5 ways to celebrate the day after Christmas

What will YOU be doing after Christmas?

The month of December is full of shopping, baking, entertaining and planning all for the sake of a perfect Christmas celebration! But what should you do once the festivities are over?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - All your scrambling, hiding and wrapping Christmas presents, cooking the perfect holiday dinner and dancing to Christmas music has paid off and Christmas day went off without a hitch!

You survey your living room, still littered with bits of torn wrapping paper, candy cane wrappers and maybe a bit of dirt from all the visitors who came for Christmas dinner last night.

Now what?

There's nothing really left to do but wait for the New Year, but celebrating the conclusion of this year and the dawn of the next isn't nearly as stressful or difficult to plan.

You make a few calls, buy some snacks and plan to get a few platters and drinks for your New Year's Eve party but now you have nothing to propel you to action.

Try these five post-Christmas suggestions to help usher in the new year with joy, peace and your sanity!

Relax

The very first thing on your list for December 26 should be time to relax! Spend the day in your pajamas, let the kids play with their new toys, eat leftovers and relax by the fire.

Put up your feet, drink some hot cocoa, hum a few of your favorite Christmas carols or watch a movie.

Do whatever it is that helps you relax. You've definitely earned it.

Celebrate St. Stephen's Feast Day

St. Stephen's feast day falls on the day following Christmas. St. Stephen is the first Christian martyr and he is the patron saint of bricklayers and deacons.

Take a few minutes to review Saint Stephen with your family and loved ones. His life story is worth sharing and remembering.

Reflect

This year was certainly eventful. While you're relaxing or after you spend some time celebrating St. Stephen, sneak off and spend some quiet time alone.

Think about the good things that happened to you and your loved ones this year and really reflect on all the blessings God has bestowed upon you.

Life is full of beautiful moments - how many did you have this year?

Say "Thank You"

After reflecting, don't forget to thank God for the year. Thank him for the personal growth, the health of your children, the adventures you shared with friends and family, the people you welcomed into your life and the people the Lord led you to.

God is constantly showering us in his divinity - why not take a moment to thank him?

Reconnect

Perhaps you thought of a few things you want to fix while you were reflecting on the past year.

We all lose touch with friends, family and even ourselves sometimes. Reaching out to reconnect is as simple as a phone call, an apology letter, an email or a text message.

Sometimes relationships fade due to a simple lack of time - but the day after Christmas can be spent reconnecting with people. Some connections may take longer to mend than others but no one said you only have one day to try!

Please consider these five day-after-Christmas suggestions. One or more may make all the difference for the new year.

Thank you for reading our list.

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