The holiday season is about to kick into high gear. Before the candy is flying, the turkey is roasting, and the wrapping paper rolls are bouncing down the hall, take some you time.
It is important to keep your mental health a top priority during stressful (and fun) times. The holidays are a notoriously intense few months. Sure, the next three and a half months will be remembered for the perfectly procured costumes, the fabulous dinner spreads, and all the stunning surprise presents. It will also be remembered for the chill you exude when you walk into a room because you took care of you. The holidays demand a lot of your energy, so take care of you first.
Here are 10 ideas to help you keep your chill this holiday season.
Go to the library. Even if you don’t check out a book, the quiet, clean, and organized space is a great place to scroll your phone for 20 minutes in peace.
If you can, make lists so you don’t have to remember all the details of every get-together in your head. Just getting the details out of your head creates metal space for deep breathing, or car dancing at stop lights.
Get ready ahead of time. Once all the details are in a memo app, it’s easier to do one thing a day. That a-thing-a-day plan is easier than five hours of Holiday cramming the night before.
Remember it is okay to say no. You don’t have to go to all the parties. Neither does your significant other, nor do your friends, nor your kids. That’s okay. FOMO is 100% overrated.
Equally, small acts of love are underrated. Next time you put lotion on, give yourself a hand massage. Take five minutes to really take care of your fingers and thumbs.
Drink enough water. If you are just starting on the water train, get a 1 liter bottle (doesn’t have to be fancy – I’m talking Aquafina from the gas station) and drink it. Refill it with tap water and go again. Do this every day. You will feel better in 24 hours. Promise.
Remove one step from your morning/nightime routine. Maybe you have a separate moisturizer and sunscreen. Get a combo sunscreen+moisturizer. Or go all out and get one of those anti-aging+moisturizer+sunscreen+primer+tint all-in-one creams. That is streamlining in a bottle.
Tell all the people you want to buy presents for to make a wish list. It takes the guess work out of gift shopping. If they balk, remind them that you want to get them something they love and that a list would help make your holiday easier.
Call your elders. I know this can feel like work 😅 but once you are on the phone, it becomes fun, and when you get off the phone you both feel 10x better than when you started. Plus, this is maybe the number one way to make someone else’s day and doesn’t that always feel good?
Take a sun bath. A sun bath is a 10 to 15 minute long activity. You sit in the sun and do nothing for 10 to 15 minutes. Put on your sunscreen and get out there. You can walk around if you want to, or just sit, take off your shoes and socks, or do some yoga if you are feeling really adventurous. The point is to absorb the sunshine vitamins and just be.
Being is enough. You are enough.
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