What To Put on Your To-Do List the Week Between Christmas and New Years

Believe it or not one of my absolute favorite weeks of the entire year is the week between Christmas and New Year’s. A week when time truly seems to stand still. When all expectations are off and permission is given to truly just be what you need to be for the days living between Christmas and New Year’s. Therefore, in spirit of my favorite week and time of the year, I have for you the complete to-do list for the last week of the year. Sharing exactly what you should be doing during the week between Christmas and New Years.

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Your To-Do List for the Week Between Christmas and New Year’s

This time of the year is oh so special. With the excitement winding down from Christmas, and the anticipation of a brand new year shifting into gear. So many emotions and feelings carry us through the last week of the year. There can be incredible expectation and anticipation focused on the last week of the year, which is exactly why I have for you the very exact to-do list you need to carry you through the week between Christmas and New Years.

Your Best Day No Matter What

Now, a quick little note. We are all about being real, honest, vulnerable and authentic here. This corner of the Internet, the podcast, this platform encourages and speaks of living your best day everyday. However, that does not mean your best day is without the reality of how hard life can be truly be. Because life is hard and it is trying and difficult. There are so many days that can absolutely test your strength and really make you think how am I supposed to do this?

Which is exactly the purpose of The Best Day Podcast and Gracefulandfree, to find the encouragement and the motivation through every part of it all. Through the most wonderful moments, as well as the hard moments. The challenging moments and the simple moments. To find that purpose and the peace, to be able to say that even through all these things it still can be okay. Which is exactly what I am here for and all about!

The Love for the Week Between Christmas and New Years

And speaking of things that I am completely here for. I absolutely love the week between Christmas and New Years. As a kid, this week has always been my favorite. Because you go through Christmas and you don’t have to go to school. You’re home with all these new wonderful things that you got as Christmas presents. The opportunities are endless. You can sleep in, stay up late and as a kid this week between Christmas and New Years is truly the best.

Then as an adult, I’ve loved the week between Christmas and New Years because you also don’t have to go to work and you can chill and rest. As well as get caught up on sleep, while indulging in all the sweets and watching all the movies. Then fast forward to the week between Christmas and New Year’s as a parent. It’s so exciting to be able to see the overflow of joy and excitement and to soak that up from the perspective of your children, in the days between Christmas and New Year’s as well.

Therefore, I’m here for it. Absolutely here for it. Additionally, I want you to be here for it too. It is truly that slower pace of life that I absolutely love and time truly does seem to move slower within the week between Christmas and New Years. It’s like the world is giving us full permission and a space to actually slow down and reflect on the past year so that we can be ready to switch it into gear come January first.

Goal Planning Workbook

Which speaking of taking the actual time to reflect on the past year and look ahead to a brand new year, I am so excited to share with you my very own goal planning workbook! A 20+ page workbook with specific and intentional planning to help set yourself up for the life that you are truly wanting to live.

While this workbook is perfect for the start of a new year, it’s truly something that you can utilize at any given point in time. Additionally, there is a bonus video training where I walk you through step by step of how to use the goal planning workbook. That way you can be sure to use the workbook to the best of your ability in order to maximize those results.

The Ultimate Tool for the New Year

Allow this goal planning workbook to be the tool to help you move in the direction that you want to go for the new year. Especially right now between Christmas and New Year’s. The time when you’re reflecting and goal planning and really creating that vision for the next year. This is going to help you do that. So very much!

7 Things To Do The Week Between Christmas and New Years 

Now, my hope here is to provide you with a simple to-do list for the week between Christmas and New Year’. And with this list, a list of 7 specific items to do and consider for the last week of the year. The most important thing to consider is to focus on what you need the most right now!

With this list of seven items, some to-do items are going to immediately scream yes to you. While others, might not! And that’s okay. Focus on what you need to do the most. Take a moment to think through what your heart needs right now. Take a quick little self-assessment and think through how you’re feeling? Are you overwhelmed? Burnt out? Then maybe rest is going to be more of your option.

Reflect on What You Need the Most

Are you feeling like you just need to clean and organize and declutter so that your physical space and environment can be set into a reset mode for the new year? Then do that? Do you need to recharge and spend time fully connected with your people, your relationships and your family? Perfect, then do that.

Or maybe you just need to get away. Because sometimes we just need to get away. We need to escape and go somewhere else for a moment to just see things differently from a different perspective. Therefore, that’s the first thing to hear. Focus on what you need to do the most right now. Take little bits of this that work for you and then apply to your life and use those specific things. And leave the rest!

The Actual Things To Do Between the Week of Christmas and New Years 

The actual things to put on your to do list for the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Specifically 7 must-do items that you should actually prioritize as you live your life in the very last week of the year!

#1 Reflect on the past year

The very first thing to put on your to-do list for the week between Christmas and New Years is time for reflection. Allow yourself to actually reflect on the past year. When you are sitting down to really prepare yourself to end this year and move to the next year, it’s really important to reflect on the past year. There is no better time to do this than the week between Christmas and New Year’s. When time does slow down a little bit and things move a little bit slower. More time to allow your heart and your mind to reflect. Whether you want to do this through a journal, or through the goal planning workbook, be sure to take time to truly reflect on the past year.

Specifically think through what went really well in the past year. As well as, what was challenging. Think through what was a struggle, and what things you’re proud of. Or what things do you feel like could have been better. Allow yourself to really sit through and reflect on the past year. What are some favorite memories. What are the things that really brought you significant joy. Reflect on those things.

I strongly encourage journaling this and writing this out. There is a big part of the goal planning workbook that is focused on reflection to help prompt this as well. If you are looking for specific guidance on the best way to review and reflect on your year, check out this 3-part end-of-the-year review to help prepare you for the new year! Therefore, the very first thing to do during the week between Christmas and New Years is to reflect on the past year.

#2 – Express Gratitude 

The very next thing to put on your to-do list for the end of the year, specifically the week between Christmas and New Years is to focus on and express gratitude. It’s so necessary to take time to focus on what you’re thankful for as an expression gratitude and thankfulness. To really put your heart in the right space and to put yourself in the right intention. It can be so easy to feel all the things and be overwhelmed by all the hard moments, especially as you are reflecting on the past year and if it’s been a difficult year.

Trust me, this has been our most difficult year. But, especially if it’s been a difficult year, even then it’s more important than ever to prioritize expressing gratitude. Allowing yourself to realize that while this year has been hard and challenging, there’s also a lot of good. Focusing on gratitude and thankfulness allows you to hold on to the good things.

The Importance of Gratitude During the Week of Christmas and New Years

Therefore, take time to express gratitude. Jot down the things you’re thankful for and really meditate on that. Allow gratitude to cultivate an even stronger foundation of thankfulness within your heart. Because it’s from that foundation that joy can grow and it’s really a beautiful thing. Therefore, the second most important thing to do the week between Christmas and New Year’s is to express gratitude.

#3 – Dream for the next year 

Another really great thing to do the week between Christmas and New Years is to give yourself time to dream for the next year. Envision in your mind, the dream that you have for yourself in this next year. Allow yourself to think through visions in your head of what you want. Of the things you want to achieve. Specifically, moments that you want to cultivate within your home. The things that you want to do, the places you want to travel to.

The Importance of Giving Yourself Time to Actually Dream

It’s a really beautiful process when you give yourself time to actually dream. Some of my favorite ways to dream is when driving in the car, somewhere very pretty with a serene, scenic environment. As well as spending time outside. It is these specific moments that really allow my mind to fully dream. Moments where I can think more clearly, and where I’m more connected with the desires and passions of my heart.

Therefore, think through the things that you can do to allow your thoughts to form more fluid movement. That way you can truly captivate the dream that you have. So think through and dream for the next year. Build that up in your head and take that childlike faith and run with it and see where it takes you.

#4 Take some time to declutter a small area of your home 

The fourth thing to do during the week between Christmas and New Years is to take some time to declutter a small area of your home now. You can go as big or as small here as you want. Whatever you are feeling like you can handle in the current moment. If that is a big space, than great, or if there’s too much going on and you can’t do this right now, then just pick a drawer.

Pick the smallest drawer in your home. Take everything out of it, go through and throw things away. If things belong somewhere else then go put them in the right location. Or if there’s things that you have never used before, get rid of it. Decluttering is such a therapeutic process, but also a really good way to reset as you wrap up this year and head to the next. Truly, a really powerful thing, physically moving through and decluttering a small area of your home. Therefore, take time to declutter a small area of your home, the week between Christmas and New Years.

#5 Create a vision board for the next year 

The fifth thing to do the week between Christmas and New Years is to create a vision board for the next year. Now this is similar to the third item on the list, dreaming for the next year. But this step is taking your dreaming to the next step, and actually create your vision board. When you’re taking the dreams that you have and bringing them to life. This is when you are physically doing something with your dreams.

Building Your Vision for the Year During the Week of Christmas and New Years

Whether you are using a graphic in Canva and you’re scrolling through Pinterest to put things together based on the things that speak to you. And the desires and outcomes you want to have. Or if you’re jotting down a list of things that you want to do, places you want to see, the things you want to become. Whatever this format looks like, it can be a word vision board, or a visual vision board.

This is also something that I take you through in the goal planning workbook, but take the time to create your vision board for the next year. This is so important for your heart to do as a reminder of life and to remind you of joy and hope and better days ahead. Therefore, create your vision board for the next year. Looking for assistance in mapping out and building your dream year, sharing additional words of wisdom and practical tips for how to goal plan and vision cast for the new year.

#6 – Slowly Goal Plan

Sixth on the list of what to do the week between Christmas and New Years is to slowly goal plan. The importance here is slowly start to goal plan! Because it’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s and you want to slowly embark on gearing yourself up for the next year. Therefore don’t do this too fast. Truly sit in the pace and the steady and slow of this season.

Take your time and start to reflect and think on what are the things that you hope to accomplish. Specifically, what are things that your soul needs. Furthermore, what’s going to really bring you more to life and slowly start to goal plan. I take you through every single step of my goal planning process in the goal planning workbook and I would strongly encourage you to get a hold of that because that is going to be a game changer for you for the next year.

#7 – Have a cozy day at home

Finally, the last item on your to do list between the week of Christmas and New Year’s is to have a cozy day at home. Or make it two or three cozy days at home! Have a day where you stay in your pajamas and you get snugly and cozy on the couch. A day where you bake cinnamon rolls and endless cups of coffee that are being refilled from your kitchen.

Where you sit and are present and you don’t have an agenda. Where you specifically don’t focus on all the things that need to get done. Instead, you simply remove the to-do list and give yourself permission to be present and to soak up all of the things and the feelings of the season. And of spending precious time with the people that you love and that mean the absolute most.

Live Your Best Life the Week Between Christmas and New Years

I fully believe there is so much goodness in store within the last week of the year! So many good things for you as you sit through, reflect, rest, and excitedly anticipate the arrival of a brand new year. And all of that can happen this week, the week between Christmas and New Years. Quick little recap for you as you build out your week:

1. Reflect on the past year number
2. Express Gratitude
3. Dream for the next year
4. Declutter a small area of your home. 
5. Create that vision board for the next year 
6. Slowly goal plan
7. Have a cozy day at home

Okay I am so excited for you as you finish this year strong and look ahead to a brand new year! Cheering you on and wishing good things your way! Have the best day!