Yes, you do have time.

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This is your reminder to rejuvenate over the holidays.  Empaths, highly sensitive people, and people-pleasers forget to take time to rejuvenate over the holidays, and really any time that is very busy.

As I was researching for this article, I came across the definition for rejuvenation, which means to restore your youthful vigor.  I thought that was perfect for this time of year!  We run around buying gifts, attending parties, planning and cooking meals, and visiting with people we don’t see as often as we would like.  But all of this busy-ness can take a toll on our health and well-being.  We get exhausted, and are then more prone to illness.  

My family and I were just discussing how as you grow, some of the magic of the holidays is taken away, replaced with obligations and responsibilities.  Wouldn’t it be great to restore youthful vigor at this time of year?  

What Makes You Feel Rejuvenated?

What makes you feel that youthful vigor?  Think back to a time when you felt really excited about the upcoming holidays.  I have a specific memory of thinking I heard Santa’s sleigh bells on Christmas Eve.  We had gone to the store with my dad, and had just gotten out of the car at home.  As soon as my brother and I heard that jingling sound, we ran inside and got ready for bed, so we could get to sleep and let Santa deliver our gifts.  Thinking about it now, maybe there was some persuasive suggestion by my dad.  Either way, we loved the anticipation of waking up the next morning to see what our gifts would be.  

When my kids were little, I bought a toy train to go around the Christmas tree.  My son would lay on his stomach, staring at the train.  He would put Hershey Kisses on the coal car, and watch them make their way around the track.  That is one of his favorite memories of the holidays.  

My youngest daughter bakes cookies with her grandmother and cousins.  Then her grandfather takes them to lunch and some type of jumping park or arcade.  When she was younger, she left the cookies out for Santa to enjoy.  

Here are a few ideas to help you renew that youthful vigor for yourself and your family:

• Plan a fun surprise for someone – You could plan something extravagant, like a trip to a tropical resort, or something small, like a visit downtown to see all the beautiful decorations.  I love surprising other people, but you could get your kids to surprise you.  They love to surprise their parents or other adults.  Let them plan a few activities to do together.  (Just give a few parameters, like cost, and logistics.)
• I got this idea from a TikTok video, where a mom let her daughter pick from three cards.  Whatever the card said, was the next thing they would do on their mother/daughter date.  What if you put a holiday activity on several cards, and chose one activity to do with your family or friends every day?  For example, you could make gingerbread houses one day, sing karaoke holiday songs one day, go out at night, in your pajamas, to look at lights and decorations, make your grandmother’s fudge recipe, etc.
• Volunteer for a toy drive
• Visit a Christmas tree farm
• Go to a pottery place and make some keepsake ornaments for your relatives 
• Go to a local festival to ride carnival rides, eat great food, and shop at the booths
• If there is snow where you live, go sledding, or build a snowman
• Go to a thrift store as a group and pick out an ugly sweater that someone else has to wear.  Have a contest for the ugliest one.  Or, you could gather craft supplies and make your own ugly sweaters.
• Play fun family games.  This is my family’s new Christmas Eve tradition. The funnier the game, the better. 

These are just a few ideas I could think of off the top of my head.  Do whatever brings laughter, excitement, and joy to you and your family.  Most of these ideas are for celebrating Christmas, but you could adapt many of them for any holiday, or any other day for that matter.  It just takes a little concerted effort to bring rejuvenation back into your life.  This is an act of self-care.  The more fun and community you can bring into your life, the healthier you will be.  It’s been scientifically proven.  Add it to your calendar on a regular basis!

I would love to hear how you bring youthful vigor back into your life!  Share in the comments.

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