Sephora

itsfi

Happy holidays, BIC!!! The year has flown by and the days will only go by more quickly as we move closer and closer to the end of December. With all the events, festivities and holidays this month brings, the season can be a fun and joyous time, but it can also be a very busy, heavy and sometimes stressful one as well. It's important to prioritize self-care during the holiday season; consider this month's game of BWell bingo one of the tools available to help you keep wellness top of mind.

Wellness Bingo: December 2025

All are welcome and encouraged to take part in this wellness bingo challenge, wherever you are in your own self-care journey, and in whatever manner this challenge will serve you best. Wellness takes work; let's do the work together, BIC!

For more information on this month's wellness bingo activities, take a look at: <<links to be posted>>

callmemaebea

that's an awesome way to pay it forward.

ather

@callmemaebea Thank you!!! 😊

itsfi

Great work @ather ! Congrats on your BINGO's!

Wow, look at you go with declutter - I like your approach. #inspired I've been dragging my feet on decluttering the bathroom which is so odd as it's the smallest room in the house, lol. Making it a priority this weekend.

So many inspiring practices this month, ather. I really enjoyed reading your "pay it forward" and "be kind" activities. ❤️

Cran Merry orange lemonade sounds delicious and on point with the holiday season; I bet it was pretty too. I wasn't familiar with Mancala and looked it up, it sounds fun.

Super happy to hear you did an extra good job at treating yourself this month. You definitely deserve it!

Awwww, I'm going to have to look up grinch yoga but if your little guy loves it that's a good endorsement as any. How often do the two of you do grinch yoga?

ather

@itsfi Thanks!!! Yes decluttering has been a process!! But why does the smallest room seem like the one which holds the most items???? Or maybe that’s just me!

We did the grinch yoga once although we all went down with influenza shortly after I posted that. Today was the first day little man was feeling better. So maybe we can try again tonight or tomorrow.

My big man had to go to the city again so I have another delicious drink on the way! I’ll have to take a picture!!

I have Mancala on my phone too and little man likes to play it. It’s a good way to start too!

itsfi

It is not just you @ather! 😂 I have 1-1/2 drawers, a medicine cabinet and a very tiny window sill for storage space, but as I'm typing this, I'm wondering whether they have things like a window-sill-extender 🤔 BRB, and they do!! Okay, project for 2026, hahaha! Thank you so much!

Oh no, I'm so sorry you were all sick 🤒 that's no fun. Good to hear the little guy is all better - how are you and your husband doing? Are you both on the mend as well? If I could send over chicken noodle soup and orange juice, I would. Though y'all may be tired of that.

Ohhhh, another pretty and yummy drink?! Fun!!! Does he go to Tim Horton's for these drinks? Or some other fave spot of yours?

caitbird

So far, I haven't been doing as well with my wellness/self care this month as I would have liked, or as well as I did last month. I was out of my medications for a couple of weeks, and I really struggled as a result; I am trying to get back on track now. Here are the activities I've managed to check off so far this month:

-healthy meal: I still eat dinner with my family most nights, and most of what my mom makes is quite healthy (as well as delicious). Last night we had vegetarian lentil chili, with oranges for our fruit (seasonal fruits, with lots of vitamin C!).

-winter walk or hike: I am petsitting for a neighbor this week - they have 4 dogs (and they need to be walked 4 times a day, and I can only walk 2 at a time), so I will be keeping busy and taking them for lots of walks! It's definitely good for me to get outside, get some exercise, and enjoy the fresh air, even if I wish it wasn't quite so cold (bundling up is definitely a must when the "feels like" temperature is in the teens or below, as it has been here lately).

-inspired: for who inspires me to work on my self care & wellness, I have two answers: the first is my cats, Fabian and Frida. You know those t-shirts and mugs and things with the slogan, "I work hard so my [cat/dog/pet] can have a better life"? Similar to that, I would say, "I do my best to take care of myself so I can take care of my cats." As they say, you've got to put on your own oxygen mask first, before you can help anyone else; and I know I can't be a good mom to my kitties if I'm not taking care of myself first. My second answer for who inspires me is all of the lovely BICers who participate in these Wellness threads! Whether you know it or not, you've all played a part in inspiring me, giving me great ideas and support, and keeping me accountable, so thank you 💜

Miss Frida looking adorable, as usual ❤️

-gratitude: I have been doing my best to continue last month's habit of including 3 things I am grateful for in my daily journal entries (though admittedly, I have missed some days here and there, I try to at least do this most days). Things I am grateful for can be anything at all, no matter how big or how small - waking up to a beautiful snowfall, cuddles with the kitties, my brother expressing his support and encouragement. Taking the time to remember and appreciate the positive moments each day has really helped improve my overall attitude and mood, and it's definitely something I plan to continue doing.

-hydrate: I always keep one of my 20 oz reusable water bottles with me wherever I go, which has been a lifesaver when it comes to remembering to drink enough water and avoiding dehydration headaches. I’ve never really tried to track exactly how many ounces of water I drink on an average day, but I know I refill my water bottle several times per day, so I would guess it ends up being a decent amount.

-aromatherapy: I am continuing to enjoy both scented candles and perfumes (as well as some scented hand creams, lotions, and the like). For candles, I’ve been transitioning from fall to winter scents: warm spices like cloves and cinnamon, anything pine or evergreen scented, etc. Currently, I am burning Nest Holiday, to get me in the mood for the season. As for perfumes, I have mostly been focusing on using up some of my duplicate samples (i.e. samples that I already own the travel size or full size bottle of), to free up a bit of space in my collection. I also have a collection of new-to-me wintry/cold-weather appropriate fragrance samples to try, which I was going to make into a DIY advent calendar, but didn’t get it together in time, so I’m thinking I’ll try to start going through them starting January 1st.

-free space: I have been starting to work on planning my goals and resolutions for next year, which include a lot of different wellness activities that I want to focus on. Thinking about what I want to do and accomplish next year has got me in a self-improvement mindset and looking forward to the future, which I think is a good thing.

-seasonal drink: I have been continuing to drink tea pretty much every day this month; one of the advent calendars I got for myself this year is a tea advent, so I’ve been enjoying lots of fun seasonal blends like gingerbread chai, candy cane (peppermint), snowball (notes of cocoa and coconut), etc.

-treat yourself: I’ve treated myself in a few ways this month, from lunch at Panera (mac & cheese and a strawberry smoothie), to a couple of new perfume travel sprays that were on my wishlist, to a few new books I’ve been wanting to read. Nothing too crazy, as I’ve been trying to cut back on unnecessary purchases and be mindful of my budget, but I’ve still managed to have a little fun (of course 😅).

-holiday fun: so far, I’ve gotten in the spirit of the season by helping to decorate the tree, which is always fun - so many of my family’s ornaments are ones my brother and I made when we were kids, so there are a lot of memories attached to them. I’m also working on holiday cards for friends and family, as well as a card exchange I’m doing this year. And of course, I’ve been having fun each day unboxing my advent calendars.

-music: as I always do this time of year, I’ve been searching for new-to-me holiday music to add to my ongoing holiday playlist, as well as enjoying all of the songs I’ve already added over the years. I’ve curated a pretty eclectic list of songs, but that’s just how I like it.

Samtian

@caitbird Great progress! Beautiful babies ❤️

missjeanie

@caitbird Getting back at it when you've been knocked off track a bit shows a lot of fortitude. Good for you for seeing the positives you've accomplished this month! I love how you describe the winter scents, cloves, cinnamon and evergreens sound so perfect this time of year!

itsfi

@caitbird, you're doing great! 👊 There will inevitably be peaks and valleys when it comes to our self-care; it's all a part of life. It sounds like you have great systems and a solid variety of daily targets and activities to work towards that are beneficial to your wellbeing and that are practical and realistic for you. That is a marveous way to approach your wellness practice. 😍

Love the special edition packaging of that Nest candle! It just adds to the feels!

caitbird

@itsfi thank you so much! 💜 it's so true, peaks and valleys and ebbs and flows are inevitable, so I am just trying to focus on the positives and what I am able to get done, even if it's not as much as I might hope/as much as other times 😣

I love the packaging of this Nest candle, I got it last year and I will definitely be keeping it to reuse (not sure what I will use it for yet...ideas welcome 😅)

Samtian

Giant red gumdrops for week 2-

Checked in on a coworker who quit last month and a Sephora friend.
Declutter- Gotten rid of a few lipsticks already.
Be Kind- My line at work got new equipment and new parts so it's been a frustrating restart for all of us, I've been trying to be extra patient and kinder as we struggle through this.
Brainteaser + New- Thanks to @itsfi I started the connections game and really enjoy it. My brain used to be really really smart now it's mostly air so I've failed half of them already haha. But I enjoy it a lot.
Treat- I've loved the Five Nights at Freddy's since the first game, so I went to see the second movie and got some Panda Express afterwards. I don't have one in my town so I always try to treat myself, or make mom buy me one if I have to driver her to that town haha.
Stretch- Try to stretch throughout the day at work.

missjeanie

@Samtian I've also been trying the connections game since reading @itsfi talk about it. I find it way harder than I initially thought it would be! Hope work has been getting less frustrating!

Samtian

@missjeanie It is harder than I thought as well! But fun. Thank you, work is trying to get better but I cried in my car after my last shift haha.

ather

@Samtian Great job!!! Omg connections is so hard. I rarely get all 4! You are making progress with decluttering!!

Samtian

@ather Thank you! I'm lucky if I get one sometimes haha.

CorgiMommy

Awesome job, I love playing connections also. @Samtian

Samtian

@CorgiMommy Thank you, it's fun!

caitbird

@Samtian awesome job! Good for you for decluttering some of your lipsticks - I need to get back on track with decluttering my beauty stash too, haha. I hope you enjoyed the movie!

Samtian

@caitbird Thank you, for the most part I did!

itsfi

@Samtian, you're doing an amazing job with your wellness activities. I learned about Connections from a couple of BIC'ers - @CorgiMommy and @ather. You know, I find that it's one of those games where, at least for me, it depends on the day adn the mix of words. I do need to make sure I'm in a certain headspace to be able to think my way through it. Or, if I'm doing it on the weekends, I'll spend time with it over the course of a day and not necessarily one sitting.

Kudos to you on whittling down some of your lipstick stash. It's not easy to declutter. Okay, somewhat random question, do you have favorite or go-to items you like to get from Panda Express?

Samtian

@itsfi Yeah Connections hurts my brain haha I haven't found a time of day I'm better at it.

As for Panda I HAVE to get a plate with the Honey Walnut Shrimp ( I have an oral allergy to tree nuts so those get shoved aside, but I'm obsessed with that Shrimp), Orange Chicken, and Chow Mein.