Staunton’s Cures for the Holiday Hangover 

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Hello, 2024. If the bustle of the holidays has left you wiped out instead of refreshed, you’re not alone. From marathon shopping excursions to New Year’s Eve mayhem to just trying to keep the kids busy over the long winter break, you might be suffering from a holiday hangover! Here’s how to slow down, recalibrate, and catch your breath in the new year.

First: Stop Cooking!

You’ve been cooking up a storm for the past five weeks, but now there’s no need to roast a turkey, bake another batch of cookies, or even throw together something for the neighborhood potluck. Put down the spatula, throw that greasy apron in the wash, and get some take-out tonight!

• Seed to Tail’s weekly Wednesday night dinner will feel like a night out at your favorite restaurant, except in your own home. Score a salad from the market and add a kids’ meal for the picky eaters in your family.

• Nu-Beginning Farm Store creates delicious dinners and a choice of sides made with local ingredients.
• Get all your favorite bowls, burritos, and tacos for take-out or delivery from Chicano Boy Taco. You can order online for a talk-free experience!

• You don’t have to sit in the restaurant to enjoy Remedy Burger’s famous smash burgers! Order online from a big selection of burgers, sides, and kid’s meals.
• Fill up with crusty, cheesy delights from Shenandoah Pizza or Brick’s Restaurant & Pub. 
• Order all your family favorites to go from Wright’s, The Depot, and Mill Street Grill!

Second: Eat Healthy!

You’re probably also thinking about getting healthy in the new year. Whether a dry January is in the cards or you just want to exercise and eat a little cleaner, here’s where to start.

• Cranberry’s Grocery and Eatery specializes in healthy snacks, light meals, and smoothies for breakfast and lunch. They also have locally produced and organic grocery items, bulk herbs, homeopathic remedies, and more, including locally roasted coffee beans and gluten-free items.

• When you’re ready to venture back into the kitchen, you’ll want to stock up on fresh ingredients at the Winter Farmers’ Market at Emmanual Episcopal Church (Saturdays, 9 am – noon). You’ll find all your favorite vendors, just in a venue that’s sheltered from the elements.
• Look ahead to the growing season and reserve your share from a local CSA. Wild Altar Farmstead is devoted to “growing a relationship between food, community, and land.” Creambrook Farm offers raw milk herd shares. Your life will most definitely improve with a flower subscription of weekly bouquets from a local flower farm like Brown Dog Blooms.

Third: Relax

Treat yourself to a little quiet me time. Here’s your guide to spas, and more.

• Book a spa day at the Spa at the Blackburn. Indulge yourself with skin treatments, massage, reflexology, and nail care. You can also relax at Breezy Hill Day Spa with massage, pedicures, body wraps, and more. Mill Street Body and Soul Day Spa and Salon offers a menu of body treatments, makeup application classes, and – if you’re looking to build confidence or planning ahead for Valentine’s Day – boudoir photo sessions.

• Treat your olfactory glands to a new signature scent. Essentially Zen has great-smelling soy candles, cold-processed artisan soaps made with natural ingredients, and much more. Marion’s Candles Scents & Seasons also offers yummy-smelling candles and soaps. Redwood + Co. has a curated selection of home scents in their candles, room sprays, and wax melts.

• Feather your nest with some seriously comforting items. Burrow and Vine sells lush houseplants and plant-themed decor, and Heirloom Home carries luxury linens and more.

Fourth: Stretch

Let’s think about starting on those fitness goals!

• Burrow and Vine hosts yoga classes – check their schedule to stretch your cares away.
• Another place to get your oooom on is Phoenix Fitness & Yoga, which offers classes in barre, yoga, and more, including chair yoga and suspended aerial yoga. 
• The Staunton Augusta YMCA also offers yoga classes and you don’t even need to be a member if you buy a class passbook. And don’t just stop at yoga: the Y has a full range of classes including ones that focus on building strength and cardio fitness.
• Wish you had your own personal gym, but don’t have the space? Check out Newtown Fitness, which provides two private, distraction-free workout rooms with commercial equipment and a pay-as-you-go pricing structure.

Fifth: Learn Something New

Nothing is more invigorating than exercising your brain.

• Fire up your gray matter with a good book from The Book Dragon or Staunton Books. Browse the shelves at Know Knew Books to find a new-to-you favorite.

• Get artsy or crafty with a class or workshop from Beverly Street Studio School, Art Hive, Staunton Augusta Art Center, or Kate’s Mercantile and Company.
• Get outside by signing up for a hike or other outdoor adventure like rock climbing or canoeing with Vivid Earth Adventures. 
• Staunton’s Parks and Recreation department offers classes in a wide variety of topics like dancing, cooking, and American Sign Language.

Happy New Year. Hopefully, you’ll find your sure-fire cure to your holiday hangover in Staunton!