I hate it when Christmas is over. Hate it and I don’t always like January.

We have just taken our decorations down. The presents are away and the leftover chocolate is hidden. I’m miserable but I’m determined to not be for long. I don’t want a miserable cliche January. It makes me feel worse. It’s hard going back to school and work after being in that gorgeous bubble of friends, family and Prosecco (in my case) for 2 weeks but I’m throwing myself back in.

I’ve not made any resolutions, as it’s not my bag at all but these are my tips to avoid the blues:

• Don’t give up what you enjoy as it is January! I bang on and on about moderation and probably annoy the hell out of you but it is the best way to be. Yep you may have drank a bit too much over Christmas and ate a bit too much chocolate but so what? It doesn’t mean go cold turkey, be miserable for the whole of January to binge eat for the rest of the year. Cut the treats and booze down but a little here and there to keep you happy is cool.
• Make some weekend plans that don’t cost much money – January can be a skint month so the cheaper plans are best. Meet friends at the park with your littlies. Have a dinner party and everyone bring a dish and a drink.
• It has to be in here somewhere – do some exercise. It may be some fitness or dance game on the X Box, you may join a gym or you may dance around the lounge in the buff; whatever. Exercise boosts moods, burns those Christmas kcals and believe it or not makes you smile so go for it.
• Preserve some memories. You must have ten billion photos on your phone from Christmas. As a keen scrapbooker, I’m no stranger to making my photos look pretty but it can be easier than that. Make a photo album, photo book or best still cut them out and stick them down to make a massive collage. Crafting is calming and therapeutic and you will have an awesome keepsake afterwards.
• Get into a new series. Neflix, Amazon Prime, box sets…get hooked on something new and those dark evenings will pass in a flash.
• Learn something new! If you are a blogger; learn about a new plugin, some CSS, focus on one of your social media platforms and help it grow. If not, maybe there is something you want to learn a bit more about; go for it now whilst you know it is a slow month.
• Learn to be mindful. This is such a hot potato and the moment but can be used pretty much anywhere, sleeping, eating, or just any situation you want to increase awareness, clarity and acceptance. There are some brill mindful mediation videos on YouTube which could help with any stress and anxiety and help your inner Zen.

These are just a few things I will be doing this month. There are lots of exciting things hopefully going on in the gremlin household that will be revealed in the next few months; new challenges and new chapters (no I am not pregnant!) but I’m planning a non-blue January if I can!

Have a good one.