself a smoothie packed with fruits and veggies to start the day
Unplug for an hour (or two)
Take a bubble bath
Make a holiday season bucket list
Hop in your car and drive around to see holiday lights
Sit down and write in your journal
Order your favorite holiday beverage at a coffee shop or bar
Get a ruby red pedicure
Take a morning or afternoon off work mid week to go shopping
Make yourself a cup of hot chocolate
Organize a closet and donate what you don’t want to keep
Bundle up and eat your lunch outside on a sunny day
Order in dinner
Buy yourself something to put under the tree this year
Create a vision board
Try out a new workout (like OrangeTheory)
Put on some holiday music and allow yourself to jam out!
Pray, meditate, or do yoga
Say “no” to someone
Snuggle up with a book or audio book
Treat yourself to a face mask you can use one evening
Go down the YouTube rabbit hole and watch videos from your favorite comedians
Buy yourself a new holiday sweater or dress (I bought this gorgeous red lace dress from Lane Bryant!)
Leave work at work
List out all of the wonderful things that happened this year that you can be grateful for
Go out for a hot bowl of soup (I’m partial to Pho)
Treat yourself to a massage
Begin thinking about 2018 and list out your dreams and goals
Buy yourself a wreath to put on your front door
Sleep in, even if that just means not getting up at 5AM
Be kind to yourself through all the December craziness
