Bringing Back the Silent Night

Christmas. What a wonderful time of year! People coming together to share food and enjoy some good cheer. The festive season can certainly bring great joy, but as most of us have experienced at one time or another, the emphasis on perfecting this one day, can take its toll on our body and mind.

There’s the decorating, the gift buying, the wrapping, the cooking, the work function, the school function, the family function; and it rarely stops there. There is something about the lead up to the 25th of December, that seems to cue organised chaos everywhere we go. They don’t call it the silly season for nothing!

Letting our hair down a little over the holidays is surely ok, after all we deserve to have some fun; but how do we restore a sense of wellbeing after the jingle-bells have stopped ringing?

We’ve put together our top tips to help you restore balance and return to a more restful, peaceful state after the excitement of the festive season fades.

Rest

As lovers of sleep here at Snooze, we know how important rest is. Over the festive season, it’s pretty common to stay up late, and eat and drink more than usual. This means good quality sleep often takes a back seat. An easy way to restore some wellbeing after the holidays, is to make time to rest and get some good sleep hours back in the bank. Ensuring you take a couple of early nights to retreat to your bedroom and enjoy some downtime, can pay dividends after the festivities have ended.

After all the Christmas pudding, trifle, pavlova, ham, turkey, seafood, cheese platters, bubbles and wine (and not necessarily in that order), it might be time to slow down and let your body recover. Take a few days to let your digestive system recalibrate by enjoying some clean, fresh and wholesome eating.

As with any time of the year, exercise is a fast way to have us feeling on top of the world. Getting your body moving can encourage endorphins, aid digestion and help our bodies reduce the overall festive-season toll.

Tidy

All the bins are overflowing and there seem to be reams of crumpled wrapping paper in every room. Clearing your space promptly after Christmas is a fast way you can help improve wellbeing. If you have an influx of new toys in the house, you may be stuck as to where to put the old ones! Reclaiming space in your home by using under-bed storage for example, can help assign designated spaces for still-loved toys, books and puzzles, and help keep your space clutter-free.

With the holidays, often come guests. Whilst the sofa might be a reasonable option, beds with trundles are a quick and easy way to accommodate guests at home while making it easy to maintain a tidy home. After the guests have left, slide that bed right out of sight and voila! You can quickly restore the bedroom space to its pre-Christmas glory.

Prepare

Looking ahead can help propel you into a fresh perspective and eliminate any feelings of the post-Christmas slump. Preparing for the new year can mean organising your space, your diary or the kid’s bedroom ready for the new school year. Encouraging creativity with desks or study nooks can get the kids excited about the new school year ahead.

Perhaps your New Year’s resolutions this year are around good health and wellbeing, early nights, or making more time for yourself. ‘Begin how you wish to proceed’, as the saying goes. So, make some time after Christmas to prepare for the changes you want to start seeing in your daily life. 

Give

After a season of excess, it can feel good to balance things out a little by giving to those in need. Donating to your favourite charity is a good way to restore some balance after much receiving.

Whether it’s donating money to a charity or a cause that’s close to your heart, (ours is the Smith Family, who support children in need with the gift of quality education), or donating toys or goods to your local second-hand store, the act of giving around this time of year can be a meaningful act, and can serve as a reminder of the things in life we are grateful for.

After Christmas and New Years' celebrations, you can still bring joy to your world. Keep spreading good cheer by first taking care of yourself, and spending some time preparing for the year ahead. Enjoy all the magic and wonder of the holidays, and then welcome the chance to start a brand-new year, full of possibilities.