Happy December!

Whether you love them or you hate them, the holidays can be a tough period of the year to navigate. Personally, I get super excited for all things Christmas, but the reality of the challenges of the season sometimes make me a little bit of a Grinch (which, by the way, is my favorite Christmas movie! Followed closely by It’s A Wonderful Life, of course)

This is also a time of year when the body naturally wants to hibernate and restore. It gets dark at 4:30, the weather is cold, we are getting less natural Vitamin D. But we also are pulled in many directions- holiday parties, family gatherings, gift shopping, tree lightings, children’s concerts and parades. 

The holidays are also considered the season of giving, and giving is a marvelous thing. However, if you find yourself constantly giving and constantly on the go, without taking them for self- care, it’s easy to end up exhausted and drained instead of cheery and festive. You know the old saying “Fill your own cup first”?

I am certainly no expert, but as someone who has struggled with holidays in the past, I have included some of my own tried and true ways of making it through all things holiday season.  Let me know if you have tried any of these, or what your tips for survival this time of year are!?

Set boundaries

    It is 100% okay to say no to things during this season. Would you rather stay in and drink tea than go to the company party? Do it! Don’t want to participate in another Secret Santa?  Say so. Don’t feel like driving 6 hours to see the extended family? Stay home! 

    Of course we want to spend time with family and friends, but it is also okay to stay home alone or with your significant other or children. My little brother always stays in North Carolina for Christmas Eve and morning. He wants his boys to wake up in their own home that day. Do I wish sometimes they would come visit Ocean City for Christmas? Of course! Do I completely respect him staying in North Carolina. Definitely. I love them all the more for setting up their own tradition and staying true to it.  There are 364 other days of the year to see each other. 

Make time for movement

    Not movement like running to the mall to buy more gifts- but movement for your body! Even if it is 10 minutes of stretching on your yoga mat, give yourself opportunity to get stay touch with your own physical self. Carve out time for your regular yoga class, or wake up a little earlier to make time for a walk or a run before starting your day. You’ll feel 100 times better if you do. 

Give yourself permission to indulge

    Want a holiday cookie? Eat one! A sliver of pie? Yum! A glass of eggnog? Yuck! (Just kidding- if you love eggnog, have a glass!!)  You only live once, after all, so why deprive yourself of something you enjoy.

But don't OVERindulge

    When possible, remember to eat some healthy food too! Have fruits and veggies on hand at home to balance out the holiday party goods. Be mindful of alcohol too- while 1-2 drinks can be festive, too many can lead to holiday hangovers and depression and anxiety. All things we want to avoid regularly, but especially this time of year. 

 Let go of expectations

    For me, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the “perfect” holiday. How many movies do we watch where everything ends up perfect? But life isn’t a movie, and frequently things don’t go as planned. The turkey gets burnt, the flight gets delayed, someone has a cold, your husband is late. Learn to expect the unexpected, so that it is easier to roll with it when it happens. 

 Breathe!

    A longer exhale and a deeper breath activate your parasympathetic nervous system. When we are caught up in the holiday rush, our sympathetic nervous system takes over. This fight or flight response is a necessary nervous system function for survival, but when it is constantly triggered it can lead to chronic stress and disease. Learning to turn on our “rest and digest” nervous system to calm ourselves down can help prevent long term disease associated with stress. Take a few minutes to sit and breathe deeply each day!

 Start your morning with 5 minutes of meditation

    Let me tell you- I can lost my temper and react with the best of them, and I know for a fact my husband will attest to that!! Meditation helps to activate our cerebral cortex, the part of our brain that helps us create space between stimulus and response and make informed decisions. When we react and respond quickly, it is our limbic system, or mammalian brain, that is taking over. Again- this serves an evolutionary survival purpose- but losing your temper with your mother-in-law isn’t going to make your season bright! Taking a few moments to simply sit and observe your physical, mental, and emotional state can help us learn to pause before losing our temper. 

Treat yourself

    It also can be nice to treat yourself to a little R&R or pampering this month. Schedule a massage, or take a restorative yoga class or sound healing. Give yourself permission to be taken care of- especially if you are the one normally doing most of the taking care of. And see if you can do it guilt free. Trust me- the gift wrapping and pie baking can wait an hour! 

I hope these help, and I would love to hear what you do to get through this season! 

Happiest of holidays!