Welcome To The Holiday Void
Where Joy Goes To Hibernate
What is the Holiday Void, you ask? The Holiday Void is that magical, lawless time between the day after Christmas and New Year’s Day when the concept of time simply no longer exists. Days tend to blend together, calendars become lies, you wake up unsure what day of the week it is, and carbs have become the new bottomless delicacy.
You’re coming down from peak holiday overstimulation, and suddenly you don’t know if it’s socially acceptable to drink a beer or take a shot of tequila for breakfast. (Is it frowned upon? Or just festive?) You seriously consider going pants-less for several days. Ladies debate wearing a bra versus going completely feral. Men have the same debate, but with boxers.
You’re on your 100th casserole and 58th ham sandwich, still somehow eating leftover sides while also snacking nonstop for no clear reason. You stream and finish multiple seasons of a TV series you barely remember starting. Showering becomes optional. In fact, at some point, you genuinely flip a coin to decide whether you’re going to bathe. In gamer terms, you don’t know what map you’re on or which part of the shadow realm you currently occupy.
You host a full movie marathon dedicated to your favorite actor or movie franchise—and finish the entire thing in one sitting. (If I were in the mood to watch the Fast & Furious franchise or every single Star Wars movie, I’d do it wearing a robe, surrounded by snacks, with an icy beverage within arm’s reach. Absolutely nothing would get done that day. Nothing.)
Now, for those of us who don’t have enough PTO to disappear for two weeks, we’re expected to summon the energy, strength, and sheer willpower to go back to work and actually…work. Working while your mind is still set to “holiday mode” is one of the most exhausting Olympic events known to humankind.
That…is the Holiday Void.
There is no cure for this phenomenon. No medicine. No motivational speech. The only thing you can do is sit there and embrace it. Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling us to rest. After all, we’ve spent an entire year working, stressing, dissociating, and slowly succumbing to overstimulation. And let’s be honest, our overstimulation hits its absolute peak during the holiday season.
So, despite your responsibilities, if you can do so, embrace the void. Taking a few days off to recharge after a hell of a year or a hell of a holiday season should be just as normalized as taking a mental health day. Or pulling a full Ferris Bueller: fake sick, take a joy ride through the city, or soak in an Epsom salt bath with way too many bath bombs, and sip on an icy-cold drink like you earned it. Because you did.
Enjoy the void because come January 1st, real life starts again whether we’re ready or not.
Happy New Year and have a blessed 2026! 🎉
-Jordan H.
