November through December can be a joyful, happy, and beautiful time! Self care is important year round, but especially during the holiday season.
Who wouldn’t be happy with a flocked kitty booty climbing into a Christmas tree?🎄
It can also be stressful, crazy, and overwhelming. When your time is packed, you feel like you can’t take a breath, money is flowing out of your wallet, and you can’t even remember what day it is…that is a sign you need to take a step back and pause for a moment and practice self care…
Want some more self care tips? Check out my young adult and college self care guide here.
When you feel the weight of the holidays coming down on you, it’s important to remember that you can’t enjoy the time with your people if you aren’t taking care of yourself, feeding into what you love, and carving out some time for you to do what you enjoy.
You can’t fill others up, if you are empty.
It is easy to feel pressured into giving more than you can, but in the end, you have to know what your limits are.
Here are 5 self-care tips to prevent you from overextending yourself this holiday season!
Want to give the gift of self care to those you love? Check out this gift guide for some ideas!
Set a budget and stick to it!
The holiday$ are taking a turn from being about family and celebrating the true reason for the season (hi, Jesus), into spending more and more money to keep up and buying presents for everyone you have ever shared the same air with.
When my husband and I first got married, we were (and still are) overwhelmed with buying presents for our families and friends, very early on we decided that we would do homemade gifts to hopefully help save money and relieve some of the pressure to keep up with what was popular that year. By doing it this way, we are able to stick with our budget and personalize every gift we give- we enjoy it this way more, and every gift is filled with more love than you can imagine!
This year, I challenge you to look at your monthly budget, set aside what you can spend for each person and stick👏🏻to👏🏻it👏🏻. It is easy to feel like you have to rise to others’ expectations, but this is not the time and nor should it ever be your reason of going into debt. I also challenge you to try something different and do homemade gifts- it is so fun and you might surprise yourself with how much you enjoy it!
Self care is not forcing yourself to give financially outside of your means.
Understand that saying “no” is okay
Such a simple word that is so hard to say…especially to family and friends. It is easy to get wrapped up in everything going on; every party that is planned, every tradition, and every moment can be over-whelming!
With only so many hours in the day, there is only so much a person can handle, and sometimes you won’t be able to make it to everything. It will suck saying that you can’t make it or that you can’t stay the whole time, but if that amount of time is all you can give, then that is what you can give.
The holidays make people feel some type of way, maybe tinsel and lights heighten feelings and sensitivities, but either way you can’t overextend yourself into oblivion to where you have to take a vacation to recover from the holidays…that’s just insane. So, be okay with saying no to some things, and be okay with giving the time you have. It will take some practice, but you are only human and the fate of the holidays can’t rest on your shoulders.
Self care is saying no when your time and energy is maxed out.
Allow yourself to grieve if you are missing someone you love
This is a hard one. Grief is a monster that sneaks up on you any time without warning, and hits hard especially during the holidays.
Give yourself the time and space to recognize how you are feeling, pray and meditate on how you will work through the emotions, and take it one moment at a time. Feel all of the feelings, but don’t let it consume you.
Self care is allowing yourself to grieve.
Stick to your exercise and eating routine
The food. The drinks. The partying. It’s a merry time, but its not worth your health.
We hear and see it everywhere that January 1st is the time to start something new or reset for a new year, but TODAY is that time. TODAY is the day to continue pushing towards your goals, and TODAY is your chance to make better decisions for your health.
Indulging every once in a while is not a bad thing, nor will it ever be, BUT overindulgence is harmful and can set you down a scary path.
Enjoy that cookie, but don’t forget to eat your veggies either. Take a nap, but also don’t skip your workout. Have that margarita and taco, but stop when you are feeling full. It’s all a balance, and just because there’s carols and jingle bells everywhere doesn’t mean your health isn’t a priority anymore.
Self care is taking care of your health and focusing on what is right for your body.
Prioritize
Prioritize your time. Prioritize your energy. Prioritize your money. Prioritize your happiness.
With all of the hustle and bustle we forget the true important things about the holidays, and can easily get wrapped up in drama, over-spending, not sleeping, and making everyone else happy that we forget to take care of ourselves.
Let this year be your time to prioritize what is the most important to you and focus on those things. Forget the big spending, the over-committing, and compromising and invest (not just money-wise) in what is best for you and your family.
Self care is prioritizing what is important to you and doing what is best for you and your family.
It is easy to forget the true reason for this holiday season, but by scaling back your budget and saying no to things that compromise who we are or overextends us, grieving when our heart hurts, focusing on our health, and prioritizing the things that are important to us, we will have a much happier holiday time!
Don’t forget to take care of yourself, friends! Remember: You can’t fill others up, if you are empty.
Happy Holidays!
