I love the holiday season! I can’t say it’s my favorite time of year because I don’t know if I can pick a favorite time of year, but it’s definitely one of my favorites! From the decorating to the blankets to the hot chocolate to the snowy days, I love it all. Minus the ice.
No matter how wonderful this time of the year is, you can’t deny that it gets extremely stressful. Shopping, family events, community events, friend events, and spending all of your money until you think your wallet may never recover. So in this blog, I want to cover five ways to help you relax during this holiday season so that you can enjoy it to its fullest.
Set Time for Yourself to Unwind
This is the first most important thing to prioritize – setting time for yourself and devoting time to self-care. During winter, it can be tough to find the time. Work hours often get crazier. Shopping and errands are no longer a quick task, but rather quite a lengthy one with all of the lines you have to stand in. Time seems to go by quickly during December. However, setting aside even 30 minutes to an hour every day for yourself can really help relieve stress. So make sure to plan for some time to relax and to let your brain unwind from the rush of the day.
There are so many ways to take care of yourself. You can cozy up with a book or a movie and grab a holiday beverage! I think mine is going to be peppermint hot chocolate this year, but I haven’t decided yet. Do you have a favorite holiday beverage?
Practice Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness can allow you to focus on the present and enjoy the holiday as it’s happening in front of you. Sometimes, while in the middle of a task, our brains are thinking about the next task. What’s next on our to-do list? What else needs to get done? By practicing mindfulness, we focus only on the task in front of us and only on the present moment. For example, if you’re decorating the inside of your house for the holidays, by practicing mindfulness, you’ll fully enjoy this task rather than worry about what to purchase for great aunt Elma.
If you’re interested in mindfulness, here are 5 mindfulness practices to help you get started.
Enjoy Holiday-Related Activities
This is a big one for me because I like to go all out during the holidays and completely immerse myself in it. Check for local events in your area to see what holiday festivities you can join. I know some communities have ice rinks, winter festivals, holiday parties, and more. You can enjoy time with family and friends and really feel a sense of community by participating in these events.
Events aren’t the only activities you can do. Take some time with your loved ones to sit and enjoy holiday movies. Grab some hot cocoa to-go and explore neighborhoods with amazing holiday lights! Bake a ton of holiday cookies with friends or family and pig out on them. Take the rest to work or donate them to others in need. Participating in holiday activities can be such a wonderful break from the stress of the holidays. So make sure to take advantage and feel all cozy in the holiday season.
Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude can really help during the holiday season and all the holiday stress. During this time, I’d even recommend having a gratitude journal that you write in every day or every other day. It can be easy to get caught up in what we don’t have that we forget to appreciate what we do have. Each morning or evening, take a few minutes to think about what you’re truly grateful for every day. By practicing gratitude, it can increase our positivity and enhance our mental well-being.
Learn more about practicing gratitude.
Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes
This is a big one and maybe the hardest one on this list. Even if you’re not a perfectionist, it can be difficult to accept mistakes that may be made during this season. We may forget a date or a grocery item, fall behind on some tasks, and other mistakes that can really get to us. During stressful times, it’s extremely easy to make mistakes, and yet, we berate ourselves and say we don’t have time to make mistakes.
While practicing kindness towards others this holiday season, make sure to practice kindness towards yourself. Cut yourself some slack when it comes to making mistakes. It’s such a busy time of the year and as humans, we’re going to slip up from time to time. Even if the holidays are crazy busy and we may feel like we don’t have time for anything, make sure to accept mistakes you’ve made and move past them.
So there are five ways that can help you de-stress during this crazy holiday season. It’s so easy to get caught up in all of the obligations and stress of the holidays that we can miss all the wonderful things that the holiday can bring us. I hope that these five simple ways to relax during the holiday season help you to enjoy every day to its fullest during one of the greatest times of the year. Let’s all try to get through this holiday season without too much damage to our mental health!
Do you have any special holiday traditions that you look forward to every year? Do you have any special self-care routine that you do during the holidays? I’d love to hear all about it!