Happy Boxing Day 🙂
This post is a little reflection on the last month or so.
The holidays can be overwhelming and frantic sometimes, and I think it’s sad that that feeling has become the norm. It’s becomes about cramming in as many activities as possible and spending too much money and just “making it through” the season. I’m definitely guilty of feeding into that energy and of being consumed with anxiety around never having enough time…
This year, after struggling with the anticipation of the holiday season, my challenge was to say no to a few things. So instead of going to every town event, I decided we would do two. It kind of struck a chord when each event stated, “appearance by Santa.” How many times do we really need to see Santa leading up to Christmas day??
I think it took until about the third week of December to really try to slow down, partly because we all got sick… Which in itself is an eye-opening way to realize we needed a break. But that week I actually had a few moments where I felt like I had down time. It felt so strange, like I should be doing something or going somewhere.
When those feelings of guilt for not doing more settled in, my goal was to really delve into those feelings, asking myself…
- Am I really, truly disappointing anyone for not doing something right now? Most of the time the answer is no.
- Are my kids being deprived of fun holiday activities? NO! They want and need down time, too. They will have memories of both the places we went, and the feeling of being home and relaxing with just our family.
- Is anything bad going to happen or is anyone going to stop loving me if I say no? Of course not! (These are legitimate thoughts that go through my mind, as ridiculous as they might sound.)
This year, I finally got the chance to make a popcorn/cranberry garland, something I’ve always wanted to do, but that always got pushed to the sidelines because there was never enough time. To be honest, some of my highlights over this holiday season have been moments at home, making something or just being with my family, no lights or chaos or hype (or Santa). Watching The Grinch and eating popcorn, listening to my kids sing Christmas songs, making pomanders (another old-fashioned tradition that I’ve always wanted to try) while watching The Holiday.
Going for a walk and coming back to drink hot chocolate, making cookies and candles with my mom and sisters, reading one of my childhood Christmas books to my kids… Simple, calm, beautiful moments that brought some magic back to the holidays.
I love the concept of hygge and think that the winter holidays are the perfect time to be reminded of it. It means “a calm, comfortable time with people you love, a complete absence of frustrations or anything emotionally overwhelming. Often enjoyed with good food and drinks, warm blankets and candlelight. This is happiness.” Another description that I always come back to is “coziness of the soul.” While the “plants and the earth are resting, maybe we should, too. The long days will be here soon enough.”
We had a bit of a strange year because school and all of our regular activities went right up until a few days before Christmas, but now that Christmas itself is over, we have time to really embrace this idea of rest.
Get some fresh air, nap if you need to, eat some Christmas cookies, have a cup of tea, read a book by candlelight… Know that if you have downtime, IT IS OKAY. Soak it up and normalize that feeling of not rushing, of just being and hibernating and feeling fulfilled without the need to be constantly accomplishing something, going somewhere or getting something done.
Did I try to cram too many things in this year? Not as many as I have in previous years, but of course I still did too much. Did I spend too much money? Probably… But what I did do this year, was really be aware of the choices I made, the things I decided to participate in, the activities and events that really meant something to me. I made the time for those things and even though it was difficult to say no and to slow down, I think the feeling of comfort and contentedness and hygge will be the most memorable things about this season. I hope you all find some “coziness of the soul” over the next few weeks!
