This should have landed in your inbox this morning but for some reason I didn’t manage to schedule it so it’s here now. Sorry!

If you’re not back at work right now, then this period between Christmas and New Year’s Eve often feels a bit sludgy and I think I’ve figured out why. Quite simply, it’s a gift that we don’t recognise and have no idea what to do with. It’s downtime.

I’ve realised that in previous years, I’ve considered Christmas Eve, Day and Boxing Day as the ‘downtime days’. Those are the days when everyone is at home, right? Everyone is off and with their family. But, fuck me, I was wrong. There’s no downtime on those days. It’s full on and stressful and exhausting. They’re not holidays. They’re not rest days. They’re game days.

But that’s what the Christmas Bonch/Gooch/Perineum is for. If you’re lucky enough to not have to go back to work, then it’s a bloody gift, wrapped up and handed to you. So please, don’t fuck this opportunity for rest and rehab up. Don’t spoil it by running around, over-planning and headless-chickening it. There’s so much time for that in the upcoming year. There’ll be clubs and school and work and lunches and family and puppies (ok, that might just be me). There’ll be plenty of opportunity to run yourself into the ground - you really don’t need to start now.

We’ve just spent a week in a big house with Jimmy’s family and now we are back in our own house, just the four of us. So, I’m going to try and transpose all those relaxing vibes that I normally associate with Christmas into the Gooch instead.

I’m going to cook meals that my whole family sit down to, we’re going to go for walks, we’re going to play board games (we played Poo Bingo tonight…it’s actually brilliant), we’re going to read books, have early nights and I’m going to really spend this time to try and be present with the people I love and live with.

I’m not great at this - I definitely don’t have this nailed - but just being conscious of it is important. Reframe this time. You don’t have to slob (although you absolutely can), you just need to consciously appreciate this downtime. Make it as restorative as possible because the real rat race is just about to begin again.