Let’s Look at…Ways to Unwind During the Holiday Season

Truthfully, I almost skipped this link-up today because…admittedly, I’m not great at unwinding at any time, let alone during the holiday season.

However, I love link-ups, and I love hearing other suggestions on how to achieve calm and peace during the holiday season.

(Side note: Can some of my fellow bloggers point me towards the fun link-ups that are coming in 2025? I would love to join some or even lead one if anyone else is interested in that! I feel like I have a 10 or so bloggers that I fit more in with and would love to work together. If you are reading this- let do it! Feel free to email me at thegloriousmundane@gmail.com if you have any thoughts/ideas on this!)

Anyways, here is my simple list of ways that I unwind during the holiday season:

• Turn off my phone, specifically social media. Especially during the holiday season, it seems to stir a spirit of discontentment in me and that just doesn’t help anyone at all…
• Check out cozy Christmas books from the library. Here are some that I have on deck right now:
• Say no to holiday traditions that cause more stress than joy. This year we are going extreme and not doing Christmas presents. It has been SO FREEING. Maybe I’ll write more on that after Christmas.
• Get out of the house. I know that seems counter-intuitive, but I usually start going stir crazy and even feeling depressed if I’m at home for too long without seeing other adults. Having some fun holiday get togethers is exactly what I need to feel more calm and relaxed!
• Sit by the fire with a book or my cross stitch. I also love it when the kids are in the same room working quietly on an art project or reading a book. This doesn’t happen often, but sometimes it’s the perfect calming set-up where everyone is together and calm 🙂
• Christmas lights and candles. I am seriously enjoying just sitting in our living room with the Christmas tree lights and a small lamp on. We have also been fairly consistently lighting our advent candles and listening to a Christmas hymn at family devotions and this is the sweetest time- until someone “accidentally” blows out the candle, of course. (Like, no, you did not just happen to randomly huff out a lung-full of air in the direction of the candle, my dear son).
• Organize the new year. I LOVE getting a new planner or calendar and sitting down with it and thinking ahead to trips, goals and plans for the New Year.
• Think of others. The holidays can be so ME focused, and even just MY FAMILY focused. It’s so helpful for me to sit down and send out some cards, or make teacher Christmas gifts or do a ding dong ditch activity. I know we don’t have time for anything, but removing something that benefits just my family and replacing it with something that benefits someone else actually brings great joy and contentment.

Ok, so my list really doesn’t contain very much relaxing! Oopsies. It is hard to do deep, calm, quiet things with four kids running around, but maybe this isn’t my season for baths and candles and cozy evenings. I think that season will come before I know it, so here I am just trying to not be too frazzled in the busy times.