For many busy parents, the festive hiatus is fantastic for relaxing, taking stock and reassessing life plans.
And executing the New Year’s resolutions that emerge from this soul-searching is a traditional way of battling the ‘January blues’.
But major lifestyle changes made in haste are often impossible to sustain, so it’s better to start small when it comes to making promises to yourself and have as much fun as possible along the way.
Here are five realistic resolutions to nourish you throughout 2019.
- Vegan treats
If you’re tempted to switch to a vegan diet by the Veganuary campaign, but aren’t ready to commit fully to plant-based foods, replacing regular sweet treats with vegan alternatives is a respectable first step.
Bag a large subscription box from Vegan Sweet Boxes in Hull and you could be munching your way through treats like Sherbet Dips, Bourneville chocolate and Love Hearts for the rest of the month with a completely clear conscience. But for your waistline’s sake, don’t subsist on these delicious snacks alone!
- Makeover deals
Facing the New Year with a fresh visage feels fab, but when you’ve just splashed out on enough Christmas gifts to sink Santa’s sleigh, an expensive spa-based makeover might be out of the question.
Fear not — Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert site is chock-full of fantastic offers on hair, makeup and beauty products from big names like Debenhams, Benefit, Lancome and Lush. Be sure to check them out before hitting the high street.
- Flexible gym
The unused gym membership is a classic New Year resolution cliché — but it’s true that too many of us commit to military-style training regimes early in the year, only to fizzle out by February.
However, selecting standalone passes from PayasUGym allows you to choose from different gym providers in a wide variety of locations. So you can exercise as and when you like — with no contracts, no sign-up fees and no feelings of guilt when scanning that monthly gym direct debit on your banking app.
- Web-based Yoga
If your idea of exercise is a little more sedate (yet stretchy!), it’s unusual to find yoga included in the suites of free classes offered by mainstream membership gyms — and classes at dedicated centres don’t come cheap.
So tune into SarahBethYoga on YouTube for easy-to-follow free classes for beginners and beyond — provided you have a mat, blanket and ample floor space, you can feel flexible, clam and enlightened in the comfort of your living room.
- Online learning
Bored by a career that’s past its sell-by date, but unsure how to migrate to something more fulfilling and rewarding?
Make 2019 the year you finally grab the job you deserve without storming out of your office after a dramatic showdown by earning an online degree from Anglia Ruskin Distance Learning. With vocational degree qualifications for sectors as diverse as football coaching and digital marketing, there’s something to support the most ambitious career switchers.
That’s our list! Please add your own realistic resolutions in the comments section — let’s chat!
