Self-Care for the Holidays

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mostwonderfultime

We are at the beginning of (if you’re not one of those people who are already through with their Christmas shopping) the holiday season. While it is my favorite time of year, it can be stressful, and as the chief cook and present-buyer, a lot of that stress falls on me. I have a few things I’ve come to rely on that help me through the season. My love language is gifts, so permission to buy things for people I love with abandon is so much fun for me. However, I have learned through the years that a few things make my holidays even better.

pineneedles

Sugar Scrub

Last year a friend of mine gave me a jar of a Coconut-Lime Sugar Scrub for Christmas. I wasn’t using the “body scrub” because I kept forgetting to take it in the shower. Finally, another friend who had received the scrub mentioned that she kept it next to her sink for when she washed her hands. My hands dry up the minute the heat comes on, so this was life-changing for me. Scrubbing whenever I was washing my hands in my bathroom (so normally morning and night before bed) kept my hands from being dry at all last winter. It was seriously amazing. I didn’t get the recipe from her (sort of hoping I get another jar…) but here’s one I found on Pinterest that looks close.

Sugar Scrub

ornaments

Meal Planning

This is a biggie for me year-round, but I know lots of people think it takes too much time. During the holidays, it’s a must. I start with the calendar. There are so many commitments this time of year, it helps to see if there are nights you’ll be out at dinner time or if your prep time will be limited. Once I look at that, I plan the meals. I don’t use some fancy system, or nicely printed cards that I keep in a file box. I use a spiral notebook. On one page, I plan the meals for the nights in question. On the next, I start the grocery list, so as I’m looking at the recipes, I can just add anything I don’t have to the list. I’m still a cookbook user- the Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast series is the most used set of books I’ve ever had- and a Pinterest pinner. Pinterest can be hit or miss, but I’ve cooked for so long now that I can tell from the ingredients if it’s going to be good, most of the time. There are notable exceptions. I also use Blue Apron sometimes, which eliminates a couple of meals from the planning. My other caveat is ONLY PLAN FOR ONE WEEK AT A TIME. For a long time, I went to grocery store as rarely as possible. This meant I stockpiled food, just in case. I had no plan, so I would pick up pasta, frozen Tilapia, chicken, all kinds of beans and more produce than my refrigerator could hold. Then, I would be incredibly frustrated to find that I couldn’t really make anything without running back to the store for one more thing. Then I would pick up more “basics” until my pantry was overrun, and I still couldn’t make dinner. Buying for one week at a time, for just the number of meals you’re cooking at home, is so much easier. It’s also easier to leave an impulse purchase on the shelf knowing you can pick it up next week if you still want it.

gumdrops

Making Lists

Also a perennial favorite of mine, lists help me manage all of the things that I used to think I could track in my head. During the holidays, I keep lists of candy that I’m making, people I’m inviting to my brunch, menus, gift lists of course and shopping lists for things like scotch tape for wrapping so I don’t forget them when I’m out. I love notebooks, and I really love marking things off, so I do a lot of handwriting of lists. One thing I use my phone for is Evernote, a list app. When my kids (all in their 20s) send me a gift idea list, it usually comes in an email or a text. I copy those lists and put them in my Evernote. Then whenever I have my phone (always) I have their lists with me. Any notations I make on those lists are only visible to me, since I have a habit of leaving my notebooks lying around. Even if you don’t normally make lists, the holidays are hard to handle without them. Budget lists, while not fun, also really help with the stress of the holidays. Not sticking to them only causes more stress. It’s good to know what you’ve got and how much is left.

hotchocolate

Scheduling Break Times

I’m not the best at this, I’ll admit, but when I do it, it makes a huge difference. Putting yourself on your calendar helps you keep your break times sacred. Sometimes meeting a friend for a quick lunch or coffee (hot chocolate for me) while you’re out shopping is all the motivation you need to get a few more errands done and you get an energy boost, too.

poinsettia

And finally, the biggest change I’ve made in helping me enjoy the season,

Enjoy the Holiday Prep– it is the Holidays

A few years ago, I noticed that my attitude at Christmas was, “As soon as I finish all of these lists, I can enjoy Christmas.” When I finished one thing, I added something somewhere else. I never got to the end of the lists. Christmas morning was the first time I thought everything was done, and that was only because I couldn’t actually do anything else. I came to the realization that the prep is the holidays, especially for moms. That is the fun part, or the part you can make fun. Playing Christmas music in your car, having a mug of hot chocolate or a glass of wine while you do things at home, like wrap gifts, spread out decorating the house if it stresses you out (or do it all in one weekend if you can’t stand having the boxes sitting out), taking breaks for Christmas movies on TV, whatever it takes, enjoy your season. You don’t get a lot of these, so try and make it the best season for you, too.

33 thoughts on “Self-Care for the Holidays”

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