There are many reasons to be home for the holidays, a world wide pandemic being only one… but not having the budget to travel, toxic family, and mental illness struggles are some other possible reasons that you might want or need to stay home this holiday season.
And let me be the one to tell you, staying home because you need to take care of your mental health is okay. If anyone has expectations of you coming to visit or some such thing, that is their expecation to carry… not yours.
Don’t Sweat It
Being home and/or away from family and friends for the holidays can be a stressor, but don’t take on that stress and let it make your mental illness symptoms worse.
Your needs are important, too.
Please be advised, though, “home” doesn’t have to mean “alone”. You can invite some local friends who aren’t going someplace else, or have some neighbors over. There’s a couple ideas on that further below.
Enjoying Being Home for the Holidays
Some of the ideas to enjoy being home for the holidays may sound obvious, but they won’t be apparent to everyone… and sometimes when you are in a funk it’s hard to think clearly… so I listed a few ideas out below.
- Learn a new skill or hobby online such as candle making, crafts, or even bullet journaling (psst! I have a Trim Healthy Mama fuel type tracker for the bullet journal to get you started! Learn about it HERE)
- Watch a movie or show you’ve always been interested in but never quite gotten around to (like Proof, a lesser known movie about mental illness)
- Try a new recipe (this pecan pie cake roll is THM friendly, *but* full disclosure, takes more time and effort than most of my other recipes. Totally delicious, though, and has been known to please more than one NON-THM sugar-loving person!)
Looking for Less Isolated Activities?
Although you could definitely gather a friend or two for the movie watching or baking (in fact, it’s a great opportunity to spend time with local friends), sometimes those activities are more about the activity itself (like the storyline) than community and relationship building. So if you are looking for more opportunities to build a relationship with people closer to your home, this is the section for you.
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- Since we are talking relationship building in this section, let’s talk games! These are fun with people you already share a space with, local friends, or even neighbors.
Some of my favorite (lesser known) games include:
- Rummikub
- Phase 10
- Bananagrams (we call this one “bananas” for short)
- Sequence
- Skyjo
But if you aren’t a game type person, I still have a suggestion…
- Start a small garden or re-grow some kitchen scraps! It takes time and patience, but the reward at the end is oh so worth it.
In what ways do you enjoy being home for the holidays? Let me know in the comments below!
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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