Summer De-stress

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.”
James Dent

Exactly how I felt last week when I went out into the garden and just lay on the grass enjoying the sunshine. Summer holidays are meant to be a time of recharge and relaxation. Then my thoughts turned to how stressful summer holidays can be.

Find a good balance between doing fun stuff, relaxing and catching up on things you want to do

So here are some ideas I have put together to help summer be more stress less than stressful:

·       Plan a range of things to do – start now searching for indoor or outdoor stuff to do over the holidays – or free things to do like build a den in the garden or go on a nature walk or pond dipping or fruit picking. Write them on to strips of paper and put them into a jar and choose one when you are stuck for ideas and just let it all unfold. 

·       Stock up on chalk, snacks, fruit juice, bubble liquid, baking supplies, board games, water pistols etc, picking up items now and hiding them away can save wasted trips to the shops.

·       Treat days – allow each member of the household to design a treat day – could be a day out to the seaside or a picnic and let them organise it.

·       Meeting up with friends are always good days for both adults and children – have a picnic in the park or a coffee catch up can be relaxing for everyone

Some days just set your bar for happiness low – just tell yourself when you wake up that today is a go with the flow day. No set meal times or activities just do what you want. When things do come into your head that you feel you have to do just jot them down and deal with them the next day. Allow yourself to be present in the day, enjoy being outside, or eating nice food It can do wonders for your mind and body and help release stress bit by bit and truly wind down.

Remember the best memories are often made from the simple things such as family picnics, camping, a day at the beach or just staying up late sitting in the garden watching the moon rise and looking at the stars.

Enjoy your summer and relax