Reinventing The Freaking Holiday Season
Dear Worlds,
I know I know, it's still November, but if I am already dreading the holiday season, I figured some of you might be too. And if you are not, great! (I want to meet your family, kay, bye). There still might be some things for you in this post.
So here is what I'm doing. I am bracing myself, and coming up with ideas to get through it smoothly and even... maybe... enjoy it! I like thinking about it in advance so I have time to visualize, and plan what I want to be doing during that trying time of the year.
I like the idea of reinventing, creating a new tradition for yourself around whatever makes you feel good today. Something that will actually make you welcome the holiday season again next year. You can do it!
1) Focus on the rest of the year
For me, a part of it being a tough time of the year is that I feel like turning a page, and leaving behind good things that happened this year. A mourning of sorts. So this year, I will use this in-between period to celebrate what I did, who I met, what I learned, the good, the bad, all of it.
I am planning to use a big piece of paper and write down everything that happened this year, month by month. It can get very creative, or stay minimalist. You can do it over a few weeks, adding pieces of fabric, painting on it or using crayons, doing a giant collage. Or you can use a simple white paper and a black pen, and put it safely in a nice envelope that you will be sure to find next year when you do it all over again.
It might also be a good way to visualize, afterwards, how you want next year to unfold, what you want it to bring you and what you can bring to it.
2) Plan things for January
I love January so much - because holidays are over of course-, and even if I don't believe in good resolutions, I do feel like a new cycle is starting and it opens up possibilities. We start getting more light during the day, too.
I am trying to plan a few days out of the city for January, something to look forward too. But it can also just be organizing or signing up to a new workshop, making a reading list for that month, planning to reach out to a friend, finding somewhere to volunteer. Speaking of which...
3) Give back
If you look ahead of time, you can find organizations to volunteer at, and if you don't, you can find cool other ways to give back.
4) Stay busy at home: redecorate, get rid of stuff
The holidays might not be the best time to go out, everyone is in their family or their home, cool places you usually go to are just closed... You can take that opportunity to rethink your bedroom or your desk space, move the art on your walls, change the lighting, and throw away a lot of things that you haven't been using for a while. Make a playlist you can listen to really loud while doing that. Fresh start!
3) Go to the movies
I actually like going where I can find other people who don't love Christmas or New Year's Eve. I won't necessarily interact with them, but being around them makes me feel less alone. I love going to the movies on December 31st around 5pm while everyone else is busy getting dressed for a fancy party. I will find a (weird?) sense of community in the dark, enjoy my movie, and go to bed early.
4) Like cooking? This one's easy.
My partner and I just made a list of everything we want to cook for Christmas. It's not particularly Christmassy food. It's just a ton of dishes we enjoy cooking or we have been wanting to try cooking, and by planning it ahead of time we can make sure to have all the ingredients ready. The list is too long, we'll probably be cooking for two weeks which will get us into January - perfect. Make a playlist for cooking sessions too. For everything you cook, keep a piece and bring to a friend.
5) Don't like cooking? Buy Chinese food
My friends Hayley and Neil started this tradition a few years ago. Simple. Efficient. Something to look forward to and to not overthink. They don't enjoy cooking that much. Instead, they buy a lot of Chinese food for a few days.
6) Simple is best: books and chocolate
I just saw on bookstagrammer @readwithmeemz account, that "in Iceland, books are exchanged as Christmas' Eve presents, then you spend the rest of the night in bed reading them and eating chocolate. [...]" Sounds good to me!
7) A great holiday-dreading community
So many people dread the holidays: let's get together! Organize art workshops, knitting or painting sessions, or just a holiday dinner or lunch (or breakfast! or breakfast for dinner?) with likeminded folks.
What do you like doing during that season? I would love to hear your ideas, rituals, new traditions. Enjoy!
I know I know, it's still November, but if I am already dreading the holiday season, I figured some of you might be too. And if you are not, great! (I want to meet your family, kay, bye). There still might be some things for you in this post.
So here is what I'm doing. I am bracing myself, and coming up with ideas to get through it smoothly and even... maybe... enjoy it! I like thinking about it in advance so I have time to visualize, and plan what I want to be doing during that trying time of the year.
I like the idea of reinventing, creating a new tradition for yourself around whatever makes you feel good today. Something that will actually make you welcome the holiday season again next year. You can do it!
1) Focus on the rest of the year
For me, a part of it being a tough time of the year is that I feel like turning a page, and leaving behind good things that happened this year. A mourning of sorts. So this year, I will use this in-between period to celebrate what I did, who I met, what I learned, the good, the bad, all of it.
I am planning to use a big piece of paper and write down everything that happened this year, month by month. It can get very creative, or stay minimalist. You can do it over a few weeks, adding pieces of fabric, painting on it or using crayons, doing a giant collage. Or you can use a simple white paper and a black pen, and put it safely in a nice envelope that you will be sure to find next year when you do it all over again.
It might also be a good way to visualize, afterwards, how you want next year to unfold, what you want it to bring you and what you can bring to it.
2) Plan things for January
I love January so much - because holidays are over of course-, and even if I don't believe in good resolutions, I do feel like a new cycle is starting and it opens up possibilities. We start getting more light during the day, too.
I am trying to plan a few days out of the city for January, something to look forward too. But it can also just be organizing or signing up to a new workshop, making a reading list for that month, planning to reach out to a friend, finding somewhere to volunteer. Speaking of which...
3) Give back
If you look ahead of time, you can find organizations to volunteer at, and if you don't, you can find cool other ways to give back.
4) Stay busy at home: redecorate, get rid of stuff
The holidays might not be the best time to go out, everyone is in their family or their home, cool places you usually go to are just closed... You can take that opportunity to rethink your bedroom or your desk space, move the art on your walls, change the lighting, and throw away a lot of things that you haven't been using for a while. Make a playlist you can listen to really loud while doing that. Fresh start!
3) Go to the movies
I actually like going where I can find other people who don't love Christmas or New Year's Eve. I won't necessarily interact with them, but being around them makes me feel less alone. I love going to the movies on December 31st around 5pm while everyone else is busy getting dressed for a fancy party. I will find a (weird?) sense of community in the dark, enjoy my movie, and go to bed early.
4) Like cooking? This one's easy.
My partner and I just made a list of everything we want to cook for Christmas. It's not particularly Christmassy food. It's just a ton of dishes we enjoy cooking or we have been wanting to try cooking, and by planning it ahead of time we can make sure to have all the ingredients ready. The list is too long, we'll probably be cooking for two weeks which will get us into January - perfect. Make a playlist for cooking sessions too. For everything you cook, keep a piece and bring to a friend.
5) Don't like cooking? Buy Chinese food
My friends Hayley and Neil started this tradition a few years ago. Simple. Efficient. Something to look forward to and to not overthink. They don't enjoy cooking that much. Instead, they buy a lot of Chinese food for a few days.
6) Simple is best: books and chocolate
I just saw on bookstagrammer @readwithmeemz account, that "in Iceland, books are exchanged as Christmas' Eve presents, then you spend the rest of the night in bed reading them and eating chocolate. [...]" Sounds good to me!
7) A great holiday-dreading community
So many people dread the holidays: let's get together! Organize art workshops, knitting or painting sessions, or just a holiday dinner or lunch (or breakfast! or breakfast for dinner?) with likeminded folks.
What do you like doing during that season? I would love to hear your ideas, rituals, new traditions. Enjoy!
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