What positive things do you do to cope with holiday and winter stress?

Title pretty much says it all.  Emphasis on positive.  No whiny stuff allowed.

Dropping whatever else I'm doing, and exposing as much of my body to sunlight as possible, whenever it's available.

Running.

Holidays.  No stress at all.  I do stop by COSTCO and stock up on Eggnog … no point in taking any chances.

Winter?   I try to stick to a schedule. I force myself to work outside at least a couple of hours a day regardless of the weather….that is in addition to care for the livestock.  I try to have projects with tangible results….such as putting up animal shelters, running fence…fence repairs.   I am presently finishing pig shelters and am beginning a chicken house.

I'm gonna second both of these responses. Get outside when you can!  Sunlight is much harder to come by in the winter months. Not only because of the shallow angle of the sun's rays (at least further north and south) but because very little skin is exposed to it. This can lead to a vitamin d deficiency if we aren't careful.

I remember in university when I took an anatomy course, my professor poo-poo'd taking nutritional supplements. She thought we could get most, if not all the stuff we need from our diet. However even she said vitamin d supplements in the winter time could be a good way to prevent deficiencies.

It's tempting to stay in with tea/hot chocolate and a movie, and doing that is 100% fine. But getting out, getting moving, and getting some sun needs to be prioritized too. For me, I do my tinkering in the garage, fat biking, and lots of hiking. Soon some wood splitting too as my uncle just dropped a load off!!

Holiday expectations are my biggest stressor. Here in the northern hemisphere, I do my best to celebrate the light. Focusing on the common experience of the darkness and return of the light speaks to everyone. Giving away neat match books, hand-made feather sticks, waxed pine cone fire-starters, fat-sticks, candles, New Mexico luminaria, and keeping a tall plain glass novena-type candle going throughout the season centers me and my guests.

-Ignoring mainstream commercialized stuff, and also choosing alternative holiday music such as Jethro Tull's christmas album, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, etc instead of the typical radio fare. We stream 'Undercurrents' quite often.
-Lots of light- as much direct sunlight as possible (only about 4 hours a day right now, and of course not when it's cloudy), tiny LED christmas lights (bought in January at 80% off!) strung various places, an LED grow light over the desk making it feel somewhat like summer there, and a 10k Lux LED 'Happy Light' for the first hour of the day at the breakfast table. Another hour in the afternoon when it's cloudy/darkish outside. (All of that only requires about 1 kw a day).
-More sleep, occasional naps, and more caffeine, 2000 mg Vit. D, and now a daily Rhodiola supplement (a new experiment, jury is still out on effectiveness).
-Bonfires! At least 3 times a week, a nightly bonfire is fun, can be a social gathering/potluck, lights up the dark in a warm and cheerful way. And the little kid in me still loves toasting marshmallows!
-Starting seeds/garden planning. It's psychologically stimulating, getting my brain fast forwarded to spring. New plant growth is a constant reminder that spring is only a few months away. Starting things like peppers now is not too early, provided you have space for them, as they become full size before you can plant them outside (at least up here in the far north).

The positive thing for holidays is fishing.  Winter is a great time to get cracking on the indoor projects for wet days and into garden prep for spring planting.  As for us down under, it is the first month of summer and we are into the BBQs, camping, fishing and keeping water up to the veges.

SLEEP. As much as you can.

Summer begins today (so I've heard, its 58 degrees and pissing rain outside AGAIN), in theory I should be outside picking beans but I think I might start working on an ark instead....

We don't really do gifts or big productions (generally I stock up on things so we don't have to go out this week to avoid crowds and stress) and my husband had surgery earlier this week so we're taking everything easy. We will likely make a few complicated meals for Christmas day (cinnamon buns and then maybe later pork dumplings) and hopefully we can barbecue on Saturday.
I am working on a big project with no time off, so for me my regular running is still super important (even in the "summer", still inside on the treadmill). And taking the new pup for walks, although with my spouse down for a few weeks that is a bit more complicated. Still, puppy snuggles and games are good for stress...

I work outside, weather permitting, so turn to indoor projects and celebrate time off.  Here in Texas, I'm dancing whenever it's not over 100°.  Also, more of what's already mentioned above.  Studying, garden planning.  Studying the Permaculture Cards!  Lol

I really like all the suggestions to get some sunlight.

We are having cloudy cold days right now. As I walk the dog I see weeds that need to go so I am waiting for some nice sunny days to say goodbye to those.  The burclover that I made peace with has tried to sneak back all around my car which is the worst possible place to decide to live.

I always try to keep a positive attitude no matter what time of year.

I have really enjoyed the music and movies that I have been watching that are associated with the season. I only watch them on BYU.  I watch Heartland and then what ever follows that series that are music or movie related.

I try to make a point of enjoying the sunrise since it's easier to catch in the winter. It's been quite beautiful lately.

Many of the permies have already said it all: Mainly: STAY ACTIVE, in whichever way feels most natural to you. Take advantage of Solar vitamin D or change our diet to include more vitamin D:
Cod liver oil, Salmon, Swordfish, Tuna fish, Orange juice fortified with vitamin D, Dairy and plant milks fortified with vitamin D. Sardines, Beef liver.
You asked for "no whining". I get that. Try not to connect with whiners, folks who bring you down. You can send them a card with your undying affection, but don't spend too much time with them.
The trick is to be ready for the overwhelming sadness that can engulf you sometimes. Line up your coping mechanisms ahead of time [make a list if you must]: Connect with upbeat friends, do things you actually enjoy, curl up with a good book, treat yourself to a little "me time", catch the sunrise [if it is sunny] and really allow yourself to enjoy it.
When I feel down, I also give myself a strict time limit to mope around. My kids won't be here for Christmas, OK. I'm sad[ It is true, they can't make it this year]. I recognize it as a form of grieving and deal with it. Bawl my eyes out for half an hour and make the conscious decision to move on to better ideas.
You were never promised a life of unending rainbows, so it is a guarantee that you will feel sad sometimes. The trick is to be ready to deal with it.

Tereza wrote:
Still, puppy snuggles and games are good for stress...

Animals are the best remedy sometimes (most times, for me anyway) and puppies and kittens even more so!
Where I live there's an animal shelter in the area that's always looking for temporary foster homes for dogs, cats, and occasionally new litters. Even though we already have our share of four footed critters, it's been fun to occasionally foster a new one for a month or two. Can definitely lift your spirits and keep your mind occupied.

Julie Reed wrote:

Tereza wrote:
Still, puppy snuggles and games are good for stress...

Animals are the best remedy sometimes (most times, for me anyway) and puppies and kittens even more so!
Where I live there's an animal shelter in the area that's always looking for temporary foster homes for dogs, cats, and occasionally new litters. Even though we already have our share of four footed critters, it's been fun to occasionally foster a new one for a month or two. Can definitely lift your spirits and keep your mind occupied.

So true. showing love to something or someone else is a great mood lifter. I would put in this category donating food or clothing to a shelter, taking part in a charity event, working at a soup kitchen....
It is not so much for the thanks you may get. It is for the warm glow of knowing that you are doing something good, even if no one notices
Maybe that is the spirit of Christmas...

Snuggle critters(no matter the species), bake (far more effective than eating, so much of it gets gifted!), put my bucks & does together, for the season(so they can snuggle for warmth & make babies that build anticipation of spring), shop for seeds & plants, clean& sharpen my tools for outdoor springtime farm activities, get creative with painting, fiber arts, or whatever strikes my fancy, in the moment. Organize areas that drive me batty. All these things feed my soul, give a feeling of accomplishment, and... keep me out of trouble,  lol!

I put out warm Hummingbird Feeder at dawn and watch them come in. It gives me joy because they have to wake up and drink first thing, and a belly full of cold cannot be good for their tiny little bodies. They recognize me (I think) and click at me whenever I go out. The days are so short I try to go outside every day. Right now the USA is under a “winter cyclone bomb” so even with full long johns, gloves etc it is so cold. The last couple days I’ve had to warm up the HB feeder because it gets ice crystals in just a couple hours. I make a huge hot cup of coconut cream with a little coffee and and spend time on the patio watching the sun come up. I feed my favorite squirrel peanuts & walnuts. He chases the younger squirrels in circles & I laugh. I am retired from a high pressure, toxic career and just slowing down like this is joyful to me.

Keep things simple. I used to go all out with decorating and holiday foods and it would take days to do it all. And then there was the huge-mongous clean-up! In recent years I've simplified both, focusing on a few favorite decorations and foods. That's helped a lot.

I play my favorite instrument:djembé. Do Wim Hof breathing for méditation and spend time focussing on healing youth trauma. Replanting trees and previous year cuttings from thé nursery, putting new seeds and cuttings in their place. Taking time to visit old friends, wishing people thé best who send me something and surprise some others.
Merry Christmas all and a happy new year.

I usually start a "winter projects" list during the warm months when I'm outside too much to take care of the indoor things.

I'm a list-checker and getting things accomplished makes me happy, so when I'm feeling stuck indoors or overwhelmed with holiday nonsense,  I get "stuck in" to one of my winter projects.

Find good work that makes you feel proud (for me, recently it was weaving and spinning). I'll make soap for the year in January, candles for the year in February.

We don't do gatherings if we know we will have to defend who we are at them (so basically no family gatherings...)

Flower essences
Good food with fats, meats, and root veggies.

What has made a huge difference for us in the last couple winters has been our infrared sauna (from SaunaSpace). I currently spend 12 minutes in it, 2x a week and will increase my weekly use as winter picks up. One day I'll have a traditional sauna but for now, that my sauna.

We sing more in the Winter too, all sorts of music.

Winter months after lean times for us financially and the lack of light really affects me so I turn into a crab that wants to hibernate all the time.  We keep the wood stove going often, make lots of soup, and I have finally drug out my happy light and have it on bc I was getting triggered going into town.  People are wearing masks a lot and the visual just really brings back bad memes for me of scary times.  So I force myself to go to safe social things, message sure I stay active in my church, run my happy light in the mornings.  Force myself to exercise on my horses when weather isn't dumping water on us. And I have learned to stay away from my oatmeal raisin cookies bc that and cold weather = hurting knuckles.  Ugh.  Winter seems to be just survived at times. Last year I was more Christmassy.  This year not so much. But I'm doing at least the bare minimum to try to take care of my body so I'm not going backwards health wise. And I'm doing my best to take care of my mind with a very limited budget.  It's only just the two of us now and we are in our late forties. We don't eat a lot, so that helps.  I do a lot of my crazy crafty projects bc that's one of the things that recharges my brain.  My happy place.is my ponies and my craft room..  Being oitside.js a must.  We only get a few hours of daylight so I make sure I'm out in them. Soon.  Soon, well be comparing about blooming cottonwood trees and allergies.

Leigh Tate wrote:Keep things simple. I used to go all out with decorating and holiday foods and it would take days to do it all. And then there was the huge-mongous clean-up! In recent years I've simplified both, focusing on a few favorite decorations and foods. That's helped a lot.

At age 74, I'm all in with you on that: After cleaning the gutters, I don't care to climb back up to hang fake icicles that will soon stop working anyway. The only decorations I have outside besides the welcome wreath on the entrance door is the plug in light projectors that come on at dusk and go off around 11:30-midnight. They bathe the whole house in twinkling spots of red and green and make quite an effect for the money. [I'd like them to be solar though. I have not found. If you have found some let us know]

I leave some Christmas lights up all year for those times when I need extra boosts of happy. I start or continue work on various projects indoors, usually crochet and now also some small pinloom weaving, preferably in a sunny window.

I expect this won't change much after moving from Southern California to West Virginia. I have been watching the weather in WV for nearly 3 years now and I'll want to be able to stay warm in the face of subzero temperatures for at least the portion of the winters that get so wickedly cold, while feeling like I'm still being useful. Making wearables for the family or for sale. (How many beanies and scarves can one person own before it's too many? ; )  )

I also like to cook/bake. I'm a soup sort of person, but my husband is not. Making soup requires careful choosing of ingredients, mindful chopping, browning, mixing, adjusting the seasonings... I go almost Zen while cooking things that require care and overwatch! Baking bread, cookies, dinner... all a pleasant task to keep me busy, and especially wonderful to me when everyone loves the end result!

I also use aromatherapy when I'm feeling a bit blue. Burning scented candles, incense, using a spritz of essential oils in water, or some of the baking that uses cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, citrus!!

Of course some days get too heavy with emotions and I just go cry for awhile to relieve the pressure. Mostly those days I'm grieving for the holidays of my childhood that I can't get back to, or for my missing/deceased family members whom I grew up knowing; Great Uncles and Aunts, Uncle Jim and his family, the cousins I knew as a child who no longer wish any contact, Mom, Grandparents... the whole darn family of my childhood. Writing about it is getting a bit heavy and my eyes seem to want to leak.
So time to turn on these strings of lights and find something else to occupy my mind!

For my wife in her 70s, nightly 3-4 hour chores feeding animals and cleaning up stalls helps maintain exercise and social interaction with her animals.  I do the vast majority of the cooking and deep winter is a good time for experimentation.  Additionally, in midday, I will go start the rocket heater in the large chicken coop and clean up around there while feeding them bits of this and that.  Once the temps get back up above 0 degrees F, we both will do more skiing and snow-shoeing for exercise and to be outside.  

Now that the holidays are over:


source

Sleep. full body exposure to the sun within reason. Eat lots of hot chuncky  soup. Go to the gym,  getting a gym membership was one of the best decisions  I have done for myself since thanksgiving 2021.

I know the holiday season is over, but I like to use the Wim Hoff breathing method, followed by another 10-15 minute nap. Works a treat!