For many people, the holidays are a time of joy and celebration. The New Year is often a time for seeing friends and family, eating, drinking, and going to parties. There can also be the pressure to start fresh in the new year, taking on new habits and hobbies or quitting current ones. For many people, it is a time for reflection on all that has happened in their lives over the past year and to set goals for the next one. This can bring a mix of emotions, including gratitude, guilt, hope, and stress. 

Here are five tips for experiencing the joy of the holiday season with minimal stress:  

1. Take Time for Yourself

Amongst the flurry of parties, meals, gift-giving, and family visits, it’s easy to become socially exhausted. Trying to fit too many things into a busy schedule can be draining, even if the activities themselves are fun and invigorating.

Carving out time for yourself to rest and recharge is essential for a stress-free new year. 

Plan ahead and schedule alone time each day. This could entail setting your alarm twenty minutes earlier to enjoy a peaceful cup of tea or coffee alone, an evening at a museum or show, or an afternoon walk before the sun goes down. It is normal to struggle to carve out this time, and some may feel a sense of guilt or shame attached to creating time for themselves. Self-care should be high on your priority list, though. As the saying goes: you can’t pour from an empty cup. A lack of rest and alone time can often cause crankiness, resentment, and less patience, so taking this time for yourself will benefit everyone in the long-run!

2. Plan Ahead, Stay Flexible

Creating lists and schedules is not for everyone. Some people love creating detailed itineraries with reservations, deliveries, and travel tickets booked months in advance. However, this isn’t possible or enjoyable for everyone. If you struggle with planning ahead, try prioritizing certain tasks and start with those that have a time restriction, such as booking theatre or travel tickets that you know will sell out or become unaffordable closer to the time. Planning ahead can also mean delegating tasks; you don’t need to do everything on your own.

Make lists of ingredients, gifts, or decorations you need to purchase and avoid multiple trips to the store. Have a few frozen meals – handmade or bought – in the freezer for “just in case” moments and exhausted, rushed evenings. Importantly, though, remember you cannot plan for everything. Staying flexible and adapting to change can be difficult, especially with family around. Adverse weather, late deliveries, travel disruptions, and many other factors out of one’s control have the potential to disrupt New Year’s celebration plans. There is always a way to adapt and turn a mishap into a memorable experience. Taking a moment to ground yourself with deep breaths, somatic exercises, or other techniques will allow you to calmly and pragmatically respond to changes in plans. With a relaxed, well-regulated nervous system, our brains are better at thinking of creative solutions to problems.[1]

3. Exercise and Eat Well 

There can be a lot of pressure around New Year’s celebrations to start the year with a new exercise regimen and diet. At the end of 2021, almost 50% of Americans said that their new year’s resolution was to eat healthier or exercise more. [2] The messaging about weight loss and health at this time of year can be overwhelming and unhelpful. Companies advertise quick fixes and endless images of detox programs and body transformations. The messaging often implies that during the last few months we have overindulged and that this must be moderated by starting a fresh diet plan in the new year. This messaging can be difficult to ignore because these ad campaigns are littered with a subtext of judgment and guilt and aspire primarily to capitalize on people’s shame of enjoying good food during the festive period. If you feel bombarded with pressure to lose weight, get fit, and eat clean, you are not alone.  Unfollow accounts on social media that make you feel bad about yourself and instead focus on healthy, manageable, and sustainable goals that will make you feel better about yourself inside and out. Eating well-balanced meals, enjoying exercising, and spending time outdoors are all priorities. The relationship between weight and health is complex, and if you are in doubt about your health or someone else’s, talk to a healthcare professional. 

4. Get Outside 

The holiday period often features a lot of time indoors, watching films, playing games, and eating. For some people, this is the ideal way to relax and de-stress. However, for many, getting outside and going for a walk or run in nature is the best way to cope with holiday stress since movement outdoors is known to trigger your brain to release feel-good hormones. [3] This could be a great time to practice old or new hobbies like photography, painting, foraging, or enjoying time alone. It is also a great way to bring families together to enjoy a walk or game together in the fresh air. 

5. Forget Perfection 

It can be tempting to try and create the perfect new year by starting 2023 in the best possible way. This often leads to additional stress and puts a huge amount of emphasis on a single day. Stress can ruin the experience and take away the gratitude and joy of the moment and prevent us from being present. 2023 will be what you make of it, regardless of the way that you bring in the first day of the new year.

However you celebrate, everyone at Heather Hayes and Associates wishes you a very happy, healthy new year. Here’s to 2023!

If you or a loved one is struggling with anything you have read in this blog, please get in touch with Heather R. Hayes & Associates – call 800-335-0316 or email info@heatherhayes.com today.

References 

[1] De Couck, M., Caers, R., Musch, L., Fliegauf, J., Giangreco, A., & Gidron, Y. (2019). How breathing can help you make better decisions: Two studies on the effects of breathing patterns on heart rate variability and decision-making in business cases. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 139, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.02.011 

[2] Armstrong, M., & Richter, F. (2022, January 11). Infographic: Top U.S. new year’s resolutions for 2022. Statista Infographics. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/chart/26577/us-new-years-resolutions-gcs/ 

[3] Jackson, E. M. (2013). Stress relief. ACSM’S Health & Fitness Journal, 17(3), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1249/fit.0b013e31828cb1c9