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    Live Well: Happy holidays, here’s a special advent calendar | Lifestyle

    Every year I think to make an advent calendar for you, dear reader.

    And every year I forget. Until now. Granted, I’ve missed the first five days of the month, but it’s progress, and progress is a beautiful thing, am I right?

    Advent calendars come in many flavors. Growing up I breakfasted on the Christmas and winter-themed pieces of milk chocolate hidden behind tiny windows in the grocery store advent calendar. Nowadays, you can find all manner of treats to mark off the days: bath bombs, hot teas, dog treats, fruit spreads, tiny makeup samples. Last year, a girlfriend was thrilled with her daily half glass of wine advent calendar.

    So here is yours truly’s version of an advent calendar. I can’t give you 24 days of tiny tubs of raw honey in festive flavors (who could possibly need that much honey?) for $99.95, but I can give you tiny word nuggets and ideas intended to make you feel a bit more present in your mind, body and spirit. And these apply to everyone, no matter what you celebrate this month: Hanukkah, Christmas, winter solstice, Festivus, Kwanzaa, absolutely nothing at all. A treat per day is a fine way to exist in this cold, dark December world. And, really, any month of the year. Life is short — enjoy your teeny jars of hot sauces come March, June and September. You have my blessing.


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    Dec. 6: Do one standing forward fold in the morning, afternoon and evening. Stand up, put a good bend in your knees and fold forward. Let your hands rest on the floor or grab your opposite biceps with your hands, like you’re crossing your arms. Let your head fully hang for as long as feels good. Ah, fresh blood to the brain. So easy and so rejuvenating.

    Dec. 7: Turn off the news for one whole day. I know it’s hard. You can do it. The world won’t stop if you don’t hear how the stock market did today.

    Dec. 8: Pull out your favorite mug. Find your favorite tea. Commence the making of the tea. Slowly, slowly. No looking at your phone. No watching TV or listening to a podcast. Be present with the making and drinking of your tea. The whole mug. In quiet. Look out a window if possible.

    Dec. 9: Send a silly GIF to somebody who’s been going through the wringer emotionally.

    Dec. 10: Roast a spaghetti squash. Pretend it’s pasta. If you have an obliging partner, reenact the scene from “Lady and the Tramp.” It’s good to be a little ridiculous every now and then.

    Dec. 11: In the middle of the day, when everything is moving too quickly around you, stop, close your eyes and put a hand on your heart. Breathe. Just for a moment or two. It’s so soothing. Do this whenever you’re verklempt.

    Dec. 12: Go for a walk without your phone. Even 10 minutes around the block can help shift a mood or find a new way to look at a problem.

    Dec. 13: It’s totally time for a steamy hot chocolate. If you’ve got the fixings at home, go for it. If not, take yourself to the nearest coffee shop, order up, sit and sip. Savor every swallow because I’m not going to advocate sugar too often.

    Dec. 14: Make this for somebody (could just be yourself) because oh my goodness, it sounds like divinity in a bowl and the difficulty factor doesn’t seem too steep: foodand wine.com/recipes/roasted-brussels– sprouts-capers-walnuts-and- anchovies.

    Dec. 15: Go for a drive or take a shower and sing as loudly as possible. Singing, without fail, can lift your spirits.

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    Dec. 16: Work your core with three sets of a plank — on your hands or forearms or a side plank version. A strong core section is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.

    Dec. 17: Take a picture of yourself. Not a selfie, because yuck. Set up the phone, put on the timer and pose. In one year you’ll look back and think how handsome or beautiful you were at the time, even though you might not have thought so. Realize if that’s the case, you also must look pretty good right now to your future self.

    Dec. 18: Happy Hanukkah. Do something nice for someone. Put a sweet note (“I like your style”) or a $5 dollar bill in a book you return to the library. Leave a bag of oranges on the kitchen counter at work. Give a gift card to somebody who needs one. Hand out meaningful compliments.

    Dec. 19: Food prescription: tomato soup and grilled cheese. So simple, so delicious and so much like a big food hug.

    Dec. 20: Put on all your clothes, go outside around 9 p.m., and hunt for constellations. Orion the hunter is only visible to us from November through February.

    Dec. 21: Happy winter solstice. I challenge you to turn off all the lights and electronic devices and live by candlelight once the sun sets. Think fondly of your ancestors.

    Dec. 22: Can you kiss somebody on the cheek while you hug them? Only well-known friends and family members who speak the language of physical affection, please. But a cheek kiss feels so sweet and loving.


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    Dec. 23: Happy Festivus. To celebrate the secular and noncommercial holiday that serves as an antidote to the commercialization of the holidays, refrain from purchasing even one thing today. Heck, maybe see if you can not buy anything a few days in a row. It’s eye-opening how many times in a week we open our wallets.

    Dec. 24: What better night to watch Charles M. Schulz’s classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas?” It’s airing for free Dec. 22-25 on Apple TV+, though you can watch any time of the month with a paid subscription ($4.99) or a free seven-day trial.

    Dec. 25: Merry Christmas. Save your wrapping paper for next year, give yourself a quiet moment in the bathroom if you get overwhelmed, and make at least one memory you’ll hang onto forever.

    Dec. 26: Happy Kwanzaa. Peel and eat some cuties, you cuties. They’re a delicious burst of sunshine at the end of the darkest month of the year. Congratulations, you made it through another one.

    Contact the writer: 636-0270

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