Have Yourself A Chill Christmas + a Playlist
Words by: Maggie Laubscher | Music by: Abby Yemm
Merry Christmas, Nellies! It’s a full season of celebrating. We are trying to take it in and also take our time. Be extra kind to ourselves and others. Breathe. We chatted about Hanukkah earlier this month, as well as Saint Lucia’s Day and Yule. We’re currently caroling through Christmas and Kwanzaa, and finally it will be a new year. We are ready.
In the meantime, we hope you’re feeling the joy. As we’ve said before, the holidays amplify everything: good and bad. So if you’re feeling the joy, keep vibing it! And if you’re not, know that that’s okay. It’s real and it’s normal and it’s okay. There’s a quote by the artist Ad Reinhardt it reminds us of: ‘Maybe I’m just simple, real, and human after all.’
It’s all a lot, especially right now. So if you’re feeling loss or a void or inundated, take a minute. Close your eyes, put on headphones, go for a walk. Or try some of these methods we’re using to chill our way through Christmas.
We love you, Nellies. XO
Chill
When in doubt, reach for CBD. It helps chill us out and slow things down. We like Evolution CBD, which was founded by Nellie Dacia Kimber. We also pick up Unbakery & Juicery’s coconut CBD H20 on the regular. We also are loving the CBD-infused kombucha by local brand Tea-Biotics.
Donate
Giving feels good and boosts our mood instantly. This month, we’ve been donating to Community Linc, ScrapsKC, and other local nonprofits. We’ve also donated blood, which was easier than we had expected. Blood donors are severely needed right now, so think about blocking your calendar for an hour and bringing a good book while you donate some much-needed blood.
Burn
Lighting a candle is ritualistic and inviting. It helps us be in the moment and take a breath. This hourglass candle from local shop Tyler Kingston Mercantile has been our go-to candle lately. It’s a ceramic hourglass shape with six different scents. Our favorite scent, the palo santo suede, is sold out, but the Mandarin-mango mauve is in stock and sounds delicious.
Soak
We’ve been wanting to try this bath soak at Welwythn, and all of their bath goodies look and sound completely inviting. We also love these bath salts by Yawa & Co. - a company we always return to for the quality and scents.
Listen
For every one of our moods, there’s a Nellie music mix that fits. The playlists - all by our resident artist Abby Yemm - range in vibe and style but all have magical good beats. Try the Giving Tuesday mix if you need a place to start, we have it on repeat.
Imbibe
Comfort food can still be wholesome. Our latest obsession is the chocolate hemp seed truffle from Caffetteria. Honorable mention is anything from Cultivare, like the spicy Thai chicken and rice soup.
Read
We recently discovered this book, compliments of our deejay artist Abby Yemm. It’s filled with beautiful quotes from thoughtful, powerful artists. Quotes that are real and true and not cliché. Speaking of truth, Rupi Kaur has a new book of poetry out called Home Body. We can’t wait to dive in over the holidays.
