3 Ideas for Gifts for Yourself

If you’re like me, you’re astonished that Christmas is only six days away. Perhaps also like me, you’re putting finishing touches on gifts and working on wrapping.

Getting thoughtful gifts for loved ones can be fun, but you may also feel pressure to get the “perfect” gift or one that’s “acceptable” to other family members. Or you might feel like you have to spend more than you’d like to keep up appearances.

All of that can make gift-giving stressful, and it also keeps the focus on other people. Most of the time, that’s fine, but you could also consider doing something for yourself.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, this is still a good time to think about what you might give yourself so you can better enjoy the holiday or upcoming new year. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Delegate

Those of us who struggle with eating behaviors often have perfectionist tendencies. This spills into other areas of life as well, which usually means you end up taking on more tasks and responsibilities than others because delegating means trusting someone else to do a good job – and you’re not sure they will.

And if you live by yourself as I do, that only gets compounded because no one else is around to help with the daily tasks of running a household. (Maybe someday I’ll be able to teach my cats to do laundry instead of just stare at the spin cycle on the washing machine, but I’m not counting on it.)

But taking all this on can get very tiring, and it puts a big burden on you. So you might consider delegating certain tasks now and again.

If you have other people in your household, see if they can do some of your usual activities, even if it’s just for a day or two. Admittedly, you’ll have to accept that the tasks might not get done the same way as you’d do them, but that can be a good practice in letting go of perfectionist leanings.

Or if you live by yourself, perhaps you could treat yourself to a cleaning service to come in for a few hours. Or get take-out or food that’s already prepared at the grocery store. Or see what else you can come up with.

Just remember, the goal is to delegate some of what you usually do so you can have a break.

Block your calendar

I don’t know about you, but I have a somewhat ridiculous number of meetings at work. It’s bad enough that I sometimes have to block off time on my calendar so I can have uninterrupted time to actually work. Although this doesn’t always stop people from trying to schedule a meeting during that time, it works pretty well.

And then it occurred to me that this same approach can work on a personal front.

I started thinking about that more this year because even though it’s not as busy as pre-pandemic times, after spending almost two years not going anywhere, any level of activity feels like a lot to me. And while I want to do some of those things, I also want to make sure I don’t overdo it.

If you’re in the same boat, consider scheduling time for yourself in your calendar. For example, you may want to set aside time before or after Christmas, so you’re not straight out. Or if you have a lot of evening events, block off an evening here and there and tell people you’re not available.

Extroverts may not need to do this as much, but it’s still valuable to give yourself some time for self-care and relaxation.

Enjoy special foods

This time of year is also centered around food, with certain foods being traditional or family favorites. But you may run into situations where your favorite treat is something that others don’t like, or at least it’s not popular enough to make it onto the table.

If that happens to you, try to make sure you still get your favorite treat.

If you don’t get it, you may be a little resentful during the holiday meal. You may also feel deprived, and that could lead you to overeat more of the foods you don’t like as much, as a sort of compensation.

But by having the food you really want, you can be more relaxed and mindful when eating the other foods.

You deserve gifts too

The focus of Christmas is usually around getting or doing things for others, but don’t forget to give yourself what you need. That might be freedom from certain tasks, time to yourself, having your favorite foods, or any number of other things.

And remember, taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. Rather, it will help you get through the rest of the year in good humor, which is something everyone else will appreciate.