With the holidays fast approaching, it's a good bet you're rushing around buying and wrapping gifts, planning company meals, booking flights and maybe hotel rooms, and doing everything you can think of to ensure that everybody else will be merry. Whoa! What is wrong with this picture? In the midst of the madness, you need to treat yourself to a few simple pleasures that will recharge your batteries and guarantee you won't end up feeling like a Grinch. Here's our list of 20 ways to make your own spirits bright:
- Curl up with a really good novel. ThirdAge Editor-in-Chief Myrna Blyth recommends "The Paris Wife" by Paula McClain, an evocative take on the real- life romance of Ernest Hemingway and his wife, Hadley.
- Enjoy a spa treatment or even a whole day at a spa. Google to find options near you.
- Rent or buy "Bridesmaids" and have a good laugh.
- Buy a pretty scarf to dress up everything from your LBD to your office attire to your jeans and T-shirt combo. The Metropolitan Museum Gift Shop online has some lovely ones.
- See a nearby production of "The Nutcracker." Tchaikovsky's soaring score and all those darling, dancing children are sure to get you in a festive mood whether the Sugar Plum Fairy is a talented teen from the local ballet school or a top professional at Lincoln Center. The magic is the same wherever you are!
- You never let yourself do it any other time but go for an 800-calorie coffee special at Starbucks. On the menu now: Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulée Latte, Gingerbread Latte, and the longest-running holiday favorite, Eggnog Latte. Mmmm!
- Buy that beauty product you've been yearning for -- a really expensive lipstick, a top-of-the-line anti-aging eye cream, or a new perfume.
- Get in a Christmas mood by wandering around a craft fair or a museum gift shop and let yourself buy a bauble or two.
- Get out and about. Long walks, once called "constitutionals," are good for body and soul. If you're a city mouse, head for downtown and look at the window decorations and the lights. In the country, let nature relax and revive you. If it snows where you live, so much the better. There's nothing like a Winter Wonderland! Make a few angels in the snow and feel like a kid again.
- Gift yourself with some affordable but fun seasonal costume jewelry from Claire's or NaturesJewelry.com
- Bake something! Gingerbread is the all time favorite because it makes the whole place smell so wonderful. Don't forget to eat your share just this once!
- Splurge on a mani-pedi. Pick bright red polish to go with your glam holiday outfits.
- Go to a performance of the "Messiah." Handel's masterpiece is surely on the roster at a church or high school near you.
- Buy a holiday outfit that family and friends haven't seen year after year. A red velvet big shirt over a white silk blouse and black velvet pants or a long skirt can be stunning. Add that costume jewelry you just bought and you're all set!
- Go out to a fancy restaurant either by yourself or with family or friends and order something a little too expensive.
- Take a day trip. Hop in the car or buy a round trip Amtrak ticket and make your getaway. You'll feel amazingly refreshed when you get back home.
- Sign up now to learn something new in the New Year. Your local community college probably has courses as varied as cooking, oil painting, scrapbooking, French, and piano.
- Download the world's great classical music for about 99 cents a selection in mp3 format from Amazon and listen during dinner or before bedtime. Shakespeare was right: Music hath the power to soothe!
- Another musical idea: Buy the Spa Music Radio App for your phone and you'll have just the right calming tunes for moments when you need to distress.
- Have your teeth professionally whitened. Get rid of coffee, blueberry, and red wine stains so you can smite everyone with your Holiday smile. And since you've been indulging yourself here and there during the weeks leading up to the main festivities, you really will feel like smiling!
CONTRIBUTE TO THIS STORY
