What do you do to keep your sanity? What are your holiday traditions? I keep my sanity by not hosting dinners. Yes, my spouse is a chef, but also a person who deserves downtime (so, no FoodNetwork extravaganza or crazy plus ones- been there done that!). I also got out of the gift giving business. Okay, I buy a few things on Cyber Monday, but you have to be in my immediate circle to expect a gift. Over a decade back a friend asked me what I had gotten for Christmas the year before and I couldn’t remember. He informed me that he asked all his friends what he had gotten them the last three Christmas and if they could remember they would make his Christmas list. I thought “Wow, harsh!”, but maybe he was on to something. I tried this with a few people and some claim to know, but I couldn’t truly verify it (because, hell, I couldn’t remember!). So, since then I have shared this idea with my siblings and we gave up picking names out of hat and started playing a wild game of white elephant each year. I stop buying my nieces and nephews toys and have gone the experience route. Our tradition is to pick a movie and we will go to the opening premiere. My holiday tradition is pure self-care. I take a few days off of work and I unplug and just let myself be. Some of my favorite things to do during this mini break are:
- A hot bath
- DIY a face or hair mask.
- Co-cook with my spouse
- Start a new book,podcast or audiobook.
- Curl up in front of the television with my favorite blanket and Netflix.
- Nap
What do you do for holiday self-care?
Real Life of an MSW 
The experience route is totally the best, and I don’t do it nearly enough. This year I want to focus on thinking of experiences to give as gifts 🙂
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Great things to do on the holidays! I think it should be like this, without those tones of food, rush etc. Holidays were created to make us feel happier, not to work harder =)
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I totally agree 🙂
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This is an awesome way to relax. Something we need to always remember to do on a regular basis otherwise the world will drag you down.
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A beautiful post, Maggie and it is so nice to relax on a holiday and you have said so well. One must relax and enjoy the holidays instead of rushing and doing things which we normally do. A great picture of a lovely gift box.
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Thank you.
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I like these ideas, especially the Netflix one! I’d add a big cup of hot chocolate to that.
Kathrin — http://mycupofenglishtea.wordpress.com
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I agree you might enjoy this hot chocolate recipe 😂
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Reblogged this on Real Life of an MSW.
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Christmas marks the start of the summer holidays, so it is very much about winding down. I’m so looking forward to two and a half weeks off work. Like you looking forward to reading and napping!
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Enjoy your time off and very few things beats napping and reading 🙂
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