I love advent calendars, always have. There’s something fun about marking the days with a little surprise treat. I even used to have one for my dog. I’d ring a little bell and she’d come running while I pulled off another tiny milkbone, it was very sweet.

Shortly after advents come New Year’s resolutions. Making a commitment on a certain day to change something for the better, give something up, start something. A chance to start something new and fresh. This tradition doesn’t suit me quite as well, when I decide to make a change I tend to just do it.

But whether these are some of your favorite traditions or not, I think it’s worth taking a look at them and why we do them.

So why do we give ourselves treats for most of December and decide that January 1 is the perfect time for big life changes? Because that’s why! It’s because we’ve all gotten together and decided as a society to assign these meanings and tasks to these days. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that and it’s been that way for a long time.  But my thought is maybe we should change our life on any day we want and give treats and surprises whenever and make it about what works for you not the date on the calendar.

The holidays are a time for joy but also often a time for stress and pressure. Sometimes the pressure is good. Sometimes telling people that you plan to exercise three times a week for your New Year’s resolution helps you stick to it. But I think it’s important to find ways to get rid of any excess or unnecessary stress, especially this time of year, it gets in the way of all the joy! So if you want to start working out three days a week, why not start today? December 1 is just as good of a fresh start as January 1. If your holiday list is getting to be too much and you haven’t gotten your advent calendar yet, buy it on sale and start opening the windows on February 1. A little chocolate for 25 days in February seems like a fun idea to me. Last year for Cyber Monday I bought a workout plan and started right away because I didn’t want to wait six weeks.

What I’m trying to say is these are two great traditions for celebrating each day and kickstarting something new in your life but they don’t have to be once a year. We have the chance to celebrate and start fresh every single day!

What do you think of these traditions? Tell me about them below! I’m off to buy my advent calendar.