Featured: 10 Ways to Beat the Post-Holiday Blues

After the holidays have disappeared and we’re left with bellies full of food, houses full of mess and a sinking feeling that something is missing, you’d be completely understood if you felt down for a while. If you’re feeling the lull of the post-holiday blues and want to try and get yourself up and running again, check out these ten tips to push you in the right direction!

1. Spring Clean

It may seem counter-productive to some — for a lot of us, tidying up is the last thing that makes us happy! — but doing a spring clean of your room or house can leave you feeling accomplished and also make the space you have to live in easier to navigate! Grab those dusters from under the sink and buy a roll of bin bags — you’re going to want to be ruthless here. Get rid of what you don’t need, tidy everything up and dust in those hard-to-reach places that you never clean. Before long, you’re going to be living in a place that’s spic-and-span and honestly, is there anything better than surveying your room after you’ve just cleared all of the dirty laundry off of it and realising you actually have a carpet?

2. Buy Some Plants or Household Decor

Sometimes, the one thing that can make the post-holiday season all the more saddening for us is how bare the walls, mantelpieces and windowsills look after you take any holiday decorations down. This, at least for me, is definitely a massive contributor to feeling blue after the holidays have disappeared. Luckily, this is fairly easy to combat! To fill those blank spaces, try buying some houseplants to jazz the place up, or even some new home decor. This will help to brighten the house up a bit, and also make the place feel a little less bare!

3. Get Back Into a Schedule

For those of us who don’t work over the holidays, it can be a time where we lie in, stay up late and eat whenever we want. Although this is fun for a while, keeping to this schedule when you have to go back to school, college, university or work can cause untold amounts of problems. To combat this and make yourself feel a little fresher, stick to a schedule. Give yourself a time to go to bed, a time to wake up and keep your meals as set as possible. This will give your daily routine a kick-start and will also avoid the tired eyes when you’ve got something important to do!

4. Take up Something New

A new year gives you a new chance to do something else — whole three-hundred-and-sixty-six days where you can take up a new hobby. Try playing chess, sewing, knitting or picking up a new language. Think of something you’ve always wanted to try, and put the steps in place in order to do that. A new hobby is always something that’ll get your mind focused, so spending the first few months of the new year getting into something new will keep your mind off of the post-holiday sadness!

5. Start up a Savings Jar

January and February are terrible months. Christmas has drained bank accounts and irregular paydays may have left you struggling for cash. So it’s probably not on your mind at all, thinking about saving. However, even just putting away your pennies or cents or whatever small currency your country uses can make a massive difference! Start up a savings jar and pop loose change in it as often as possible. This isn't just something that you can do at the beginning of the year, either! Small savings every day always add up to something big, and cash that you’ve squirrelled away may be there to help you through the post-holiday money struggles next year!

6. Make Time for Something You Love

Often, we spend the holidays catering to families and friends, travelling around the house in a mad dash to try and get through to everybody. This has probably left you with little time to do the things that you love doing. So, in the aftermath, set some time aside to get back to those things you love doing. Whether it’s a hobby, or going out with good friends, make sure that you schedule yourself some me-time! You’ve likely been running off of your feet for the entirety of December and even if you haven’t, you still deserve some time to yourself!

7. Do Something Creative

Creativity is present in almost all of us — after all, we’re on a creative writing website! If you’re feeling down in the dumps, then try writing something new or if you’re more inclined to other creative ventures such as art or music, get back into them! Pick up a guitar, a paintbrush or a pencil and get as creative as possible. You don’t even have to have a goal in mind — creative practises can be stress-relieving and they’ll hopefully have a calming effect on you!

8. Treat Yourself to Some New Clothes

It may be hilariously clichéd, but retail therapy really can help some of us to feel a lot better! If you’re one of the members of society who feels good when buying some new clothes, and you’ve got the bank balance to manage, then head out to the shops and see what you can pick up! A lot of stores will continue their winter sales well into February and sometimes March, so the bargain hunters amongst us might also find calm in searching through the sale racks. For an added bonus, invite out some friends and make a day of it!

9. Go for a Walk

Sometimes, the only thing that’s bothering you can be that you’ve been cooped up for so long. If you’ve been hiding indoors from the cold weather, then it might be affecting your mood. If the weather is mild enough, try wrapping up and going for a walk. If you’ve got a favourite park or spot that you like to go to, then go there. The fresh air should have a positive effect on you, and just having some time to yourself in the beauty of nature is never a bad thing!

10. Talk to Someone

If you’re feeling the pinch after the holiday season, then the odds are that you’re not the only one! Sometimes just talking about things can lift a whole weight off of your shoulders, and you’ve probably got some friends who are feeling the same way. So if you’re feeling blue after the holiday break, then just chat to someone — by computer, by phone or in person.

Special thanks to losing control. and lily hughes. for editing!