Christmas Self Care Ideas: 33 Festive Activities
This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you sign up or purchase products or services mentioned. Read the full disclosure here.
Last Updated on November 18, 2023
Looking for fun Christmas self care ideas? This list is sure to give you the inspiration you’re looking for to make this holiday the very best!
You’re probably drowning in ideas for family-oriented Christmas activities everywhere you turn. But what about for yourself? Some good ole’ me-time? With how stressful Christmas can get, these Christmas self care ideas are a must!
These ideas will help you strike the perfect balance of letting loose and having fun, while also getting some much-needed relaxation in!
33 Christmas Self Care Ideas to Stay Sane During the Holidays
If stress and the holidays always go hand-in-hand for you, you will LOVE these Christmas self care activities! You totally deserve a little me-time during this busy season. From fun ideas like creating a self care Christmas advent calendar, to relaxing activities like a winter-spiced bath, this self care Christmas list has everything.
Don’t forget about these Christmas self care ideas! Pin ’em to come back later!
1. Make Sip-and-Relax Holiday Mocktails
Let’s kick off these Christmas self care ideas by ditching the typical cocktails. Instead, let’s make some yummy drinks that are festive and better for you!
There are SO many fun Christmas themed mocktail ideas out there, so you can get super creative with this! Forget boring beer when there are so many fun festive drinks (like candy cane mocktails, uh, yum).
2. Gift Yourself a Self-Love Card Game
Level up your self-love this Christmas with the We’re Not Really Strangers: Self-Love Edition game.
Rather than something like cards against humanity with friends (although that’s fun too!), this is a card game you can play alone. Make a little solo date out of it!
You get to navigate through three levels of questions, each designed to foster deeper introspection, connection, and understanding – with yourself!
RELATED: 23 Self Improvement Gifts Your Go-Getter Friends Need
3. Brighten Your Mood With a Christmas Lights Stroll
Don’t let the dark winter days bring you down. Get out there and explore the beautiful illuminated sights you’ve yet to see! Taking a nice leisurely stroll through the Christmas lights can be a real mood-booster for those winter blues.
I mean, how can you not smile when you’re surrounded by thousands of twinkling lights?!
4. Have an Ugly Christmas Sweater Hangout with Your Besties
Instead of hosting an ugly Christmas sweater party with tons of people (a little too overstimulating to be considered self care), keep it lowkey and have a chill night with your besties in your Christmas sweaters! Take this chance to let loose and be silly–we all need it!
5. Make Eggnog
Have you ever thought of making eggnog from scratch? Baking and cooking Christmas-themed treats is always a therapeutic Christmas self care idea.
6. Create a Christmas Vision Board
Take a moment to dream up a vision board that sums up that picture-perfect aesthetic Christmas experience. You can get all sorts of inspo pictures from Pinterest to print out for this!
Whether it’s cozy scenes by the fireplace, cherished family moments, or your dream winter getaway, let your creativity flow and make your vision come to life in front of you. (These vision board ideas will help you get started!)
7. Make a Christmas Quilt
If you know how to sew or own a sewing machine, you can make your own Christmas quilt! There are great Christmas quilt patterns on Etsy.
8. Cook a Christmas Meal From Another Country
If you’re tired of cooking the same old Christmas ham (I’m not a big fan of Christmas ham myself, I’d rather have tamales), you might want to give Christmas cooking from another culture a try. It’s a great way to try something new and create a cozy evening in the kitchen!
9. Craft a DIY Christmas Wreath
Creating a DIY wreath sounds like one of the best Christmas self care ideas to me! It feels SO good to romanticize the act of creating something beautiful that’s just for you.
You can decorate with ornaments, glitter, ribbon, or anything festive! A convenient way to decorate a wreath is to look for a decoration kit.
10. Go on a Christmas Hike
Depending on the weather, it can be nice to bundle up and go for a hike on Christmas day. Immersing yourself in nature is a great way to spend time with yourself and practice mindfulness. Check out the trails in your area and see what you can explore!
11. Put Together a Christmas Comfort Jar
Take a mason jar and fill it to the brim with handwritten notes that warm your heart. You can reflect on comforting memories, the simple pleasures you enjoy in life, or jot down positive Christmas affirmations!
12. Have a Winter-Spiced Self Care Bath
Hop in the tub and make the space a winter-spiced sanctuary! You can do this by adding a handful of Epsom salts, some cinnamon-scented body wash, and if you’re feelin’ real creative, dried orange peels for a festive touch.
RELATED: 25 Mental Health Self Care Gift Basket Ideas They’ll Love
13. Have a Christmas Themed Slumber Party with Friends
Who says you’re ever too old for a slumber party? Make the most of a fun night in with friends by putting together a slumber party complete with juicy talks, treats, and Christmas movies!
14. Start a Christmas Scrapbook
Record your favorite Christmas memories from this year and previous years by starting a Christmas scrapbook! The best part is that it can even be used as a special gift for your family.
15. Take a Christmas Day Trip
There are several Christmas towns known for going all out and getting extra festive during the holiday season. Hunt one down, or even simply go somewhere you haven’t been in a while!
If you’ve been cooped up in the house all winter, this is one of those Christmas self care ideas that you need in your life!
16. See a Ballet Performance of the Nutcracker
A night of performing arts can be a refreshing change of scenery. Personally, I think it’s a pretty underrated Christmas self care idea! Check if your local theatre or ballet company is putting on a performance of the Nutcracker. It’s actually pretty entertaining to see talented dancers tell a story through movement alone!
17. Hit the Ice Skating Rink
The best thing ever is if your town offers an outdoor ice skating rink, but if not, indoor ice skating can still be plenty fun! Even if you’re like me and have to hold onto the railing at first LOL, it’s still a blast to challenge yourself and try it out!
18. Build a Gingerbread House
One of the cutest and most creative Christmas self care ideas: buy a gingerbread house kit. It can be surprisingly therapeutic and oh-so peaceful to meticulously craft the perfect gingerbread house!
19. Bake Christmas Cookies
Can we really have Christmas without baking something delicious?! Christmas cookies are always a classic, and even better is using actual Christmas cookie cutters!
RELATED: 30 Day Winter Self Care Challenge to Beat the Winter Blues
20. Make DIY Christmas Ornaments
Make a craft day out of it and DIY some Christmas ornaments yourself! You can start off with blank ornaments like these and go crazy from there.
21. Watch Christmas Movies
Even just having Christmas movies going all day in the background can make the day help you cozy into the Christmas spirit. Have a movie marathon with all your favorite Christmas movies!
22. Read Christmas Books
A lesser known idea is to instead take some time to read Christmas books! Below are a couple classic ideas to get you started.
23. Dance to Christmas Music Like No One’s Watching
Dancing reduces stress and increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, so get that Christmas music going, stream it on your favorite device, and have a holly jolly dance party!
24. Make a Cute Little Snowman
If it snows where you live (and hopefully you get the GOOD type of snow ideal for packing and making snowmen), definitely tap into your inner child and build a snowman! Did you know they actually have snowman building kits that come with a scarf, buttons, and everything else you need to dress up your snowman? Go grab one!
25. Start a Winter Wellness Journal
Winter can be a tough time when those “winter blues” begin to creep up.
You can either start from scratch with a blank journal–filling it up with positive affirmations, doodles, and reflecting on your feelings. Or, you can use a guided journal to help you out!
My Busy Woman’s Self Care Journal is perfect for this. If you feel stumped when it comes to journaling, this journal will help you check in with yourself this winter and most importantly, identify your self care needs so you can build a joyful winter self care routine ☺️ Grab it below!
26. Build a Christmas Village Scene
What better way to spruce up your holiday decor than by making a cute little Christmas village scene? And of course, there’s kits for that! (There’s a kit for everything these days. Love it.) This is a super creative Christmas self care idea.
27. Cross-Stitch Some Christmas Embroidery
A relaxing activity to do while watching Christmas movies is to embroider something cute. Check out these adorable Christmas cross stitch kits on Etsy!
28. Find a Fun Way to Display Your Holiday Cards
If you receive a lot of Christmas cards, you might be wondering where you should put them. A pretty way to display them is on a Christmas card holder!
29. Video Chat With a Far Away Relative or Friend
Catching up with friends and family you don’t normally see on the holidays can feel really good. It’s a great way to get in some social Christmas self care! They’ll surely appreciate you reaching out, and it will feel like you’re celebrating Christmas together.
30. Roast Marshmallows in the Fireplace
If you’re stuck indoors on a snowy day, you can try roasting marshmallows in the fireplace (or, if you don’t have an open fireplace, I personally just roast mine over a lit candle, haha!)
31. Make a Playlist of Your Favorite Christmas Tunes
This is such a cool idea to keep up every year for Christmas, with collections of different songs to represent different years of Christmas nostalgia!
32. Cut Paper Snowflakes to Hang in Your Window
Crafts like this don’t have to just be for kids. It can be exciting to go back to the days where you did paper crafts during Christmas time! Paper snowflakes are always super fun and pretty easy to make.
33. Make a Self Care Christmas Advent Calendar
Forget the traditional advent calendars. Make a self care advent calendar for Christmas!
You can take small envelopes and label them for each day leading up to Christmas. Each one can be a new activity, like a mini spa night, cozying up with a good Christmas movie, or a relaxing reading session.
It’s the perfect daily gift to yourself and will remind you to relax amidst the holiday craze!
Click to finally create the self care plan that’s personalized to YOU!
Why Does Christmas Feel So Overwhelming?
Does Christmas just feel like a chaotic tornado of tinsel and stress to you? If so, you’re not alone!
First off, think about how much the expectation of perfection is thrown at us. The expectation of having the perfectly decorated house, the perfect Christmas family photos, the perfect dinner…it’s exhausting to keep up with! You’re not Martha Stewart, after all.
THEN we’ve got the uptick in expenses. Christmas shopping ain’t cheap. Between gifting, decorating, finding the perfect outfit for Christmas day. That adds up!
And if that’s not enough stress, then we’ve got the overstimulation of spending SO much time with family. Not that this is always a bad thing, but I know the introverts out there (like myself) are mourning the loss of their alone time right about now.
All of these things can overload your mental resources. This is all the more reason why Christmas self care is a non-negotiable! I know there’s no way I would be sane during the holidays without it, lol!
Final Thoughts on Christmas Self Care Ideas
With how hectic Christmas can get, you’ve gotta gift yourself moments of self care. The season will feel 100 times more joyful when you can carve out time for yourself!
Try out a few of these Christmas self care ideas and sprinkle some fun and relaxation into your busy holidays! Let me know in the comments: what will you do to take care of yourself during Christmas?
More Christmas Ideas You’ll Love
Holiday Self Care Checklist: 12 Days of Caring For Yourself
8 Unique Ways to Defeat Christmas Overwhelm
62 Cozy Christmas Journal Prompts for Adults
103 Christmas Affirmations to Help You Through the Season
30 Positive Affirmation Gifts to Empower Your Loved Ones
25 Mental Health Gift Basket Ideas Your Stressed Friends Need
LIKE THESE CHRISTMAS SELF CARE IDEAS? PIN ‘EM FOR LATER!
Nice Christmas Ideas! Thanks for sharing!
You’re very welcome! Hope you got some good Christmas day inspiration!
What a fun list! Definitely going to suggest a few of these to my friends and family!
Yesss! I’m sure they’ll enjoy them!