Kidnap the Sandy Claws (keep the Christmas spirit alive!)
It's about this time of year, from the interim of Christmas day to NYE and beyond into January, that the 'slump' begins. Often, we have spent beyond our means, rushed around trying to fit in lots of things and taken up a chunk of our holiday days.
The quicksand dread of going back to work and needing to pack away all the Christmas decorations sets in. Plus, January, as a month, seems to have become the lynchpin for abstinence campaigns!
In all the most irritating types of socially acceptable ways, despite being quite frankly both competitive and passive aggressive, social media will let us know we've got ourselves on the 'naughty list' with all that festive indulgence. We will literally eat (char)coal as penance, as this 'super' supplement promises to help us 'cleanse' out the toxins so that we can reclaim our halos.
Instagram will be flooded with gym bodies, healthy meals and hashtags like #dryjanuary #veganuary #cleaneating and #detox and the same work colleagues who were bringing in mice pies a few weeks ago will suddenly become interminable bores, pointing out how unhealthy the contents of your lunchbox are, without having been asked for their opinion.
It's this madness that brings out the Jack Skeleton in me (of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' fame) and I want to embody the dissipating Christmas spirit, bottle it up and spray it on everyone and everything until it glitters again. Why can't we encase ourselves in this snow globe of goodwill? Why can't we continue to make time for the people we love? Why can't we carry on with trying to be the sunniest versions of ourselves?
We can. So, really, logic tells me, we should! Seeing as almost nobody I know believes in Jesus, it's not even that cheeky to try to steal a bit of the guy's thunder and keep it with us for the rest of the year. (It's not like many people have felt guilty about pretending he was a white guy for hundreds of years!)
Here is a list of some ways to keep yourself on the up after all the tinsel and twinkles of Christmas have gone:
Buy magazines that promote a holistic attitude to improving your resilience and confidence.
Basically, invest in your mental health by parting with the worst side of a fiver AND taking the time to read the articles on the regs.
For me, this is an almost revolutionary act! It's being audacious enough to open up an internal dialogue with yourself about wellbeing; it's shunning the populist press selling the same old tired images of success, gender and so on.
Photo of the front cover of Breathe magazine.
The language of self-care and kindness has crept into mainstream society, you can use what you've read to open up conversations and help others to feel secure in talking about mental health. Be part of the change we all so desperately need.
Not sure what magazines? Don't want to order online? Many can be found in the ever-responsible WH Smith and ever-accessible (in the UK at least) Tesco Extra supermarkets. My suggestions: Oh Comely, In the Moment, Planet Mindful, Flow, Breathe (and Teen Breathe, which is both cheaper and an incredible idea.)
If you want a more detailed breakdown of what to expect from some of these follow the link to this article: https://www.hellopeacefulmind.com/magazines/
If you're wondering, these magazines are not like the glossies either, they are on heavy-duty matte paper, probably recycled and recyclable, and illustrated sumptuously. Just looking at them on the shelf is soothing!
Expect stories with titles like: Magical and Enduring Friendships, Find Yourself in a Forest, Anticipatory Nostalgia Explained, Taking a Book-cation and Look Back and Wonder.
Want to see the covers? Want to hear it from the horse's mouth? Here are some of the Instagram links: @teenbreathe @ohcomelymag @planetmindfulmag @justbreathemagazine @inthemomentmag
The sad thing about this recommendation? Despite men being more likely to commit suicide and find it difficult to talk about mental health, these magazines are all very female-centric. If you know of ANY magazines for men along these lines please post in the comments below.
2. Play games.
The average age of a gamer is 32, 2 in 5 gamers are women, video games can help you hone multitasking and creativity skills.
Dusting the lids of your board game collection doesn't have to be exclusively done in December. Neither does turning up at a relative's house clutching one under your arm.
A lot of us were lucky enough to grow up in families where we played games together, be it board games that united the generations like Monopoly, Trivial Pursuits, Scrabble or Cluedo; computer games we fought with our siblings and cousins over; or even physical things like charades, table football or ping-pong.
If there are no longer kids in the family, this tradition can end up being forgotten and replaced with more repetitive ways of socialising, eating and talking the most obvious ones.
But, can we just be honest here? A lot of the time, the different generational attitudes to things we speak about can cause conflict. Waiting on people can be draining. Crack out a game, get everyone in the moment together instead of reminiscing about the same old things or rehashing your week.
Skint from Christmas? Invite people in a similar situation over and play games, you are socialising but on the cheap. Plus, staying in and becoming more introverted in the winter is highly likely. Your guest, knowing they just have to brace the elements briefly to get cosy in your home for the evening, isn't as off-putting as trudging around town trying to agree on where to go.
Playing games is good for your brain! If you love quiz shows like Pointless, The Cube, Tipping Point and The Chase, they have all been turned into board games. Even your childhood games like Risk and Battleship all deal with cognitive functions such as memory, information retention, problem-solving, and deciphering complex situations.
These aspects of board games help to develop the mind and sharpen memory. By testing your cognitive functions, you are strengthening them which increases IQ and enhances your learning capacity and ability. "Board games help build the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, which are responsible for complex functions. It is proven that any activity that helps the brain acquire new skills and exercise the muscles of the mind helps the brain become healthier. " (For more factoids on how playing might reduce your blood pressure and boost your immune system, read this lovely little piece: https://logicroots.com/MathBlog/8-surprising-health-benefits-of-playing-board-games/
3. Get together for a big roast, plan who brings what and everyone chip in.
The whole, 'who goes where?' for Christmas day can cause tension because of anything from partners being from different places, estranged parent complications, custody battles and preferences for staying in your own home, eating at a set time, having a vegan dinner. Often, the Christmas we partake in is a compromise. Hopefully, a happy one. Even so...
You know that annoying 'mini-moon' thing? Where people go on a brief honeymoon directly after getting hitched so they can go on some luxury thing at a later date, which they then call the 'real' honeymoon? We can have 'Mini-mas' again and again throughout the year.
Get 4 dates in your new diary/on your new calendar right now. Whether it's with your immediate or extended family, the friends that are better than the family you aren't close to, your old housemates from uni that it can be difficult to make time to see or your school friends that all had different things to do over the festive period. You can have people you adore around your table at any time of year and make it feel special.
Picture the candles lit, the glasses shining and everyone arriving laden with something yummy so you can all spoil yourselves and each other. Imagine that without being slotted in around the stress of Christmas. Sounds delightful right? Just send the texts, make the What's App group, write the invites.
4. Send physical post
An illustration of a hedgehog looking at a hairbrush and asking if it's a "sister?"
If it's not a bill or a begging letter you know you're delighted to open it. So spread the love. Why reserve sending cards for Christmas or for birthdays?
Send a card stuffed full of confetti to a friend, pick up something with a ridiculous illustration on it to cheer up someone who hasn't seemed their usual chipper self, did you just spot a particularly horrendous postcard? Buy it. Write it. Send it. Make someone laugh, make them cry, remind them you're there. A card is a hug in an envelope, minus the potentially awkward physical interaction!
An illustrated hedgehog Christmas card.
Sensing a theme?
Today, I am hand-delivering a few cards to houses in Cardiff, of complete strangers, just to say "every year, the Christmas lights outside your home make my winter feel that little bit more magical. Thank you."
5. Get to grips with your local wildlife, spot the animals of every season.
Instead of waiting for December to visit parks with reindeer, or walk an Alpaca dressed-up as a reindeer if you're Sheffield based, endeavour to see what wondrous acts of nature are unfolding throughout the year.
Have you ever gone out of your way to see the Starling murmurations in January? Is the only Salmon leaping up rivers you've ever seen, been on TV rather than right here in Blighty?
Revive your sense of wonder by exploring! Try to see a badger in the night, go on a bat walk (a lot of park committees run them for free), wait in a bird hide until you've seen a Kingfisher. Being outside and feeling connected to things beyond human civilisation is incredibly humbling and can reset those feelings of awe that get muddied by the daily grind.
I have a million other things I could add, but I like this as a start. Merry Christmas and a happy new year to one and all. I hope you keep the magic going all year.
You deserve it.
