An Introvert’s Guide to Surviving the Holiday Season // Guest Post by Brooke From Brookeworm

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Purely Olivia. 🙂 Today I have a special guest – it’s Brooke, from Brookeworm!

Over on Brookeworm, I’ll be talking about tips for keeping up with your reading this holiday season. Be sure to go read my post, and check out the rest of Brooke’s blog while you’re at it. Without further ado, let’s get into the post!

Being an introvert is hard. We face obstacles in normal, daily life, but things can get 99.999999% worse during the holiday season. No matter how you celebrate, there are certain responsibilities you have to deal with.

“Brooke, you have to help us decorate the tree,” or even “Brooke, let’s go shopping for black Friday!” My little introvert heart struggles to cope. So today I bring to you, “My Totally Serious – no jokes at all– Guide to Surviving the Holiday Season When You’re an Introvert.”

(Don’t bother thanking me…. you’re welcome.)

Step One: Shop Early

Shopping early is a key step to survival.

Nothing is worse than the crowds and hyper feeling when shopping around Christmas time. It’s better to get everything done in July (maybe November if you want to be relaxed about it)- much less stress.

Plus, then you get to enjoy the best part sooner- wrapping! There’s something so enjoyable about making every present I buy perfect and square with beautiful wrapping paper. I live for those crisp corners….. What was I saying?

Step Two: Hibernation

Hibernating or going into a coma is the best advice I could give you for survival. Once your shopping and wrapping is done you can just hide away in a closet or bedroom (under the bed is good, too) and relax.

If you decide to follow my advice and sleep, be sure to set some alarms. You won’t want to miss the food or presents. However, many introverts also struggle to fall asleep. (*sigh* the weight of an introvert’s thoughts are so strong…… I feel them calling to me “Brooke….. analyze that conversation you had last year… Do it. You know you want to.”)

I recommend keeping food, blankets, books, wifi, and other entertainment close by, just in case. (Note: If staying in a dark area, bring sunglasses for when you have to leave. You don’t want to be blinded.)

Step Three: Keep Cocoa and Candy Canes Close

Seasonal candies and drinks are the best part of Christmas. The best. The birth of Christ is great, but mint hot cocoa with marshmallows? Pretty hard to beat. (I’m joking! But cocoa is pretty good….) I drink cocoa year round (the coffee life isn’t for me), but you get a lot less judgment in December. (Note: cousins, nieces, nephews, siblings, and other young people are notorious for stealing coco, candy, and other sweet things. Guard everything closely. You never know when those sticky fingers will come out to play.)

Step Four: Strong Wifi

If you have family coming over, consider not giving them the wifi password. You might think, “Hey, it won’t matter if one or two extra people connect to the wifi. It won’t slow down too badly. You’re just paranoid, Brooke.” But you are wrong.

It starts with the one innocent cousin, then that cousin gives the password to her big sister, the big sister gives it to your uncle, and so on and so forth. You’ll probably find yourself bored near the end of the party and decide “I can just check a few texts, go on twitter, and……. nothing is loading.” Don’t risk it. Protect the password.

What steps would you add to my guide? How do you stay sane during the holiday season? Let me know in the comments below!

I’d like to say thanks to Olivia for letting me do this little guest post on her blog- I had a lot of fun. Head over to my blog to check out the guest post she did over there (and my other posts if you’re interested)! Merry Christmas!

I hope you all enjoyed this lovely post by the lovely Brooke! I certainly did. 🙂 Thank you again for guest posting, Brooke!

^^ But mostly Brooke. 😉 ^^