How to Unwind on Christmas Eve

As magical as the lead up to Christmas is, December is also a stressful month. Probably the most stressful. By the time Christmas Eve comes around, I'm pretty much spent. That's why I savour the night of the 23rd: It's my chance to let go of all the stresses of the month and relax before all of my preparations come to the glorious head that is Christmas day.

Guys. Hands up who is over the age of 21 and still gets so excited for Christmas that they can't get to sleep the night before? You can bet your ass that my 24 year old hand is raised high. I think about all of the food and the presents and I toss and I turn and I make myself sick with excitement. These are a few of my tried and true methods that I've adapted and perfected over the years to help me relax, unwind and get to sleep that little bit easier on Christmas Eve:

Take A Bath

A little bit of festive pampering is an absolute must and the number one way to have a pamper session, is in the bath. I love to melt in to the warm water and feel all of the stress and tension leech out of me. Light some candles, drop a bath bomb, pour in some bubble bath - go crazy. I absolutely love LUSH bath bombs, especially for Christmas time. Anything with a sweet, yet somewhat spicy scent is perfect for this time of year. Luxury Lush Pud and Golden Wonder are both great Christmassy bombs and the spicy Magic of Christmas is a must for bubbles. Your bathroom is going to smell all kinds of festive.

Of course, no bath is complete without a face mask. My favourite face masks at the moment all also happen to be from LUSH (I swear this post isn't sponsored) I have dry skin so I use Oatifix the most often to add some much needed moisture to my face. Mask of Magnaminty is my favourite to use on congested skin and I just love Cup O' Coffee to exfoliate and brighten.

After a bath, I love to slather on a body lotion before slipping into a fresh pair of (Christmassy) PJ's. LUSH's Sleepy is my absolute favourite lotion as the subtle lavender scent helps to further relax me and help me to drift off to sleep.

Spritz Some Pillow Spray

Pillow, bedding and sleep sprays have risen to popularity seemingly out of nowhere this year. They're so extra if you ask me, but it's always fun to be a little extra every now and then (read: always). The brand This Works does a Deep Sleep Pillow Spray which is lovely. The lavender scent really helps to calm my mind, relax my body and ease my anxiety, helping me to get to sleep faster and more peacefully.

Switch Off

We all have that one overly excited friend or family member who will send out a group "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" message to all of their contacts at a ridiculous time in the morning. It's always either right as you've managed to drift off, or well before the sun is even close to coming up. I don't know about you, but once I've woken in up, it's difficult for me to fall back to sleep. Especially when you've just been reminded that hey! It's Christmas! Turn off your phone, or at least put it on silent an hour or so before bed. Not only will not burning your retinas with the harsh light of your screen help you to get to sleep more peacefully, but it also ensures that you will get a night of uninterrupted sleep.

Love, Actually

This could be any Christmas movie, yes, but Love Actually is my #1 Christmas movie of all time (and should be yours, too. Closely followed by The Grinch). Whatever you end up watching, a funny, heartwarming Christmas themed movie with a cup of (boozy) hot chocolate in hand before bed is always a good thing.

Utilize The Out of Office Feature

There’s a reason that the out-of-office auto-reply feature exists. Use it! I understand that this isn't feasible for all jobs, but for the most case, the work (or blog) related emails can be put on the backburner for at least a couple of days. Most requests can wait and most senders will understand. I don't even check my blog's email account over the holidays; I find that it's practically impossible for me to relax if I do.

Treat Yo'self to a Festive Mani

I adore painting my nails with sparkles over Christmas; I actually like to do it whilst watching Love Actually. I've been using F.U.N. Lacquer's polishes a whole lot lately (how cute is Jingle Bells?!) and this year, I'm thinking of painting my nails a sparkly rose gold/copper shade.

I hope that you all have a very merry Christmas, whatever you do.














As always, this post has not been sponsored in any way, meaning that none of the products mentioned have been sent to me, endorsed or paid for by anyone other than me, myself and I.