What now?
In the days following Christmas (or any holiday that lots of energy goes into preparing for) there can be a let down and a little bit of a feeling of wondering what to do with yourself. All of your time up to this point has been spent getting ready, decorating, shopping, cleaning the house, making treats, and being with the people we love. For me, I’ve spent so much doing that there hasn’t been a lot of time for being.
Often there’s also a bit of a let-down after so much hubub.
Here are some ideas for you if you’re feeling a little cabin fever awkwardness now…
Make a Christmas book. This is one of my favorite holiday traditions. Even though we call it a Christmas book the part I like most is remembering the year and writing and drawing about our highlights together. We almost always end up making it in the days after Christmas and before New Year’s. I love sitting around the table together making a list of all the great stuff that has happened over the last year.
Plan your New Year’s Eve party. Even if you’re doing something small at home there are fun things to look forward to. Getting the family involved with plans, decorations, food planning, and making fun countdown bags can make the party that much more fun.
Consider what’s coming up. Look at the month of January and plan for what you’d like to do. Is there a class you’d like to take? A new skill you’d like to learn? A book you’ve been wanting to read? This is the perfect time to sign up for that class or start that book you’ve had on your nightstand (or that you just received as a gift). Is there something that you would like to do or accomplish as a family? Talk about it and get it on the calendar as something to look forward to together.
Visit with the people you love. Before the holidays things can be so crazy. Family arrives in town but it’s under the bustle and craziness of the holiday. Now is the perfect time to go to lunch with your sister, get a hot chocolate with your mom, or take a walk with your best friend and just talk. Chat about what’s important to you, the struggles and awesome stuff that has happened over the course of the year and how they’ve made you into someone better. Familyness is the best part of the holidays! Often, because of the bustle we don’t get the deeper connections that we are hoping for because there’s a lot of hopping from one activity to the next. Get what you really want by making time for one-on-one connecting.
Spend some time alone. I know that during all of the crazy holiday prep I end up with very little time alone to reflect and think and gather my thoughts. I’m a person who needs time to reflect and often I don’t realize how much I’ve missed it until I get to sit down and have some quiet time to myself. As a family you can declare the 1pm-2pm hour everyday as quiet time, no matter what the ages of everyone. Giving everyone a chance to regroup in the middle of the day and get some time to themselves can re-energize a holiday day.
Do a project. I have a list of projects that I want to get to all year long. Often they get pushed to ‘I’ll do that later’ because there are always more urgent things to do. Now is the perfect time to get to one of those projects…painting your hallway, de-cluttering under your bathroom sink, replacing the batteries in your smoke detector. I know that some of your projects may not sound super exciting but it can feel great to check off all of those types of things off your list before the new year begins.
Write thank you notes. Taking the time to write to the people who have blessed your life this past year or thanking all of those people who just gifted you all kinds of wonderful things can put your heart in a happier place. This idea is especially great to do as a family. Kids get to tell their relatives why they love their gifts and it helps everyone to be filled with gratitude (which puts everyone in a better mood).
Take a walk. It’s cold outside and so we all sit couped up in the house. Eventually, that can make us all get irritated with cabin fever. When that starts happening we begin to say things we don’t mean to each other. Get out of the house, even if it means bundling up, and trapse through the neigborhood or walk to the closest park and swing on the swings and slide down the slide. Laughing together and breathing in the crisp air will energize everyone.
Rest. Take a nap. Snuggle together reading books and fall asleep for an hour. After all of the rushing around a leisurely nap can feel restorative and luxurious.
Make soup and deliver it. One of the things that makes me feel connected again is making a bunch of batches of soup and rolls, packaging them up in disposable containers, and driving around the city and delivering the soup to people who live alone or homeless people. They eat really well at the holidays and then in the weeks following they need to be remembered as well. It’s the perfect way to share your grateful heart.
What are some activities you do between the holidays? I’d love to hear what you do!
Happy New Year!
xoxo,
Davina
Davina Fear is a Familyness Adventurer. She’s addicted to pumpkin bread. She knows what Wingardium Leviosa means and wishes her kids could have gone to Hogwarts (but they would come home every night and not stay all term).
She blogs at davinafear.com and loves when Hot Guy wears his brown cords. Have you signed up her FREE book: The Art of Familyness Photography? Make sure to get it here.
2 Comments
I love your posts!
We like to build fires! And I like to sit and watch/engage my kids playing with their new toys. Just “being” is amazing!
I agree! I could sit and look at a fire for hours. For some reason it invites me to slow down and just be (like you’re saying). It’s so similar to the way I feel when I sit next to the ocean. In both of those places all my cares fall away and nothing else seems important except sitting with this gorgeous creation and the people I love. I’m so glad you’re here, Lisa!