Everyone celebrates Christmas a little differently, and it’s those unique traditions with family and friends that make the festive season such a wonderful time. It can also be a notoriously unhealthy time of year, with seasonal parties, office lunches, indulgent desserts and plenty of distractions to derail you from your regular healthy habits. We chatted to a few of the Compare Retreats team of wellness experts and editors about their healthy Christmas habits, to find out how they manage their festive fun with a wellness twist to give you a little inspiration on how to have the best of both worlds. Oh, and of course—Merry Christmas!
Dervla Louli Musgrave
Compare Retreats Founder
My mum has always loved getting the family outdoors and moving on Christmas Day; it’s my favourite tradition. We go to Laytown beach in Ireland and walk the entire length of it with our rescue pup Roxy. This healthy Christmas habit clears the cobwebs and we always have great conversations.
Read Dervla’s latest review of Amanoi here
Mary Tilson
Compare Retreats Expert: Yoga Instructor & Wellness Director
My Christmas wellness tradition in recent years has been all about recharging in the wild. This involves taking time away from technology and connecting with nature, either on Sumba Island or Bali, Indonesia.
Read Mary’s latest review of The Ranch Malibu here
Catharine Nicol
Compare Retreats Wellness Expert: Yoga & Spa Expert
My Christmas wellness tradition is to throw any limitations aside and just soak up all the festive celebrations, absolutely guilt-free, with my family and friends. I do this knowing, not only will I be back following my more mindful routines once Christmas is over, but I’ll likely be ramping them up, come January 1st.
Read Catharine’s latest review of Shinta Mani Wild here
Josh Nedeljkovic
Compare Retreats Digital Consultant
For me, Christmas is all about spending time with family and friends and not worrying too much about the calories. This year I plan on going for a long run (I’m aiming for a half marathon) on Christmas morning before all the food and drink that will inevitably follow!
Read our review of a triathlon training retreat here
Rebecca Cairns
Compare Retreats Chief Content Officer
Every Christmas morning, I go for a run. It’s a tradition my dad started, and he’s gotten me into the habit of planning out these ‘bucket list’ exercise activities: Christmas Day run, Boxing Day hike, New Year’s Day beach walk. I’ve got my partner into it now, too, and it’s a great way to start the day—especially when I know the rest of it involves chilling out, watching festive movies and plenty of delicious food. Managing my time online over the holidays is also a really important factor in really resetting—I make sure to step away from screens so I’m present in the time I’ve set aside for friends and family.
Read Rebecca’s round-up of Hong Kong’s best running routes here.
