A festive reframe if you need it
Hand's up - it's for me - I need it.
If nothing else I am consistent. Looking back through my writing from last year these two posts from December 2023 could have been written today. My mood is much the same to be honest.
All is merry and bright...possibly
Christmas Eve can be a real dichotomy on social media can’t it. There are a lot of well wishing posts, a lot of excitement and it all seems very merry and bright.
I read a quote the other day from someone far more erudite than me - basically saying that becoming an adult (woman) is realising that 99% of Christmas magic is created by a woman - and that at some point you realise that baton has been handed to you whether you realised it or not.
And honestly I can’t stop thinking about that. Of course the worst bit is that most of the pressure is entirely self-inflicted and no one else will either know (nor care) what brand of after dinner mints we have in the house on Dec 25th. Bendicks - obviously - in case you are wondering 🤣
With that thought in mind here are 5 things helping me to reframe and get my priorities sorted
🎄Having my family home for Christmas is my main gift. Treasuring those close to me and practising gratitude every single day.
🎄Christmas is just one day. It’s a big chicken dinner with more roast potatoes than you thought humanly possible.
🎄No one bothers with Christmas crackers any more and I’m fed up of dumping the detritus in the bin afterwards.
🎄We all have enough ‘stuff’. Gifts this year are small, thoughtful but I’m not buying things ‘for the sake of it’
🎄Avoiding Christmas crowds and temptation to pop out for a few ‘last minute’ bits. Such trips just send my adrenaline levels sky rocketing - I swear Christmas panic is more contagious than the horrible tummy bug currently doing the rounds, and I don’t want to catch either thank you very much 🤣
Thank you
I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a sincere and heartfelt Happy Christmas if you celebrate, and a Happy Holiday if you don’t. Thank you so much for being here with me in 2024 and I look forward to much more cosy chat in 2025.
I feel this in my bones! As an out of hours shift worker, I always feel the FOMO hard this time of year. Everyone is announcing on social media that their out of office is on and they'll be back in January, or what a lovely, festive, relaxing time they're having...and I'm gearing up for what can be the busiest and most stressful time of year. It's obviously my choice, I could chose a different job, but it just makes me feel a bit sad over the holidays, that I'm missing out on these memories with friends and family.
Lots of my friends are having a rotten time this year. Death, job loss, high prices, sickness, health issues, you name it. I tell them let it all go to hell. Small gifts or kids only gifting, a meal that can be ordered, precooked, snacked on all day, some baked goods, and fun movies. We can’t have the holidays of our childhood, we now make our own. We will still wake up the next day, and munch on leftovers, and most importantly laugh.