DIY Party Survival Kit 2024 Edition

Living Well

Written by: Meg Sharp, MSc., Fitness & Wellbeing Consultant, Cambridge Group of Clubs

It’s been a stressful, challenging year. Dog gone-it, we want you to let loose and have some fun; look and feel fabulous for the entire decadent, playful season. Colourfully curated cocktails, wines with great legs, perfectly aged cheeses, inspired dinners, and over-the-top desserts. That’s some serious fun. Rotten sleeps, morning headaches, and all-day food craving that won’t abate; dress pants and shimmery cocktail dresses that are suddenly too tight: Seriously NOT fun.

Fear not: We’ve come armed with a fabulous closet full of ideas for how to navigate this party season so you can balance the high bar while avoiding the face plants. As there is no one-size-fits-all, try a few on for size and keep the ones that work.

• Slow-ish Down. Typically schedules become even more packed at this time of year. The extra pressure and frenzied pace can result in higher, chronic levels of stress hormones. This, in turn, can make us more reactive (in a not so positive way) and decrease sleep quality, which, in turn, increases stress hormones even more. Look for opportunities throughout the day to activate your parasympathetic nervous system as quieting your internal chaos – even just slightly or for a few precious moments – can make a huge impact. What do I mean? 
  • You can walk quickly to your next meeting but breathe deeply through your nose and exhale deliberately as you stride. Expand your chest and contract your diaphragm. Relax your shoulders away from your ears. 
  • Ground yourself and counter balance negative hormones with positive endorphins by making eye contact and touching people on the forearm or shoulder when you speak with them. 
  • When you’re driving places, watch for tension in your hands, shoulders, and around your eyes. Breathe. Try to let the tension patterns ease. 
  • Ditto when you’re answering emails. Type quickly. But keep your cheeks, eyebrows, and neck muscles relaxed. 
  • Swap a workout – or part of one – with mobility work or yoga. Be mindful with all your movements. Fast and slow.

• Exercise. Speaking of workouts, schedule them in and avoid skipping. By all means, make them shorter if need be. 12-minute high intensity workouts are fabulous at metabolizing the cortisol from your system and a mid-day workout can effectively press a reset button, sending you back to your desk with a clear, inspired mind. A brisk walk outside the morning after can help counterbalance the physiological side effects, easing brain fog and helping manage down sugar and salt cravings.

• Choose Favourites. There are a number of treats that can turn your head at a party: alcohol, dessert, decadent dinner, irresistible cheeses, and hors d’oeuvres. Choose two on any given night and enjoy them to the fullest. Skip or be extremely careful/virtuous with the others. 
• Water down your tummy, not the fun! Drink water. Throughout the day. And also drink a HUGE glass of water before you go or as soon as you arrive. Not only does this help calm food cravings, it will slow your sipping down. Alternate each glass of booze with water. Drink bubbly water! Low sugar mocktails too.

• Anticipate Fun. Schedule something fun the next morning. Something you are REALLY looking forward to, that is also incompatible with a hangover. If it involves physical activity outside, even better.
• Eat Before. Ensure you have a filling, high protein, high fiber lunch. Have a healthy snack in the afternoon. In other words, avoid skipping lunch in order to create room or save calories for the decadent snacks and dinner to come. This will typically backfire on many levels. Alcohol on an empty stomach goes directly into your system. It will intensify intoxification AND hangover symptoms. The high alcohol hit also stimulates appetite and diminishes will power. Even in the absence of any alcohol, an incredibly hungry body will often overconsume. 

• Drop It. Put your fork down between bites. Put your drink down between sips. This seemingly simple strategy takes some practice. And is incredibly effective for keeping your intake moderate without feeling like you’re restricting anything.

As with everything in life, avoid all or nothing thinking. There’s no perfect person, nor perfect party behaviour. If you overindulge, have a good giggle about it. Drink a big glass of water. Pop some B vitamins, magnesium, and folic acid. Sweat like crazy. And try, try, try again. The times when you are successful with your moderation? Pay keen attention to how good you feel the next day and give yourself a high-five. Acknowledging what you’ve done well will help you stay on that balance beam.