I'm Dreaming of a Slow Christmas
Christmas is a funny old time of year. It's supposed to be a time of goodwill, of giving, of spending time with family & friends - but instead it seems to become dominated by greed, excess and stress. Every year, I look forward to a slow, relaxing Christmas, only to find myself stressing out about buying gifts, running around attempting to do something festive every single night and eating too much bad food. So this year I've made a pact with myself that I really will slow things down. It's our last Christmas in the house we've lived in for eight years, and I want to make sure that I make the most of it. I'm no minimalist, so I've already filled with the living room with (tasteful) decorations and probably spent too much money on gifts. Read on to see how I'm taking things slowly this festive season.
TAKING TIME FOR MYSELF
My friend's tease that I hibernate during winter and it's true that I quite often would rather stay snuggled up indoors than head out into the cold night for a few drinks. I like being surrounded by other people, socialising and hanging out with my boyfriend, but sometimes I just need time to myself. Whether that's spent watching Netflix, catching up with my blog, taking photographs, going for a walk or reading a book depends on my current frame of mind, but these are all things that I enjoy doing and sometimes want to do on my own. There's nothing wrong with saying 'no' to things - especially at this time of year when your social calendar can become overwhelming.
ATTEMPTING TO DO LESS
Running around from Christmas party to Christmas drinks, trying to complete your shopping, decorate your home and finish all of your work quickly becomes overwhelming. This year, I'm resolving to do less and not try to do everything at once. As we're selling our house and buying a new home in a different town, this is only adding to my to-do list and I'm aware that something has to give. I'm allowing myself empty days in my diary for simply sitting back and relaxing, rather than saying yes to every invitation.
KEEPING MY CHRISTMAS LIST TO A MINIMUM
I like buying gifts for people and watching their faces as they open them, but when you start compiling your Christmas list everything can become a little overwhelming. The more people that you are buying for, the more stressful and time consuming your Christmas shopping becomes. Think about who you actually want to buy gifts for and perhaps come to an arrangement with your friends when you agree not to buy for each other or to join together in a secret Santa. I only buy for my boyfriend, our close family and my two best friends, which saves a lot of stress!
PUTTING DOWN MY PHONE
I'm completely addicted to my phone, spending an unsettling amount of time scrolling through Instagram, checking my email, reading blogs and liking tweets. At this time of year, when everything gets crazy, it can be helpful to put down your phone and live in the now. If I've decided to stay in, looking through my What's App messages gives me complete FOMO. Scrolling through Instagram makes me envious of other peoples decorations/homes/lives. Checking emails keeps me in work mode when I'm trying to relax. Last year I took a break from Instagram and email for three days over Christmas and felt like I'd actually had a break - I'm planning on doing the same this year!