Let's enjoy these lazy days of Christmas

These days between Christmas and New Year are the best. All the hullabaloo of Christmas itself is over and things take on a slightly calmer feel. These can be properly lazy days. We should lean into them.

For the western exile who is home for Christmas, they are a real chance to re-connect. The tyranny of the regular Sunday evening return is gone, at least for a while. You can, as we say, relax the head. But the days slip away fast, so best to try and use them well.

What to do with them? Here I can rely on the experience of almost 30 years. Everybody who comes home for Christmas is like the man in the red suit: they have a list. There is a presumption that when the daily grind of work is relaxed, all manner of things can be achieved in a few short days. For ambition plagues us humans even when we are planning some relaxation.

So you must choose carefully, and realistically, and use some of your wits. You can certainly spend some time visiting neighbours, relations and friends. Now, unless you have been some class of a hermit, chances are there will be a lot of people in these categories. How do you visit them all? Trying to do that is a costly business, in money but also in time, because you can hardly call to the door, leave a box of biscuits and reverse out the drive. They are friends and relations, not customers of your business! 

So the astute planner will watch for the event that’s on – the drinks at someone’s house or the family gathering – when you can say hello to many birds in one visit. If you choose the right night out for a trip to town, you can also achieve the same effect. With fewer pubs these days, it is easier to catch everyone who is out – but for the exile in a pub at Christmas, just like a politician close to an election, it can be a costly business. You can hardly be doing well if you don’t buy a drink.

And anyway, if you are escaping the busy city life, crowded venues may not be what you had in mind. With a bit of luck, the rain will hold off, and you can spend some of your days going to any number of amazing places for a walk. Regular readers will know that I am something of an evangelist for visiting remote places in our region, so my recommendation is to head somewhere you haven’t been before if you do indeed fancy that walk.

At this time of year, Achill is my favourite place. The extremities of the island are sharpened this time of year and it appeals to me. Many years ago, I spent the 2nd January climbing up the side of Keem Bay, clambering along the cliffs, overlooking Achill Head, before making my way up the valley back to the beach. When I eventually got back to the car, I swore that after that day I would be fitter the next time I did it.

But there are other much less extreme places to walk in Achill. You could simply walk along Keel Beach and enjoy the stunning view. You could head along the Atlantic Drive and stop at any of the viewing points and blow every bit of badness out of you. You could head over the other side to Dugort and walk along either of the two stunning beaches and, if feeling powerful, you can climb Slievemore (only on a good day). If you are feeling really ambitious, you could head up towards Croaghaun and scramble around overlooking Saddle and Achill Heads – but don’t try that alone unless you really know what you are doing.

Or of course, you could just take a walk in the local park or the local beach. Whichever it is, be sure to give yourself time after to get something nice in a local hostelry. If you are driving, your friend might enjoy a pint with their chowder. If you have been up high in Achill – or anywhere for that matter – they will have earned it.

A personal favourite of mine for spending a day is reading a book by the fire. This year I have my fellow columnist Brendan Hoban’s Holding Out For A Hero on my list. Close the door, turn on a nice reading light, with a pot of coffee and something nice on a fancy plate. Go away now and leave me alone for a while.

Coffee is a theme and there is nothing nicer than bringing someone you really care for out for a coffee and a cake. Mayo is full of such nice places now, and if you find the little independent coffee shop, you can treat your nearest and dearest while helping that shop stay open for them in January. The key thing is not to rush it – at this time of year, you can enjoy the ceremony of it. And with the New Year and all those firm resolutions forming in your mind, this is not the day to skimp on the cream. Men can also wear the new whatever they got for Christmas and if it is your mother you are treating, she can also enjoy the way she is still able to put a better shape on you.

If the weather is less kind, you can enjoy a day out at one of our museums or other cultural institutions. Wherever you are there is something of interest, with the National Museum in Turlough an obvious and interesting choice. But the region is full of places you can visit – the Michael Davitt Museum, the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ballycastle, Westport House, or even a little walk around Cong, which is a visitor attraction in itself. The Model Gallery in Sligo Town is also always worth a visit, where anyone can appreciate the many works of Jack Yeats on display. The point of visiting one of these places is not to be culturally snooty – it is an occasion to go and have a look at something interesting or beautiful, and then sit down with your mate and have a nice cup of tea. And if the person you bring doesn’t get out much these days, you will have a good deed done which you can rely on when a certain someone is checking his list for next Christmas.

There will of course also be the New Year’s party coming up, but if, like me, you consider such occasions with an aversion bordering on dread, you can instead plan out who to send your few messages to, and then settle in for the 10,9 8… on RTÉ, an organisation which will not be overly sad to see the closing credits rolling on 2023.

However you spend these days, spend them in good company. And be sure to have the odd day when you stay in, and just let the day pass, slowly. So much of our lives now pass in a constant rush, here, there, must have this, must get that, that it is important to use these days to just put the handbrake on and be glad to be alive.