The Zeiger Family Homestead Blog

With Be Proactive to Beat the Post-Holiday “Blues” (Part 1), I began a discussion of suggestions for keeping the holidays from turning dark afterward. The essay concludes below:

Once you’ve defined the season, enjoy it! Focus on holiday foods, holiday music (see Enduring Christmas Music), holiday books (see An Annual Problem: Finding a Good Christmas Read) and holiday movies.

Immerse yourself in this once-a-year event (see “Closed” for Christmas). This allows you to really appreciate the season while you have the chance.

It also freshens the everyday! After the holiday period, be it a few days or a couple months, the music you normally listen to, the movies you watch, the every day things that you normally do but have neglected during the holidays will seem fresh and new. No matter how much you’ve enjoyed the holidays, you will find new pleasure in the familiar once the holidays pass (see Preparing for Re-Entry).

Part of the Zeiger family nutcracker collection on a snowy winter’s evening (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

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Several years ago, I wrote a long article with personal recommendations for beating the “post holiday blues.” The Website the article appeared on has since folded. It’s time to reclaim this work, and, since I recommend starting before the holidays to avoid feeling bad after the holidays, I should put this out there ahead of the coming Christmas season for your consideration. It’ll be in two parts. I’m adding links to related blog posts on the subject from past years.

A song of the season says it all: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” For most of us, the holidays are an annual high point; so naturally, it’s all downhill from there! No wonder so many people experience post-holiday blues.

This natural response to the end of the holidays can be lessened or even eliminated. Here are a few suggestions for how to do that:

A key to avoiding post-holiday blues is to find something to look forward to after the holidays. To do this, it helps to clearly define the dates of your holiday, then devote your time and attention to the holiday season within those dates, excluding everyday pursuits and cares as much as possible. Gradually starting and ending your celebration can often contribute to feelings of let down.

Even Santa can feel run down during the holidays! (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

The span of the holiday season is wonderfully elastic. Depending on personal or family preference, one can choose the beginning and ending dates of the season based on a variety of factors.

Retailers would be pleased if you started before Thanksgiving; many people use that day to start their holidays. Others wait until Christmas Eve. (see Feeling Holidaisical: Christmas Comes to the Zeiger Family Homestead.)

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