Today is Blue Monday apparently the most depressing day of the year! Now isn’t that a happy thought to start your day! According to a new study of millennials, by Ferratum UK* 27% were planning to borrow money to pay for Christmas 2017. 1 in 3 millennials would borrow money to avoid FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and 42% of millennials have hidden debt from their partner, friends, or family. Add these financial facts to the wet, cold, dark, miserable weather, the amount of time since Christmas, failing our new year’s resolutions already, feeling unmotivated alongside the desire to take charge of the situation and you have Blue Monday. Devised by a PR company (cheers for that) it has now become an annual event (lucky us).

Ideas To Banish Blue Monday 2024:

• Mini DIY Biscuit Kit: Biscuits By Sarah B has designed a mindful me time kit, enjoy decorating biscuits, over a cuppa and you get to eat them at the end too!
• Network With Friends: As usual our January Lemur Linkup is being held on Blue Monday.  Have you noticed that when you spend time with someone who makes you feel happy, positive and enthused, you want to repeat that transaction again and again? Why is that? Because the positive feelings you generate by being friendly to one person extend beyond the actual interaction.  Having people in your tribe that you can talk to on a regular basis without fear or judgment is really important.  When you work for yourself the lines between work and life will always blur and sometimes you need friends who get that and where the lines blur too.  some of my best ideas and conversations have come from organic chats which just develop as you are almost thinking out loud.
• Send Someone A Text/Card or Letter: Who doesn’t love receiving a card, letter, or even a text that just says “hey, I’ve been thinking about you”?

Here are my other Blue Monday events/activities from 2018-2023.

Blue Monday 2018 Where It All Started:

Charlie was really ill over the holidays and we were caged in a little. But one day in the limbo between Christmas and New Year we managed to get out for a beach walk. Megan and I always like to collect sea glass and pretty shells to fill up mason jars scattered around the house.  It got me thinking about how something so basic can bring us so much joy and excitement.

Clearing up the post-Christmas apocalypse I noticed we had a few glass jars after I cleaned them up and popped a scented candle inside I had a brainwave! I wanted to do something to bring joy to someone, well 5 someones.  Man! I am so blessed to have such a supergroup of small business friends around me who listened to my half-baked idea and ran with it. Everything was donated by small businesses or came from my Charlie Moo’s stock cupboard.

Rainbow Jars of Happiness:

What Was Inside The Rainbow Jars?:

• Rose Quartz Crystal: From Jo’s Healing Cabin. Rose Quartz is known as the crystal of Love and infinite peace. It opens the heart at all levels and brings deep inner healing and self-love. It also calms and reassures in times of crisis and trauma. Will attract new love or strengthen existing love.
• Scented Candle and Chocolate
• Glacial Marine Mud: From Tranquility Beauty Treatments. Treat yourself to a mini facial with this glacial marine mud. Glacial Marine mud draws out dirt and impurities leaving the skin feeling fresh, renewed, and healthy-looking. Suitable for all skin types.
• Charlie Moo’s Sticker: This isn’t completely in keeping with the theme but they made the lids much more attractive!
• Affirmation Tag: From Made By Me Craft Parties. Gorgeous handmade “You Are Totally Awesome” tags to make you feel amazing all day long.
• Greetings Card: From Sarah Loves Cards who doesn’t love a bit of pretty stationery?
• A Ball of Clay: From Creative Clay For All. This ball is large enough to create a little tealight holder (perfect to place the scented candle in) it’s air drying too so accessible to anyone. Tactile, creative activities using your hands are known to reduce stress, increase calm and raise our happy endorphins. Megan was dying to get her hands on some clay, she even suggested I just do 4 jars!
• Handmade Fabric Party Bag: I didn’t want to mess up the clay ball trying to squeeze it in the jam jar and alongside the cards, I decided to pop it all in a Charlie Moo’s bag.  And how fantastic do they look?
• Free Coaching Session: From Vicki Tongeman to help get over the “blues” this Monday.

I surprised 5 lovely small business owners at Lemur Linkup with a Rainbow Jar.

Blue Monday 2019: 

For 2019 a group of us swapped boxes filled with things to make their day less blue. It’s always super lovely to get something in the post too.

Blue Monday 2020: 

This year I had breakfast with some small business owners some I knew some I didn’t. We chatted business got to know each other and left feeling engaged, energised, and ready to work not at all blue.

Blue Monday 2021: 

I sent some of my lovely handmade Japanese Notebooks as little gratitude books and I’d filled in the first page with a picture of us that made me smile.

 

Doing something nice for someone else really boosts your happy endorphins. Instead of letting the fact it’s “Blue Monday” get you down today, do something nice for someone. Anyone. Bake a cake. Send a nice text or email. Phone a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. Buy someone a coffee. Pay a mum at the school gate a compliment. We shouldn’t be dictated to that today is a bad day. Because it’s not.

* Details of the Ferratum UK study: 1,000 respondents, spread across the United Kingdom, were asked 18 questions relating to their spending and borrowing habits. All the respondents were millennials and were evenly spread between the ages of 18 and 34.

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