Blogmas Day 4: A festive self care routine
Christmas is well known as one of the most stressful times of the year, the workplace seems to get much more intense, the traffic is absolute madness, the weather just seems stressful with its' slippy roads, heavy rain, and it being so cold it's always mad dashes to and from where you need to be. And that's before the actual stresses of Christmas, the food shop, the gifts for everyone, the expense of everything, the kids being off school...
Sometimes Christmas can be so stressful that it can lose its magic, and the enjoyment of the season gets lost. I did write a post on little things I do to manage my time at Christmas a few years ago. That post can be found 'here'. This time I wanted to write a little post on getting into the Christmas spirit via a festive self care evening, which I think is an important thing to do. Obviously self care is an extremely important factor to incorporate into your life, more so during this time of the year where, like mentioned, it is a very stressful season, on top of the winter blues, SAD and lack of vitamin D. But I also think it's important to have a festive self care evening just so you can have some personal time to remind yourself that there is more to Christmas than the stresses of it.
So, on either an evening after work or a day off completely, here are my festive self care tips.
- Go to your local town to wander around the Christmas lights. Obviously time dependant. Going to see Christmas lights is a stress free, cute and cosy activity. You can wrap up warm, grab a coffee, and wander the streets of your local town. Plus getting some 'outside time' is good for your mental health, and gives you another environment other then the four walls of your house or the four walls of your work. It requires no concentration other than to just be in the moment whilst looking at something visually appealing. I'm sure I read once that that can release endorphins.
- Get home, light all the candles, crank the heating up, make sure it's super cosy and calm, perhaps pop a Christmas playlist on.
- Eat a proper hearty dinner, such as a stew, casserole, roast, chilli.. Ideally, slow cookers are amazing for these kind of dinners and perfect for coming home to after a long day. Hearty foods are the best this time of year. Nothing really beats a proper home cooked meal. It's easier to choose a takeout but they make you feel sluggish and fill your body with stuff that makes you feel "eh", and while I love junk food, we're focussing on self care today, so filling your body with soul food.
- Run a bath. Make it super bubbly, use a Christmas LUSH bomb, Christmas scented bath products, wash your hair, use a nourishing face mask. Winter air is so drying on the skin, bring it back to life.
- Cosy up instantly in the fluffiest, cosiest PJs and slippers.
- Make yourself a hot drink or a glass of wine, or definitely a Baileys (they're doing a vegan one now).
- Wrap yourself up in a blanket and pop on your favourite Christmas films, or read a book.
- Switch off, ignore your phone, forget about the to-do lists, the presents that need to be bought. Just indulge in the things you like Christmas to be. Enjoy a night focussed on yourself.
A little, festive, self care routine.
Shan x
Sometimes Christmas can be so stressful that it can lose its magic, and the enjoyment of the season gets lost. I did write a post on little things I do to manage my time at Christmas a few years ago. That post can be found 'here'. This time I wanted to write a little post on getting into the Christmas spirit via a festive self care evening, which I think is an important thing to do. Obviously self care is an extremely important factor to incorporate into your life, more so during this time of the year where, like mentioned, it is a very stressful season, on top of the winter blues, SAD and lack of vitamin D. But I also think it's important to have a festive self care evening just so you can have some personal time to remind yourself that there is more to Christmas than the stresses of it.
So, on either an evening after work or a day off completely, here are my festive self care tips.
- Go to your local town to wander around the Christmas lights. Obviously time dependant. Going to see Christmas lights is a stress free, cute and cosy activity. You can wrap up warm, grab a coffee, and wander the streets of your local town. Plus getting some 'outside time' is good for your mental health, and gives you another environment other then the four walls of your house or the four walls of your work. It requires no concentration other than to just be in the moment whilst looking at something visually appealing. I'm sure I read once that that can release endorphins.
- Get home, light all the candles, crank the heating up, make sure it's super cosy and calm, perhaps pop a Christmas playlist on.
- Eat a proper hearty dinner, such as a stew, casserole, roast, chilli.. Ideally, slow cookers are amazing for these kind of dinners and perfect for coming home to after a long day. Hearty foods are the best this time of year. Nothing really beats a proper home cooked meal. It's easier to choose a takeout but they make you feel sluggish and fill your body with stuff that makes you feel "eh", and while I love junk food, we're focussing on self care today, so filling your body with soul food.
- Run a bath. Make it super bubbly, use a Christmas LUSH bomb, Christmas scented bath products, wash your hair, use a nourishing face mask. Winter air is so drying on the skin, bring it back to life.
- Cosy up instantly in the fluffiest, cosiest PJs and slippers.
- Make yourself a hot drink or a glass of wine, or definitely a Baileys (they're doing a vegan one now).
- Wrap yourself up in a blanket and pop on your favourite Christmas films, or read a book.
- Switch off, ignore your phone, forget about the to-do lists, the presents that need to be bought. Just indulge in the things you like Christmas to be. Enjoy a night focussed on yourself.
A little, festive, self care routine.
Shan x
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