Holiday Self Care Tips for Moms

As Moms, it’s a challenge to find time to take care of ourselves. We’re always putting everyone else’s needs first. But as we all know, you need to make sure you’re taken care of if you want to be any good to anyone else. Which is why even though the holidays are the busiest time of the year, it’s still important to take care of YOU. We’re bringing some easy holiday self care tops tips for Moms to help you survive the end of the year. 

I love the December. But by the time we hit Christmas, I’m wiped out. We’ve had cookie parties and gift exchanges, my kids have preformed in the Nutcracker and I’ve wrapped too many presents. With all the chaos, the magic part of the holidays seem to disappear. 

But what if it didn’t have to be like that? What if with some easy self care tips for the holidays, you could get back some of the magic

Remember, you’re probably extra worn out. It’s the end of the year, and arguably the busiest time of the year. A bubble bath isn’t going to cut it as self care

It’s time to get creative. The good news is, there are some special ways to enjoy holiday self care that aren’t available the rest of the year. So take advantage of the season, by trying some holiday self care tips for Moms that won’t be around the rest of the year. 

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Find Your Zen Place

The holidays are full of sensory overload. Blinking lights, repetitive music, it’s enough to drive anyone crazy. So you need to find a place where you can have a moment of zen.

It could be anything from sitting alone in your car for a few minutes to being in your yard in the crisp cold. Mine is sitting in the dark, next to the lit up Christmas tree, after everyone else has gone to sleep.

No matter what insanity exists everywhere else, you need to find a place of peace and quiet and tranquility. Sure, it all goes to hell as soon as someone else is awake or needs you, but it’s a great place to sit at night or to drink your morning coffee.

Pick One Holiday Thing YOU Enjoy

We spend so much time focusing on making the little people happy, that we forget to make ourselves happy too. What’s something YOU enjoy this holiday season? Fill your seasonal cup by prioritizing something you like.

Pick something that’s just for you and put it on the calendar – before it fills up! Drag your partner, or the whole family, or go alone, but let everyone know why this is important to you

Your family needs to learn that you get to do things that you love too, not just facilitate what they love. They also need to know that your holiday self care is an important part of the season. 

Even if that means your husband is putting on ice skates and hobbling around a rink for an hour. Or seeing the holiday chick flick you want to see. Because your holiday wishes are just as important as everyone else’s.

Couple ice skating

Take Breaks

As Moms we have to be “on” pretty much all the time already. But the holidays double down on that feeling by throwing you into extra social situations. We want to say “Yes!” to everything, and because these are festive events that come up once a year, we do.

But we can only go, go, go, so long before burning out. Make sure you take little breaks – even if it’s something that doesn’t feel like a break.

Block out some days on the calendar as “rest days.” No matter what invitations come up, or what last minute holiday activity the kids want to do, you can say “not today!” There will be plenty of days where they have lots of fun. It won’t kill anyone to take a day off in the name of holiday self care. 

Woman relaxing by the fire holding a cup of hot chocolate with cream on top - lying on a sofa, shallow depth

Enjoy Alone Time

I’m an introvert. So constantly being around people does not recharge me. With all the holiday festivities (not to mention school breaks, work breaks and out of town visitors) that’s a LOT of time spent with other people. It overwhelms me. 

So for me, peak holiday self care for Mom means getting away from everyone. That might not exactly embrace the Christmas spirit, but it just might be necessary for my sanity. Do not feel guilty asking for alone time over the holidays. 

Outdoor night portrait of young fashionable woman in the winter hat with pompom taking photo by phone rear view. Magic snowfall effect. Night street illumination in Moscow.

Hand the kids to your partner and go for a drive. Take a walk – by yourself – to look at Christmas lights. Go park your car somewhere nice and read a book. See a holiday movie alone. Meet up with a friend for Dollar Jolly drinks at Applebee’s.

Just take a break from the crazy. I promise it will still be there when you get back.

Related Post: Just Say NO

Treat Yourself to Tiny Pleasures

Doing something BIG for yourself can be overwhelming. Doing little nice things for yourself can help you stay engaged. If you love to journal or bujo or just write in your calendar, grab a new pen in a shiny red, or some washi tape to enhance your holiday. Splurge on a beautiful new nail polish – like this scented Candy Cane Crush polish – for all those holiday gatherings.

Personally – I love a seasonal coffee. So while I stick to a pretty tight Starbucks budget 11 months of the year, I indulge in December. Gingerbread lattes, eggnog lattes, salted caramel mochas, and the oh so coveted chestnut praline latte – I enjoy them all. Hell, I even will buy a cranberry bliss bar and not think about the extra expense.

You spend the whole month treating everyone else, you deserve to treat yourself as well. 

Relax

Don’t just find a zen place, or take a 5 minute break, but make sure that every once in a while you really, truly, completely relax.

I remember my Mom saying “But wrapping presents is relaxing!” And maybe you’ve convinced yourself of that too, but you also deserve to relax without creating someone else’s holiday merriment.

Having said that, I’m terrible at truly relaxing. I can’t settle my hands long enough, which is probably how I end up on Twitter most times I should be relaxing. So, the challenge becomes finding a mind-numbing activity that also engages your hands. Here are a couple ideas!

Knitting

I learned how to knit in the 3rd grade. I can knit all sorts of things from rectangles to squares to really long rectangles. If I forget to count stitches I can even make a trapezoid. Which  is to say, I’m terrible at knitting. BUT I can do it without thinking and let my mind go while my hands are busy. Turn on some Christmas music and I can enter complete relaxation.

Don’t know how to knit? Thankfully there are some great tutorials on YouTube! Just grab some knitting needles and tell everyone to leave you alone for a bit!

Cross Stitching

The thing I love most about cross stitching is that I can even make a cute little gift out of it. Which, maybe defeats the purpose a little if you feel like you need to finish for someone else. So find something that will make you happy. 

I love this holiday cross stitch kit for kids, because if it’s for kids surely I can handle it, right? Plus, it is festive and seasonal and keep those hands busy while I watch a Hallmark Holiday movie. 

LEGO Sets

I have a confession. I’m a huge LEGO fan. I find complete relaxation when I’m following the instructions and building LEGO. Whether I’m building this cute little LEGO Nutcracker during a small break from the chaos, or committing to this adorable LEGO Elf House I am fully immersed and distracted from everything else. 

Add some holiday tunes while I build and I can find some pretty great relaxation. 

Tracing Books

Okay, you’ve probably heard of adult coloring books, but we found these tracing books that are AMAZING. You literally just put a piece of tracing paper over the page and trace. The first page is a simple design, and if you want you can then do the second page to add detail. Then a third page for even more detail.

When you’re done, you’ve got a beautiful drawing – THAT YOU DID – and you didn’t even have to think about it! We love Believe, the seasonal book from The Tracing Co., but also love Bloom, with mandela floral designs and Wild Animals. My favorite way to relax right now is tracing while vaguely listening to a podcast. It is such a good reset for me.

Don’t forget to grab some tracing paper, and a set of pens of different widths like this one and you can easily make an amazing reindeer too!

Hope these tips help you have a wonderful holiday season full of fun, festivities and yes – a little self-care!

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