In the run up to Christmas, a lake of virtual ink will be spilt giving advice about how to prepare for the big day. Shopping lists, recipes, mental health advice and to do lists, all focussed on making that one day run perfectly. Not enough attention is paid to the day after: Boxing Day.
Today we’re taking a look at ways you can prepare for the day after the big day!
Rest and Relaxation
Christmas Day can pile on the pressure – visits from or to family, epic feats of cookery in the kitchen, argument inducing games and immense anticipation and potential disappointment around presents. If that’s what your Christmas looks like, try to make Boxing Day the opposite.
Ring fence a day free from visits and visitors, and try to enjoy the peace and quiet. Plan a walk to get some fresh air and light exercise. Drink water and fruit teas. Christmas TV is still in full swing, so pick out some highlights from the radio times and enjoy a day of Christmas festivities with none of the pressure.
Recovery
Christmas day can leave you feeling under the weather – the stress, the food, the drink, the endless sweets, chocolate and cheese boards can all have a significant effect on the day after. And if you want to enjoy the day of peace we outlined above, you’ll want to recover from the excesses of Christmas Day without delay.
Hydration is the key to many of these ills. Upset stomachs and alcohol can cause dehydration, eating into not only your body’s fluid reserves but also the electrolytes you have dissolved in them. As these are used for so many vital tasks throughout your body (from transmission nerve impulses to balancing the fluid levels in your cells to maintaining a regular heart rate), a deficit can easily ruin your day!
If you’re feeling under the weather, start the day with something reliably rehydrating – not just water, but something that will also replace those lost electrolytes. O.R.S. Hydration Tablets, isotonic sports drinks and similar products all designed to rebalance your system and ensure you’re hydrated in the healthiest and most efficient way possible.
Food
Boxing Day should be recognised as the international day of leftovers. After the feast comes…another feast, but it’s much easier to cater for.
Find a reliable recipe to use up those leftover Christmas Day potatoes and green veg. Bubble and squeak in England, Colcannon in Ireland, the glorious sounding Rumbledethumps in Scotland, these recipes proliferate wherever potatoes do – ask around and see if there’s one hiding in some much loved kitchen notebook further up your family tree. With your leftover veg served alongside cold cuts from the previous days roast you have plateful but what brings it to life are the chutneys, pickles and mustards excavated from the back of the cupboard for the occasion. A meal ready in 20 minutes, albeit built on the back of the previous day’s Herculean labours.