Christmas is Over: Celebrate the Rest of the Year

So many weeks and days of preparation and then Christmas is over. Oh, maybe you were able to stretch it out over a few days with parties and visits to various relatives and friends but at some point the cookies are gone, the tree has to come down, the lights have to come off the house, the gifts get put away and — and — and — and then it’s over — all done — finished. The living room looks cavernous without the tree. The kids are fighting over the last candy cane. And you are — happy but exhausted; pleased the week went well but not so pleased to get back to ordinary life. Those of us who live in the North have a lot of short, cold and dark winter days ahead. Christmas really marks the beginning of it, not the end, not even the middle. How can we resist the pull of the dark and perk up ourselves and our families? It really isn’t that hard. All it takes is reminding ourselves that whether we continue some of the holiday joy — or not — is a choice. It doesn’t happen to us. We create the reality that comes next. If you love the glitter, fellowship, cooking and giving of Christmas, there really is no reason to wait for eleven months for it to all happen again. Here are some ideas to keep the holiday spirit, if not every day, at least often enough that life has regular sparkle. Slow down the un-decorating. Just because January is here doesn’t mean the tree needs to come down. Sure, if you have a natural tree, it does have t...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Happiness Holiday Coping Seasonal Affective Disorder Self-Help christmas Holiday Spirit Holidays new year's resolutions new years Winter Winter Blues Source Type: news