[AD] The Christmas period and New Year have both passed. If you were lucky, you’ve hopefully had time to relax, recharge and get ready for a new year. No matter if you’ve had an excellent 2018, or you’d rather put it past you, we would like to wish you a wonderful new year as we continue to reflect about our lives in the midst of January.
While this is taking place, there are many things you might wish to do to celebrate the holidays you have just had, and to relax from all the ‘relaxing’ you might have been doing. This sounds like quite a lazy thing to do, but taking it easy for a small period of time can often help you get over emotional highs of the previous few weeks, which can take their own toll in a small way.
With these tips, you’re sure to start the new year off in the best manner possible:
Celebrate The Memories
Celebrating the memories of the festive and new year period can be a great way to begin the new year. Not only does it help you digest all the fun and festivities you have experienced, but gives you something to do if you’re not quite back at work yet. Updating our households is just as important as grooming ourselves, but of course can be gotten away with as a less frequent occurrence. It could be that finding custom picture frames and digitally printing some of your best shots can help you celebrate your family, hanging those memories in your corridor. You may also decide to edit the images a little and print off cards, sending them to your relatives as a thank you for their attendance during your Christmas celebrations.
It might be that you headed on vacation this winter period, and finding the images of your child skiing for the first time can be a milestone you enjoy looking at for years to come. Celebrating memories is absolutely not an exercise in superfluousness, quite the opposite. If you can’t celebrate the memories you make and the people you make them with, what’s the point of working so hard to enjoy the holidays in the first place?
Enjoy The Gifts
Have you actually had time to sit down and enjoy the gifts you were given? It might be that until now you haven’t had time to dive into that Game of Thrones box set you were gifted, or that video game your son purchased you hoping to convert you into the ways of the console. We can often feel guilty just sitting down and doing nothing but whatever entertains us at the time. To this we ask you… why? Sometimes this can be the perfect breather to relax, even if it’s something as simple as purchasing a new ebook on your e-reader, or relaxing with a cup of tea and watching your child play with their toys. You expect your children or relatives to relax with their toys, so why don’t you afford yourself the same comforts?
Use Your Gift Cards
Gift cards are often the presents we receive from those who aren’t sure what to gift us. We’re not complaining. Not only have we gifted them before, but recieved them as much as anyone else has. Gift cards are in no way a bad gift. In fact, sometimes they can be much preferred to a vague gift that has been bought without a real read on your personality at all. At least gift cards are honest, give you freedom, but are also somewhat targeted regarding the type of store you can spend it in.
However, after we usually thank the gifter, gift cards are infamous for being placed in a slot within our purses and perhaps staying there for half a year. Then, one day when feverishly looking for our driving license after amazingly being asked for our identification from a supermarket worker half our age while trying to buy a stealth bottle of wine, we come across them and think of how silly we are for not using them until now. Then, we forget about them again, and at least a month passes until we actually remember to utilise it. This sounds silly and highly specific, but it’s almost uncanny how likely it is that most people have experienced something like this.
Let this guide be your platform to skip this entire process. We can’t fight against the obviously crazy identity check you might have to undergo, but you can make use of your gift cards now while you have time, and you can lazily walk around your favorite stores to truly find what you like. Consider this permission to go out and treat yourself, thanks to the vague yet appreciated gift from an extended relative.
One Final Trip Out
One final trip out can be a wonderful time before you head back to work. You’ve likely travelled a little, met relatives and maybe had a few days out with your family during the festive period. You may have even gone on vacation for a few weeks and really made the best of your winter fun. However, planning one final trip out can often be the catalyst to truly melt your seasonal lethargy after indulging in food and relaxation day after day. Not only can it perk you up, but help you make that one final memory with the loved ones you care about. Visiting a local castle, a museum, or something equally as low-key and relaxed can help you learn something, get out of the house, and enjoy your time with your family before the school and workplace insanity seems to jump back into action through and through. To us, that sounds like a fantastic use of your time.
With these tips, you’re sure to experience the best of the winter period, but also the best of the ‘coming back down to earth’ period before the true weight of our responsibilities once again come back. We wish you nothing but the best for this new year
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