It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the days in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve don’t count. In fact, I refuse to believe that there is anyone out there who manages to do a single productive thing in those few days because time as we know it simply ceases to exist – the 27th-30th of December simultaneously manage to feel like a lifetime and approximately 5 hours. So how to fill this dreadful, non-existent black hole of time? I’m so glad you asked.
1. Read more in four days than should be humanly possible.
There’s nothing nicer than curling up somewhere with a cup of coffee and a good book. Problem is, life has an incredibly unfortunate habit of getting in the way, and the older and busier you get, the fewer chances to do this you have. The unfortunate side effect of this is that you reach the 27th of December and realise you are only half way to the goal you optimistically set at the beginning of the year – when your determination to finally become ‘that girl’ meant you envisaged yourself building in time to read every single day. Instead, you panic read every book you were given for Christmas and whatever trashy holiday read you can find on your parents’ shelves until you have the satisfaction of your goodreads wrapped looking better than last year’s.
2. Practise more self-care than you have all year.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m of the opinion that there are very few things in life that can’t be fixed by a cup of tea/ glass of wine in the bath. As with everything though, it’s a question of making time for these things, which isn’t always possible. The next four days, however, present you with ample opportunity to become a glowing, pampered goddess. Been obscenely dehydrated all year? Only slept for an average of 5 hours a night? No problem – you’ve got four days to fix it, and fix it you will. Did I spend last night with my mother and sister doing every type of face/hair/foot mask available to us? Absolutely. Was there anyone around to enjoy the ‘party glow’ I was promised? Obviously not. Definitely worth it though.
3. Marie Kondo your life.
I’m not sure what it is about this period that compels us to better ourselves as the year draws to a close, but it seems to be a universal experience. After Christmas everything suddenly seems cluttered, and if you are anything like me, you find yourself with the compulsive need to clear out anything and everything you can get your hands on. This desire, however, only fuels you to about the half way mark before you are unable to muster up the energy to carry on, leaving everything in a weird, in between state of messy but semi-sorted. Delightful.
4. Convince yourself you’re the new Nigella.
The third day of turkey leftovers is, unsurprisingly, the point where it starts to feel more than a little uninspiring. Enter, the most bizarre and unnecessary food combinations you can think of. You’ll have it once, decide it’s the best thing ever and your fast-track ticket to the next MasterChef final and as a result, next year WILL be the year you master the art of cooking more than just fajitas and pesto pasta. Spoiler alert – give it two weeks at uni and that pesto will be calling to you
Featured image courtesy of Matias North on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Amelia Perry
Amelia (Millie) is a former Editor in Chief here at Empoword Journalism and is a third-year History of Art student at the University of St Andrews where she is the deputy editor at The Saint. Aside from writing, she enjoys true crime podcasts, a good book and attempting to cook.