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in Blog on December 18, 2020 by Meagan Francis

Meagan’s Holiday Help, Day 18: Give yourself a little boost.

One day last week I went to CVS for toilet paper, paper towels, wrapping paper, and other motherly, necessary-yet-boring paper-related purchases.

But before long, I found myself wandering over to the cosmetics and tossing bottles of bright-red and forest-green nail polishes in my cart. Call it a whim, call it my personal resistance to the self-denial symptom of Holiday Mom Syndrome, call it my inability to ignore a coupon on Essie products: whatever the reason, within a few hours my hands were boasting a holiday manicure.

I won’t lie: the number of times I’ve looked at my own fingernails in the ensuing five days is a bit embarrassing. But every time I look, I smile.

The day after I painted my nails, Sarah texted me a picture of a lineup of her own supply of festive-colored polishes. “I saw your nails on our Zoom call, and I got inspired to do my own holiday manicure,” she said. “What colors should I use?”

Before I knew it, Sarah’s nails were equally festive.

Sarah and I agree: it’s nearly-impossible to take a photo of your own hands without them looking totally weird.

But we also agree on this: there is something about a fresh manicure that just makes us happy. Add a bit of holiday flair, and the level of pleasure we get from such a simple thing increases tenfold.

Multicolored nails may seem kind of frivolous and silly, but mine give me a rush of satisfaction every time they flash past my line of sight – and to me, that’s time and money well-spent.

Likewise, if you personally get a jolt of joy from reindeer barrettes or antlers for your car or really, any bit of festive-ness, why not?

Listen: it’s holiday 2020 and we need to take joy where we can get it. As we head into the weekend, is there some small, simple thing you can do for yourself that will bring a smile to your face, over and over again?

Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Holiday Help 2020

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« Meagan’s Holiday Help, Day 17: Nix “Holiday Mom Syndrome.”
Meagan’s Holiday Help, Day 19: It’s OK to feel disappointed in your gifts. »

Comments

  1. Bethany says

    December 18, 2020 at 6:13 pm

    Thank you for doing this series. I look forward to it every day ! Also , I’m officially inspired to give myself a manicure now ! I’m 36 weeks pregnant and that sounds like just the boost I need 🙂

    Reply
  2. Christine says

    December 19, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    I just did my nails today before reading this. It’s so true. Every time I look at them, I smile! Thanks for your posts… every one has been spot on 🙂

    Reply

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#mommath #drowningindishes #summerbreakisnotreallyabreak
Happy weekend - and a big thanks to our June spons Happy weekend - and a big thanks to our June sponsors! Every month, we like to take a little time to shoutout our partners who help support the show + remind our listeners of some of the great deals our sponsors are offering. For more info, specific promo codes, and links, just search the brand name on our website, and they'll pop up in our episode show notes. We also collect ALL our active promo codes (even the old ones that are still working!) in our email newsletter - which is full of other great things we want to share with you, too. Tap on this image at the link in our bio to subscribe today. 

Meet our NEW partners this month . . .
🗣️ @connectspeech (early language support!)
💙 @appahealth (1st month of mentorship free!)
💄 @thrivecausemetics (15% off your 1st order)

And welcome back to . . .
⭐️ @paireyewear (15% off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @autoapprove ($100 when you refinance!)
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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

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New on the blog this week from @kiamhammond: Learn New on the blog this week from @kiamhammond: Learning About Juneteenth, As A Family.

"Like many families, mine is still figuring out how to teach our children about Juneteenth, as learning the history wasn't part of my education or my husband's when we were kids. The good news is, books written for children and families are a great way for the whole family to learn (and there are a lot of them!)."

Click this image at the link in our bio to read Kia’s book recommendations and more ways to start the conversation at home with your family.

#juneteenth #history #blackhistory #parenting #juneteenthbooksforkids #summerreading
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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #momtruisms #momtruths #parentingadvice #motherhoodstruggles
Just a “hello” from last-week-me, who spent 30 Just a “hello” from last-week-me, who spent 30 minutes moving 25 chickens by hand from their home to the new chicken yard, because they refused to go on their own. And then an hour moving them back, because same.

It reminded me a lot of mothering a toddler, and got me wondering: what’s the most ridiculous thing mom life has brought you in the past week? -M
New episode! Have you ever fantasized about atten New episode!

Have you ever fantasized about attending a camp-like environment for grown-ups? Much about the classic summer camp experience is appealing to us (though not EVERYTHING--we could certainly do without the bugs), and the idea of simply showing up for a perfectly curated experience without any responsibility, or planning, sounds AMAZING. Listen to this fun More Than Mom to hear all of our must-have activities (like food and wine tastings, yoga, personal style consults and more!), things that would be a hard no (like swimming in the gross, murky lake or participating in corny, guided crafts) and our daydreams about creating a Mom Hour Retreat (maybe someday?)!

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #summercamps #womenretreats #momretreat
New on the blog this week from @jaymesherrod: LGBT New on the blog this week from @jaymesherrod: LGBTQ+ Resources For Parents (And Anyone Who Wants To Learn!). 

"The fact is, none of us will get it right every time. Not with each other, and certainly not with our kids. But it’s important that we keep showing up and having the conversations anyway."

Click this image at the link in our bio to access Jayme's roundup of resources.

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