7 Ways to Recover After a Long Weekend With The Family

Late nights, long lunches, too many drinks, and enough food to feed a small army: welcome to the festive season. Here’s how to recover….

As enjoyable as a long holiday weekend can be, all that eating, drinking, traveling, and family time can leave you feeling seriously out of sorts. 

The good news is that getting back to feeling like yourself doesn’t require a drastic detox or a punishing workout — just a few smart tweaks to your routine. 

Here are 7 simple ways to reset your body, mind, and skin after the festivities.

1. Hydrate Like It’s August 

In the hot summer sun, you manage it. You drink 2L of water every day. You add electrolytes. And if you’re on a big night out, you remember to alternate alcoholic drinks with water like a pro. But in Winter, it’s all too easy to forget. Between the endless wine and cocktails at family dinners, plus morning-after-coffee to get you through the day, the humble glass of water can easily be forgotten. Yet dehydration can leave you feeling tired and make your skin look dull and dry. 

Start your post-holiday reset during the main event by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. 

Place bottles of water all around the house and sip on them whenever you get a quiet moment. Add lemon or mint to the water pitcher on the festive table, and make hydration a key part of your routine.

2. Get Your Sleep Back on Track

Late-night Holiday movies, family dinners that run into the small hours, and sleeping in your Mother-in-Law’s guest room (or worse, on a pull-out bed) can seriously disrupt your usual sleep routine. It’s all part of the festive fun. But once you’re back home, make a point of adopting your normal bedtime routine as fast as possible. 

You may not be getting up for work in the morning, but your body doesn’t know this. So if you swap a regular 10 pm bedtime for lights-off at 1or 2am more than once in a week, your circadian rhythms will be thrown wildly out of sync. 

Help the process by being strict about bedtime. You can offset this by having a lie-in in the morning, if you have nowhere to go. Get the dog upstairs, read the papers, watch a festive movie – no one is saying you need to get up at 6am and jog around the neighbourhood. Lounging in bed can be an excellent way to start the day. But help yourself by avoiding caffeine after 3 pm, and put your phone away 60 minutes before bed to reduce disturbance from yellow light and mental strain from whatever you’re reading about. 

Remember, when you’re tired, your body doesn’t need another cup of coffee. It needs sleep. A 20-minute daytime power nap can also work wonders if you have a mid-day energy crash. 

3. Don’t Punish Yourself For The Holiday Dinner

After days of turkey, roast potatoes, rich desserts, cheese boards, and Christmas cookies, you might be tempted to go straight into a restrictive diet. Don’t.

Instead, simply return to eating well-balanced meals. Focus on lean protein, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and plenty of fiber. Your goal isn’t to “undo” the holidays — it’s to get your normal eating habits back. One indulgent weekend isn’t going to undo months of healthy choices.

4. Get Moving

By the same token, you don’t need to punish yourself with a brutal workout because you had an extra helping of Christmas pudding.

A brisk walk, gym session, bike ride, or some simple stretching is enough to get your body working again. 

Gentle exercise can help boost your mood, support better sleep, and shake off that sluggish post-holiday feeling. You can involve the family too: swap an hour in your Man Cave on a Peloton for a gentle walk through the woods with the family. Breathe deep, take a look at the beautiful green trees all around you, and soon you’ll be feeling better. Next week, you can work your way back into your usual routine.

5. Reset Your Skincare Regime

It’s not just Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer who had skin problems at this time of year. Cold weather combined with alcohol consumption can lead to rosacea, pimples, and cheeks that are clammier looking than usual. You may also look tired, despite being more emotionally relaxed. For that, we have to thank late nights, alcohol, dehydration, travel, and changes to your diet. 

The fix? Get back to basics: cleanse, moisturize, and use sunscreen every morning (yes, even in December). And if your eyes are giving away just how late you stayed up watching Christmas movies, consider adding a targeted eye treatment to your routine.

Particle’s Instant Eye Firming Cream can help the eye area look smoother and more refreshed — particularly useful after a few nights of less-than-perfect sleep.  

6. Give Yourself Some Downtime

Family time is great. But after several days of small talk with distant relatives and meals eaten in loud, crowded rooms, some peace and quiet is essential. 

Start using those Christmas presents now. Got a nice new hardback book? Open it and read a few chapters. Listen to music on the record player you don’t have time to switch on throughout the year. Sit down with a coffee, pop your headphones on, put your feet up, and relax. If someone needs you in an emergency, you’re there. But everything else can wait. 

A little mental downtime can help you decompress and feel like yourself again.

7. Get Back To Your Routine

We’re not suggesting you ditch your family and commute into the city for your regular 6 pm Body Pump class – it’s probably been cancelled anyway. But it is vital (and more than acceptable) to dial in to your favourite things during the festive season, and do them just as you usually would.

If you love riding your bike, for example, get on it and go for a ride in the cold, brisk air. 

If you enjoy meditation or yoga, unroll the mat and do a quick class – 20 minutes is better than nothing if a full 60 minutes is not available to you. 

And if a hot bath helps you unwind, throw some bath oil under hot running water and take your evening soak – even if this means other family members have to use the guest bathroom or wait. 

The Takeaway: The easiest way to recover from a long festive weekend is simply to return to the habits that make you feel good. 

That means getting enough sleep. Drinking water. Eating well. Moving your body. Taking care of your skin. And giving yourself time to recharge. You don’t need to detox, deprive yourself, or feel guilty about enjoying Christmas. The holidays are for indulging a little. 

Recovery is about getting back to normal — feeling rested, refreshed, and ready for the year ahead.