Ten acts of self care for Christmas

I LOVE Christmas! I mean LOVE it, hey I’m Mrs Christmas. It’s full, it’s busy, but it can be super stressful too. Are you taking care of you in the midst of it all? Are you in good balance? I’ve been thinking of how this Christmas amidst the chaos we can take care of ourselves.

Ditch perfection – Theres no such thing. One persons perfect is another persons nightmare. Do Christmas your way and know that for every perfect instagram picture theres a room thats in a mess down the hall! Enjoy the mess and know that it is all part of it
Eat well and drink water – This sounds super simple but I realised that actually for me December can be a rush around where I haven’t got time to drink lots and quick food and snack foods fuels me while I am shopping. Theres chocolate everywhere, biscuits galore on the shelves. It can be a time where we expect a lot of ourselves yet the fuel we put in isn’t the best. Make an effort to add healthy foods to the weekly shop, prepare some healthy snacks for shopping days and bottles of water. You are worth it and will be so glad post Christmas you did this.
Say No – Say no to stress, no to pressure or if you have lots booked in say no to something you normally attend. You don’t have to attend every event and people are so much more understanding than we think.
Say Yes – Say yes to something you would like to do and make time for it. Sometimes we say no to the things we should be saying yes to and vice versa. Make time for the things you enjoy.
Celebrate what you have achieved (which is probably a blooming lot) and don’t focus on what you haven’t – I plan so much every year at Christmas. I plan crafts to do, activities with the kids, meet ups with people I love, films to watch, things to buy but I rarely get through three quarters of it because there are only 24 hours in a day! Think of all you have done and been involved in, think of all the things you have achieved and be proud of that.
Let yourself grieve if you need to – Christmas can sometimes be like a photoshoot, say CHEESE!!!!! No matter how you are feeling just smile and everything will be fine! There can be times after loss and difficult times that we need to grieve and give ourselves space and time to do that. I think it is so important to be kind to ourselves on those days, grief can hit when we least expect it and sometimes instead of fighting it we need to allow ourselves to feel, even in a joyful season.
Make friends with Aunt Bessie – Oh goodness we are not all Jamie Oliver and watching him on channel 4 whilst drinking tea and eating marshmallows does not always enable us to make the perfect Christmas dinner (speaking from personal experience and I carried the cookbook round sainsburys aswell!) Sometimes looking after ourselves means getting something ready made because a miserable you with perfect yorkshire puddings is not as good as a happy you with ready made. Cut yourself some slack and resist the urge to be Jamie for the day.
Take time out for you – Book in some time for you and your family to do things you really enjoy, put it on the calender if you have to. It is so important for everyone in your house to feel they have refreshed themselves. Then you can all be ready to go and be your best self with everyone else. We all need to recharge and the blockage to that is often well… us.
Ditch the word ‘should’ – Ask who says that I should do it this way or that way? Where have I got that from? Is it healthy? Is it right for me now? If its not ditch it!
Use a kinder voice this Christmas – We can be so cruel to ourselves and talk to ourselves pretty badly about what we have done, been able to do at Christmas etc.. Use a kinder voice, be nicer to yourself and any thoughts that tell you otherwise kick em out! You wouldn’t let your best friend say that about herself so why should you.