Surviving the Post-Holiday Blues

Michelle Nott discusses strategies that have helped her and her family welcome January. 

January always feels like such a long month. We come off all the excitement from the holidays and go immediately into a month that tends to be very long and cold (at least in the Midwest). We have New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, and then a big wait until Valentine’s Day. As a kid I would get post-holiday blues, even on Christmas. I was sad that it was over and that all the magic and excitement came to an end.  

It’s always challenging because it is a month of new beginnings, where people like to set goals for the new year which can lead to pressure being put on you to improve an area of your life. Usually, halfway through January we lose sight of these goals, and the post-holiday blues set in again with feelings of failure lingering behind them! 

Prolong the Celebration 

My kids experienced the post-holiday blues this year and were sad to say goodbye to the Christmas tree and Elf on the Shelf. This year I did try to be more intentional about spreading our celebration to more than just one day. We still listened to Christmas music in the car through the Epiphany. We also all got some Catholic words of the year from Just Love Prints in the mail and used Jen Fulwiler’s Word of the Year website as well. 

I also am trying to be more intentional to choose moments of joy and provide hope for our family when the sad feelings hit us. For example, when the kids became sad about taking down our Christmas tree (I was feeling sad too!) I was able to find a smaller decorative tree that provides some light to take its place and decorate it with hearts. This provides more light for our house and also a transition from having a big Christmas tree to a smaller light-up tree that the kids can decorate for future holidays. They also were excited to go back to school and see all their friends again after a two-week break.  

Do What's Best for Your Family 

If I can give one suggestion to families for surviving the post-holiday blues and the long month of January (and quite frankly, any decision you need to make for your family) it’s to do what is best for your family. Some families like to be traditional and keep their Christmas trees up until Candlemas in February. Others like to take it down the day after Christmas. I try to wait until after New Year’s Day, and then the tree comes down because it takes up a lot of space in our house and sometimes it’s nice to have a reset.  

But just because others do something one way, doesn’t mean that you should feel pressured to do it the same way. And if you do feel pressured, then maybe take a break from social media so that you don’t have to see what everyone else is doing.  

If you are struggling with feeling sad now that the holidays are over and you’ve lost steam chasing your New Year’s goals, find some moment of joy in your day and something else to hope for or look forward to. The tree that we added to our house brings joy to us, and my daughter will always make sure it’s turned on when she’s home! 

Acknowledge the Emotions 

I think it is also important to acknowledge all the emotions that pop up during this transition to a new year and slower month. My cousin gave me a thoughtful gift this year. It is a jar filled with pieces of paper with different Bible verses on them. They are color-coded to match a certain emotion. So, if you are feeling sad, then you look for the blue pieces of paper and take out a Bible verse to read that correlates with feelings of sadness. There are also verses for times of happiness, anxiety, anger, and loneliness. I keep this jar out on my kitchen counter so the kids can use it too. We all enjoy using it when we feel all sorts of emotions.  

Finally, it’s OK not to have big goals for the new year. That doesn’t have to be the only time for self-improvement throughout the year. If it is easier to focus on little ways to improve your day or even just small wins for the day, then that works too! Whatever is going to be best in the long run for your family is what you should do, even if that means not putting pressure on yourself to try something new. Instead, just stick with the routines that work!  

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Copyright 2026 Michelle Nott
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