Fun Ways to Embrace the Festive Season
Mark Kennedy
18 December 2024
The festive season is often described as “the most wonderful time of the year,” but the reality is that it doesn’t always
What better gift is there than a whole year of great moments to reflect on? We’ve done it, a whole 12 months have gone by with only a week left until 2025! But we’re not done with 2024 just yet and there’s so much to discuss… Think about all of the things that have happened. What have you achieved, learned, improved on, or enjoy this year? Practicing gratitude this Christmas is the perfect way to celebrate you!
As friends and family all gather this season, how about we make a game out of gratitude? Think of it like Spotify Wrapped, but instead of the most replayed song or favourite genre (though you could even include that!) write down everything about you! Create your 2024 statistics, all the best highlights that made this year YOUR year. What moments stood out to you, what have you achieved, what were your favourite things of this year?
You could write them down on paper or have a conversation and go through old photos. When practicing gratitude, we typically do it just for ourselves, finding what makes us happy as well as seeing how we can improve ourselves in the future. But sharing these moments with friends or family is a great way to celebrate!
It doesn’t matter if you climbed Mount Everest, set a new world record or kept up with homework in the last month, all wins are wins! A gradual shift towards improvement is just as good as hitting a major milestone, it shows growth and potential. As you list out your 2024 highlights, you may instinctually hold yourself back, which is natural! But write down every little thing that makes you feel even a little bit proud.
If you are struggling with remembering what you are grateful for this year, check out our Gratitude Journal. By spending 5 minutes a day reflecting on the things you are grateful for, you can find more joy in your day-to-day life and create a record of all your wins! Looking back on your entries can help you stay motivated and make it easier to set new goals in the new year.
Amidst all the gift giving and card exchanging, show a little gratitude to friends, family, and even colleagues. A small message, written Christmas card, or talking heart-to-heart can help show how grateful you are for whatever reason. Make comments on what they have done this year, lift people up and find yourself lifted along with them!
Did someone help you hit a milestone? Let them know how much that help meant to you, how you value those milestones and what it means for you. Small acts of kindness and sincerity is great for getting that warm, festive feeling.
We said to share the best of 2024, so here are some of our highlights! This year has been incredible for Future Toolbox, and we want to talk about just some of the stuff that we have been up to. For starters, we recently got to spend the day at none other than the Tower of London for the Charity Heroes Awards! We are honoured to be the runners-up for the Local Community Initiative award. It was a wonderful day, and we had a great time meeting all the incredible people and charities there.
We are also delighted to have been awarded a Skills for Communities Grant, fully funded by the West Northants Council, to deliver a new programme for schools, colleges, and community groups. The programme is here to help students and young adults at risk of NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) to be successful in achieving their goals in life beyond education. Through a series of 5 workshops they’ll develop the skills they’ve learned, like communication, time management, resilience, and self-management. The programme is available to schools until March 2025, so if you’d like to know more, feel free to get in touch with us today.
On a more personal note, we have started to play a new sport called padel! It’s a racket game much like tennis and squash, with a typical playing field and net, however it’s enclosed by walls that you can bounce the ball off and make strategic hits with a partner. It took a while, but we are starting to get the hang of it! We even challenged ourselves to take part in a few local tournaments. Mark has also started to learn how to play the guitar, and we have both started participating in some live open mic nights! Doing things like this has allowed us to step outside our comfort-zone, meet new people and have a lot of fun. So, if you’re curious about starting a new hobby or trying to learn a new skill, get stuck in and don’t be afraid to have a go!
We have also seen an amazing growth in the Brain or Shine community, and we have been working hard to create lots of new resources which is something we’re really proud of. A brain injury can have such a huge impact on the lives of survivors, as well as their friends and families. If you want to learn more about the side-effects of hidden disabilities visit the Brain or Shine website. We also have a private peer support group on Facebook that you can join if you’d like to connect with people going through a similar journey.
2024 has certainly been a year to remember, with so much happening and much more to come in the New Year! We look forward to seeing what comes next for us, and how we can help you on your way to achieving your own goals and passions. There’s still one week left to go, so over the next few days, take a moment to pause. Reflect on your year, celebrate of all the things you have accomplished (no matter how seemingly small) and look forward to more of these things in 2025!
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