Post Holiday Blues....I don't know anyone that doesn't feel this...at least a little.
How could you not? All of the excitement from christmas shopping, decorating, connecting with loved ones, a few days off work, time with the kids as they are on vacation. Then....Christmas Day comes and it is over as fast as it came!
I myself have trouble with this every year. I try to focus on the upcoming year instead of the year that has just passed. If you look forward to something you will find yourself not missing what is already gone. But, how?
I make plans. I try to think of some things that I would like to accomplish that I put off because of Christmas. I usually come up with some great project to do that will keep me busy. For me, it is usually a scrapbook of some sort. My books are usually involved and because of this they take time. More time to think about something. Hands are busy...Mind is busy...and I always raise the bar. Try to make a better book than the last one! I like a challenge.
I usually try to buy my kids one gift for christmas that I know we can enjoy together. This may seem selfish but in the long run it provides hours of enjoyment while they are home from school and cuts out the bickering...or makes it not happen until the very last days before they return to school.
I also slow down on my housework. I do the everyday neceessities, but I don't go crazy. The dirt will be there and I would rather spend my time doing something enjoyable so that I don't get down. Some days I do lose it and clean like crazy. Sometimes for me, I feel better when I clean.
This year I am trying something totally different. I usually take my holiday decorations down immediately after Christmas. This year I am going to try and keep them up. And instead of having the kids clear all their gifts out from under the tree I am leaving them there. What can it hurt? And maybe it will keep the season going a little longer.
One thing I always find helpful is remembering what Christmas is all about. God's gift to us is his son. To me, this means that the gift is ever giving. It doesn't really end. Sure, Santa goes away...Snowmen melt...but we still have this incredible gift...
However, you decide to beat the blues...do something nice for yourself. You deserve it..and they will come again..before you know it! And, if you are anything like me....before you are ready for it!