The holiday season is here and for many, that means the calendar is rapidly filling up. When life gets busy, it’s easy for your creative endeavors to fall onto the back burner. While planning the perfect holiday get together may be taking up a huge chunk of your time, it’s important to make time and space to create.

Here are some reasons to make some time for yourself and your art today:

1. Let it go – Just like the iconic Disney song says, it’s okay to let it go. When you make time to get into your creative space, you can let go of all the stress the world is putting on your shoulders. In adulthood, the holiday season loses some of its magic when the party planning, decorating, and gift buying falls on your shoulders. With the season fast approaching, some of that stress may be creeping in. Taking time for yourself to work creatively gives you a time and space to let go of outside stress and find the inner peace that reminds us that winter with family is a time to be thankful. Just like Elsa the snow queen needed to “let it go” to find inner peace, you can find a kind of sanctuary in your creativity.

2. If you don’t use it, you lose it – Putting the camera, the paintbrush, the clay, or your other art supplies down during the stress of the winter might put a damper on your creative process. Some find that putting their passion aside for a while can make it hard to pick it back up. Your artistry is not seasonal, let the creative juices flow in every season!

3. Look on the bright side – as the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder, seasonal depression takes its toll on all of us. Dedicating a little time every day to staying creative can help keep the winter blues away. As easy as it can be to sit on the couch as soon as the sun sets and stay snuggled up until the sun rises, try to get up and be creative, even if it means working while it’s dark outside. Setting up warm mood lighting around you can be helpful for offsetting the dark feel winter nights (and late afternoons) bring.

Don’t let the stress of a fast-moving holiday season and short days put you in a creative slump this winter. It’s important to make time to get creative to fight off the winter season dread. If you want a space to get away, let it go, and focus on your creative side, consider renting a studio at AmFAB – all artists welcome!