Hey Rebel,
Welcome to Week Two of our Sparkly December series. This is the month where we stop performing holiday perfection and start telling the truth about what our bodies are actually going through.
And this week?
We’re talking about the thing women are expected to whisper about, downplay, or dismiss as just stress: perimenopause.
Perimenopause and the Holidays
There’s no better week to talk about perimenopause, because nothing steals joy faster than being told your very real symptoms are just stress.
Women are expected to power through December with a smile, hold everyone else together, and ignore the ways their bodies are quietly waving a white flag:
• mood swings
• anxiety spikes
• waking up at 3 a.m.
• feeling like your brain is buffering
• overwhelm that hits out of nowhere
We’re taught to swallow it, smile through it, and pretend it’s the season or stress.
This week is about reclaiming joy in a way that doesn’t require you to perform, justify, or minimize what you’re going through.
The 3 AM Conversation With Myself
I woke up the other morning already feeling behind and not just a little behind, but December behind. Sixteen days until Christmas and I don’t have a single present purchased. Not one holiday meal planned. I’m launching a business with multiple revenue streams, building systems, writing content, and trying to squeeze in the holiday traditions I love… except, let’s be honest, I’m not actually getting many of them in.
And instead of resting or choosing one small joy, I did what so many women do:
I hustled.
Even though I’ve been waking up at 3 AM.
Even though my brain fog has been thick enough to butter toast.
Even though I’ve had moments of irritability, overwhelm, and emotional whiplash.
Even though my hormones have been waving little red flags for weeks.
And still, STILL, Christmas songs in the background cheerfully insist I should be joyful, be celebrating, making the magic happen.
It’s wild how we can feel completely overwhelmed inside our own bodies while the world around us keeps shouting perform!
But this year, something clicked. This year might not be the year of big traditions, big outings, big gifts, or big festive energy.
This might be the year of tiny joys.
- The ones that don’t cost money.
- The ones that don’t require energy I don’t have.
- The ones that remind me I’m a human being, not a holiday machine.
Because I’m not experiencing Christmas through commercialism. I’m experiencing it through presence. Through softness. Through tiny, meaningful moments that don’t demand perfection.
Starting my own business means every dollar is an investment in myself.
Maybe that is this year’s Christmas message. Maybe the gift is finally realizing that my joy doesn’t need to be earned. My joy just needs to be noticed.
So now I’ll ask you the same thing I asked myself:
How are you investing in you this holiday season?
You know the drill! Hit reply and tell me how you are investing in you (no shame, no monetary limit, no time limit.....we don't justify here....we are straight up stating it and owning it!).
Your Week Two Tradition
Choose one micro-joy this week that you do simply because it feels good and not because you earned it.
- A cozy drink
- Ten quiet minutes
- Your favorite playlist
- A sparkly pen
- The good chocolate
Which brings me to this week’s podcast episode:
🎙️ Ladies Don’t Talk About Perimenopause. They Pretend It's Just Stress.
In this episode, I’m breaking down why women mislabel their hormone symptoms, why we’re trained to dismiss our bodies, and how you can start recognizing what’s actually going on under the surface.
This is the kind of truth-telling that gives joy back its rightful place and not as something you chase, but something you get to receive.
Listen to it here before it goes live on Thursday and see what is ahead for the next two episodes (hint: they are fire!!).
What’s Coming the Rest of This Sparkly, Should-Free December
All month long, we’re building new traditions; the ones that support you, not your to-do list. Here’s a peek at what’s ahead:
✨ Week 3: Sparkly Boundaries Week
✨ Week 4: Soft Body Week
✨ Week 5: Your 2026 Sparkly Superpower
So, give yourself grace and joy this next week as the holiday season ramps up. I heard the term Queenagers the other day, and it has become my mantra. Take a moment to let your Queenager self do something joyful because you want to and not because we have to or that is what the holidays require.
Stay Loud. Raise Hell! - Even Through the Holidays!
Tracey
That Hormone Girl
