Be Open: Holiday Wellness

Two more sleeps! It’s almost here! Even though Christmas in our home is looking very different this year, my husband and I are excited to celebrate (albeit quietly) this week. We are really motivated towards goals for 2025, but we decided, why wait? Let’s get started now. You can too!

Last week, my husband joined a local gym. We got a referral from our son, who is a member. I can work out for free with my husband as his guest. This is no problem, because we love doing things together and we work similar shifts. I will start in the new year, because I am still waiting for my bones to heal from my foot surgery. This works towards our weight health and financial goals. So many people have a goal to join a gym and start working out in January. But why wait? Why not start building that habit now? My husband will be well on the way to building his workout routine before the ball drops on December 31.

We have also had several conversations about food lately. Who doesn’t talk about food in December? Favourite treats, holiday gatherings, parties and Christmas dinner are big topics right now. My husband and I each have a dessert that says “it’s Christmas” to us and we have those in the house. During my recovery, I haven’t been able to cook or bake much at all, so that cut out a lot of additional foods I would have normally prepared. We will enjoy these treats and a pared down Christmas dinner this week, specifically December 25 and 26. Our plan is to eat our normal, balanced and well-portioned meals the rest of the days. We will likely have some treats January 1st as well. Between now and the end of the holidays, most of us will eat 30 meals. Take out one special meals on Christmas Eve, two on Christmas Day, and one each on Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day, that leaves 24 meals that can still be within our food budget. Very doable, even with some work treats thrown in here and there.

Stuffing! My favourite!!

Since we aren’t traveling this Christmas, we can enjoy some extra sleep and relaxation time. When I’m well-rested, I do find I make better food choices and am more open to working out.

We also had a quite strict budget for gifts. We took a cruise in September to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday and my 60th. Money was spent and I don’t regret it, but I don’t need an abundance of gifts at Christmas also. This gets us moving forward in our financial health as well. Progressing financially with zero worries about paying off Christmas helps me sleep and eat better!

Other things, like building up my marriage (an awesome marriage can always grow and become even more satisfying), deepening my spiritual life and decreasing my screen time are in the mix too. All of these help me eat better, move more and sleep more deeply.

So, what about your wellness goals? Have you established one (or a few) for 2025? Super! What is one step you can take towards those goals this week? I’m sure you can do this! Let me know what you have planned, even a baby step – I want to cheer you on! The new year is going to be great as we reach some goals. I am looking forward to January 1st knowing I will have a feeling of accomplishment that I ended the year starting some good habits.

Merry Christmas!