Guide for Self-Care This Holiday Season
The holiday season is filled with the hustle and bustle and fun with family and friends. While being focused on all the planning, preparation, and caring for family, it can be easy to forget to care for ourselves. Especially if you’re someone who struggles with self-care, being diligent about taking care of yourself during the holiday season can be challenging. Because of the added stress, adequately taking care of yourself during the holidays is paramount to avoid post-holiday burnouts. Keeping up with your self-care routine will also help you to better enjoy the festivities and keep you more positively engaged with family and friends. Follow our guide for self-care during the holiday season to keep yourself energized and joyful through this most wonderful time of the year.
Prioritize Time for Self-Care
The first step for an effective feel-good self-care routine is to make your self-care a priority in your week or day. Start by setting aside a scheduled time each day or week to spend the time with yourself recharging your batteries and relaxing. It is important to regularly schedule a time to engage in self-care activities, especially for those who are super busy during the holidays.
Me Time
A simple yet effective way to self-care during the holidays is what is known as “me time.” Me time is time for yourself to do the activities you love and reconnect to yourself without the external distractions of chores, family, and work. Me time can be anything from a bubble bath to snuggling up in throw blankets with a cup of tea and your favorite book by the fire or going for a solo walk. Me time is a period where you put yourself first and do something you love to help relax and revitalize.
Relaxing Activities
Relaxing activities help to rejuvenate us for the festivities of the holiday season. Everyone has their relaxing activity of choice that will leave them feeling great. Put on your plush women’s robe and treat yourself to an at-home spa day. Light some candles and take a soothing bubble bath with calming music and essential oils. Add in a handful of Epsom salts to relax your body.
Sit back with a cup of tea or your favorite hot drink. Put your phone on airplane mode, pick up a good book, and cuddle up with yourself to relax and enjoy. Feel free to draw, journal, or simply listen to your favorite soothing tunes.
Taking walks in nature is another great way to unwind and relax. Bring along your furry best friend in his or her dog Christmas bandana for double the fun.
Deep Breathing, Meditation, and Gratitude Practice
Other great and scientifically backed ways to relax and restore this holiday season is with breathing practices, meditation, and gratitude practices. These ancient and time-tested practices have stuck along this long for a reason. Even just a few minutes of conscious breathing and mindfulness meditation practice can leave you feeling renewed, relaxed, and revitalized. Sit in a comfortable chair or on a throw pillow on the floor to tune into you and tune out of the world around you. Another great practice, which has been shown to help release all those happy hormones in your brain, is a simple gratitude practice. Every morning or evening take 5-10 minutes to sit quietly and list all the things in your life you are grateful for. What better way is there to ring in the holidays than by remembering all your blessings.
Exercise
Taking care of your health is another key way to take care of yourself this holiday season. With all the stress and engagements it may be hard to find the time, but luckily working out at home has never been easier. Slip on your women’s yoga pants and log on to your favorite online workout class to exercise from the comfort of your home. Otherwise, get outside and go for a walk, run, or hike to get the blood moving. Even just a 10-minute workout can blow off some steam and make a world of difference.
Eating Well
This may sound counterintuitive or downright impossible during the holiday season, but eating well is an important element of your holiday self-care routine. Not only does eating nourishing, healthy, and whole foods keep you energized, healthy, and immune booster, but keeping grounded in your regular eating habits can be a good way to stay centered during the holiday chaos. Keep healthy snacks on hand so you don’t feel the need to overeat Christmas cookies later. Don’t forget to stay hydrated and get enough quality sleep, too.
Between gift shopping and family time, it’s hard to imagine any time for self-care. But know that even just a little goes a long way and you’ll feel all the more relaxed, rejuvenated, and joyful for having committed to yourself, too.