It's finally the Christmas holidays! We know many teachers feel a sense of pressure to work during the winter break, but we want to encourage you to take some time to relax. With so much going on during this school break, seeing family and celebrating Christmas, it can be hard to feel like you’ve actually had a rest. So we’re here to encourage you to make sure you take a bit of time to relax and go easy on yourself when you can. We’ve got a few ideas for ways you can relax during the Christmas school holidays, and we’ve turned it into a game! See if you can tick off a whole row…or maybe even the whole thing!
Go for a walk
Getting out into nature has been shown time and again to be great for our mental health. Maybe you can head to a local park or take a drive out to the country! You could take a walk by yourself while listening to a podcast, go out as a family, or meet a friend for a walk. We also love the bit after a chilly walk when you get home and warm up under a blanket with a hot drink and a bit of Christmas telly.
Watch a Christmas movie
A nice easy one, but something that can easily get forgotten in the hustle and bustle of all the Christmas activities. If you’ve got a lot of plans you might need to try and schedule in an evening or a lazy afternoon to sit and watch a good Christmas movie…or a bad one. If you have children, you can introduce them to one of your childhood favourite Christmas movies! If you don’t have little ones to cater to, then there’s an endless list of Christmas romcoms to choose from – or you could still go for the children’s classic on your own.
Bake your favourite treat
Baking can be a lovely way to slow down when you have a bit of free time, and it’s often something that’s hard to fit in during term time. Treat yourself to something that you love, like some gooey brownies or some homemade scones with lots of jam and cream. Put on some festive music or a podcast, take your time, and enjoy the process!
Order food
The school holidays are all about balance. It’s lovely to use some of your time off to slow down and take some time or bake or cook a favourite meal…but then, it’s also great to sometimes just order some food in and take all the pressure off. No cooking, no washing up afterwards, use your free time to do something totally for yourself and let a restaurant or takeaway worry about dinner.
Catch up with friends and family
We’ve made this the middle square as this one will likely already be on your list this Christmas! Maybe you’re having a big family Christmas day with a table filled with dinner to sort out, or maybe you’re having a quiet Christmas but you have a few parties to attend. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, the school holidays are a great time to arrange a coffee and a catch up, or just to spend an evening chatting to a friend on the phone.
Read a book (or magazine!)
Everyone treats reading differently – some people use it as an escape during a busy school week, others see it as a treat during some time off, while others can’t face it and just want to switch off their brains. So for this bingo box, we’ll let you read a magazine! This box is here to just encourage you to sit down with a hot drink, a cosy blanket, and a good read and have a flick through.
Do something creative
Spending some time exercising that creative part of your mind can be great for your mental health, and for decompressing and relaxing during a break from school. It can be hard to find time for creative hobbies during term time, especially when you’re tired. So we’re encouraging you to use some of the Christmas break to do something you love that feels creative to you. You don’t need to grab an easel and paintbrush – creativity looks different to different people! Many of our TPTC community love prepping their planner for the year ahead by decorating it with stickers and washi tape, and this is super creative, we love seeing the different monthly themes you all come up with!
Reflect on your year
Everyone talks about New Year’s Resolutions and looking ahead to the next year, but we love using the end of the year to take a look back and reflect. It’s great to take some time out and think about what you’ve accomplished and what you’re grateful for. Especially when the year has been hard and you just want to get it over with, it can really help your mindset to look for the positive things that have come out of the year. Give yourself credit for all of your had work and take that with you into the next year.
Have a spa night
We’ve put this one on here to just give you an excuse to have an evening to yourself to do whatever you find relaxing. Maybe that’s a long bubble bath with lots of luxury products, or maybe it’s just a ‘put your feet up and watch your favourite movie’ night. Set aside a night to just be self-indulgent and line up your favourite treats and activities. Especially if you’re busy providing for others this Christmas, it’s important to take a bit of time for yourself so that you have the energy to give to others the rest of the time! It can often be hard to find time for this though, so we suggest actually scheduling it in so it doesn’t get forgotten.
