The holidays: a time for family, food, and sleeping on every mattress except your own. You love your people, but you also love your bedtime routine, your perfectly fluffed pillow, and that familiar scent of home that no other space can quite replicate.
Between guest rooms that double as storage closets, childhood bedrooms frozen in time, and couches that pull out (barely), so many of us start counting down the days until we’ll be back in our own beds.
Luckily, you don’t have to choose between feeling festive and feeling grounded. With a few sensory rituals, you can bring a little bit of your home wherever you go. Below, we’re sharing simple tips to keep you grounded, rested, and maybe even a little spoiled, no matter where the holidays take you.
Read More: How to Create a Sleep Sanctuary: 6 Tips For a Good Night’s Sleep
1. Start With Your Sleep Setup
Sleep is often the first thing to go when you’re away from home. Unfamiliar sheets, rogue noises, that one relative who insists on keeping the house at 80 degrees, and a mattress that’s…not exactly GOTS-certified organic. But we can try our best to recreate our ideal sleep environments with just a few thoughtful swaps.
Because good rest is what helps you actually enjoy the season.
Bring a piece of your own bed. Pack your favorite pillowcase or even your own pillow if you can swing it. It’s a small way to make any place feel personal and cue your brain for rest with familiar textures.
Stick to your timing. Try to go to bed and wake up around the same times you normally do at home. Your body’s internal clock thrives on consistency, and maintaining a familiar rhythm helps you fall asleep faster and wake up less groggy—even in a new place, or on a different time zone. Keep it dark. Light is one of the biggest factors in regulating your circadian rhythm. A sleep mask or blackout travel curtain can make a surprising difference if you’re sharing space or dealing with early-morning light. (Bonus: they take up almost no luggage space.)
2. Try to Keep Your Routines (Even the Tiny Ones)When everything around you changes—your bed, your schedule, your scenery—you need to find things that anchor you. These anchors remind your body and brain that you’re still you, and you can still rest, even in new settings.
The holidays are full of joyful disruptions, and that’s part of the fun. But your body likes rhythm. Keeping a few core habits intact can make a world of difference when your days are filled with travel, big meals, and a revolving door of relatives.
Stick to your movement. You don’t need your full workout routine, just a little something. Go for a walk with your coffee, stretch before bed, or unroll a yoga mat for ten minutes of flow. If you know you’ll be somewhere for a week or more, check if a local gym or yoga studio offers a visitor pass (this is my go-to escape).
Eat like yourself. Sure, there’s room for the cookies and casseroles, but try to keep your eating schedule mostly consistent. A balanced breakfast or smoothie for lunch here and there might help your body regulate itself between the feasts and all the flux.
Pack a nightly ritual. Maybe it’s your evening cup of chamomile, your lavender body oil, or a few pages of whatever novel’s been riding shotgun in your carry-on. Taking five minutes for yourself before bed can signal your nervous system to unwind. Research shows that consistent bedtime rituals lower cortisol levels and promote relaxation.
Read More: How to Create A Soothing Bedtime Routine
3. Protect Your Energy (with Love)
It’s easy to pour every ounce of yourself into others this time of year, but showing up well means not running on empty.
Take solo moments. Offer to do the grocery run or take the dog for a walk, anything that gets you fresh air and a few quiet minutes. Consider a short meditation, sitting outside with a cup of coffee. Whatever helps you reset.
Find comfort in company (and in space). Bringing a personal hobby, like knitting or a good book, gives you something that’s yours. Sitting on the couch with family feels easier when you have something to do with your hands, and it relieves others from feeling like they need to entertain you 24/7. Set soft boundaries. The holidays often blur the line between rest and social obligation. It’s perfectly okay to skip one round of charades or duck out early to bed. The goal isn’t to retreat; it’s to recharge so you can actually be present when it matters.
Stay connected to yourself. When you’re surrounded by family (and their opinions), it’s easy to slip into autopilot. Take a few minutes each day to check in with yourself—journal a line or two, listen to your favorite playlist, or just focus on your breath. Keeping ourselves centered and our energy from getting lost in the shuffle can make or break a trip back home (or anywhere, for that matter).
4. Redefine “Home” as a Feeling, Not a Place
Sometimes “home for the holidays” doesn’t mean your physical address. It’s the feeling you bring with you.
Use scent as your shortcut. Smell is one of the strongest triggers of comfort. A travel candle, your favorite moisturizer, or a roll-on essential oil can instantly ground you. That one familiar note can turn even the most neutral Airbnb into your personal sanctuary.
Bring gratitude into the room. Holiday travel can be joyful and emotionally layered. A gratitude practice, whether it’s journaling or a few mental notes before bed, can shift focus from discomfort (“This bed is way too soft”) to appreciation (“How lucky I am to have a warm place to sleep”).Layer on comfort. Adding your favorite pair of cozy socks, robe, or slippers to your suitcase is an instant comfort upgrade. These small but mighty items can make you feel a little more at home, no matter whose kitchen you’re sipping your coffee in when you wake up.
5. Find Joy in the In-Between Moments
Not every holiday moment will be picture-perfect (nor should it be). There will be travel delays, family quirks, and Wi-Fi dead zones. But there will also be small, quiet joys like laughter echoing down the hall, the taste of your favorite home-cooked meal, or the silence that comes when you shut your bedroom door at the end of a busy day.
Consider this your permission slip to slow down and savor the season, wherever you are. Bring what grounds you, release what doesn’t, and remember that home isn’t just a place. It’s a state of mind that you have the power to control.
And when you finally return to your own bed, freshly washed sheets waiting, take one long, deep breath. Sometimes, that’s the beauty of travel: leaving so you can rediscover how good it feels to come home.
Read More: 12 Grounding Techniques to Calm Your Mind
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