I’ll admit it: Before I run errands on Saturday, I buy $7 oat milk cappuccino and chocolate croissants. When my friends treat themselves to yoga classes and spend an afternoon shopping, they call it “a Meg day.”
December Meg is different. How the vast majority of AmericansI can’t help feeling stressed around the holidays. I have to cut my budget to make sure I can afford cranberry-flavored cocktails at holiday parties and the $80 Skims bodysuit on my sister’s wish list—or risk credit card debt.
But when it’s cold, it’s dark, and the airports are full of people acting like they’ve never been through a TSA line before, I need extra energy to meet my year-end deadlines. So I came up with a good middle ground. I continue my usual, borderline indulgent self-care routine, but replace it with activities that cost $0.
Here are four ways I’m giving myself a little more time for myself this holiday season that aren’t chores and don’t cost a dime.
Free attractions
Every city I’ve lived in, big or small, is full of twinkling lights and free or low-cost community events around the holidays.
In New York, where I currently live, museums often offer free or discounted time slots. You can easily find more free events like tango lessons, silent discos or stargazing on The High Line on social media here.
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When I lived in Adrian, Michigan, I searched local college, government and news websites, as well as Eventbrite pages and Facebook groups, for events ranging from holiday concerts to tree lighting ceremonies.
This year I’m attending a light show and going to a downtown Christmas market with my family in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My sister promises she will help me stop buying hot chocolate in a boot-shaped mug.
Window shopping
Dreaming about next year’s wardrobe instead of buying it is a pretty obvious way to save money if you have enough self-control. But window shopping is difficult for me. I will never be able to resist a pair of Miista boots on sale.
Instead, I take different routes home so I can see as many Christmas-decorated streets as possible – a different form of window shopping with less financial consequences. Sometimes someone leaves the living room light on and I catch a glimpse of evergreen trees decorated with lights, giant reflective red bulbs, and paper angels.
Some of my colleagues engage in similar activities that activate their senses, such as trying out scents, buying candles, or patrolling the supermarket looking for free samples. This is a smart suggestion: Activate your five senses According to studies, it is an easy way to relieve anxiety.
Turn my living room into a café – or my bathroom into a spa
I have two hobbies that I’m really good at – ice skating and writing – and at least twelve of them I’ve tried once and never picked up again. I would like more time to master them all.
My editor had a bright idea: Grab a cozy blanket, put on your favorite playlist, make yourself a fancy hot drink, and practice an activity of your choice for a few hours. (Editor’s note: The guy seems pretty smart!)
I swapped out my overhead lights for lamps, put on the Beatles, and tried to finish a $25 crochet kit I bought on impulse online months ago. I sat under a blanket, sipped ginger tea from my favorite mug, and felt generally refreshed after two hours – even though I only completed about three rows of my crocheted strawberry.
Between Christmas and New Year’s I’ll be doing it again – this time as a DIY spa day and using the countless beauty products I’ve accumulated over the years that I rarely use.
My editor will be pleased, and probably not surprised, to learn that his suggestion is scientifically based: practicing something creative can do that make you a better problem solversay psychologists. And the simple act of play can relieve stress and build social skills and mental resilience, no matter how old you are. Research shows.
Meet an old friend – or not
Holidays can be celebratory, stressful, and comforting all at the same time, and everyone deals with this tension differently. For example, some people benefit from arranging a phone call with a friend before or after group events.
Actually, I’m the opposite: my social and family commitments wear me out because I feel like I have to be “on” most of my waking hours to meet everyone’s expectations. That’s why I schedule time in the weeks leading up to Christmas to “stare at the wall.”
Being alone and in silence gives you time to thinkprocess difficult emotions and be more present when you’re ready to rejoin the Word, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania Justin McDaniel told me in 2022. After sitting in actual silence for a few minutes, I scroll on my phone, watch Thanksgiving episodes of Gossip Girl, or do laundry.
The time off recharges me so I can argue with my family about which Christmas movie to watch on Christmas Eve.
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