ou hear it everywhere: Self-care is not selfish, take care of yourself first—treat yourself! These anecdotes are usually accompanied by pictures of bubble baths, sheet masks with cucumber slices over the eyes or glasses of champagne. But what if the thought of sitting still makes your teeth itch? Not to mention that it’s December and you’re a pet groomer. This is our busiest time of the year. We’ll sleep and practice self-care in January, right?
For years, I fell into that trap—and I wasn’t the only one. It was just “groomer economics,” I explained to my family. We work ourselves silly in November and December, purposefully overbooking, and that carries us through the slow season of January and early February. Meanwhile, I missed out on family gatherings, and every sniffle seemed to turn into a raging cold that further took away my enjoyment of the season.
When the busiest season of the grooming year hits, we put our own needs on the back burner, often not even believing that we deserve to stop and take care of ourselves during the holiday rush, or that self-care would just take too long. While I’m generally a fan of holiday fairy tales, let’s take a minute to dispel that one…
We’ve all had bad days; when nothing seems to go right and everything from an unexpected matted dog or a quicked nail contributes to making our day longer. When we’re extra tired from longer days or six-day work weeks, there is a higher chance of accidents ranging from nicks or slips to something more serious.
We also know that dogs can sense our emotions, including stress. Starting the day stressed and exhausted will only make things take longer, as those not-so-frequently groomed pups may sense our anxiety and believe they have something to worry about, causing them to act out.
The worst-case scenario is a vet visit because the dog zigged when we zagged while using sharp tools, and no one ever wants that. At best, it will just make our long day even longer, leaving us with less time to do things we enjoy and continuing the cycle of lack of sleep.
The analogy of self-care as putting the oxygen mask on yourself first does not stop when our busy season starts; it becomes even more valid. The next isn’t as straightforward. It involves finding what works best for you, what actually feeds your soul and helps you find your calm.
If a few minutes of playing silly games on your phone helps, that’s self-care. If you do really want that bubble bath but only have time for a 15-minute soak, that is still better than no soak at all. Find whatever sparks joy in your heart, no matter how unconventional it is.
Days off can seem few and far between, and often get overscheduled with things that “have to get done”—and sometimes they do. We still need to get food and have clean clothes to wear. Holiday chores still need to get done, but our need for a work-life balance should be higher up on our to-do list.
Being able to be present for the pets in our care as well as our families is vital, but especially important during the holidays. If we can’t take care of ourselves, it becomes harder to care for others. It may seem trite, but it’s true.
We work hard to take care of our bodies with proper ergonomics; let’s not ignore emotional ergonomics during the times we need it most. Take your moments of self-care, even if that may be doing nothing, because starting your day refreshed physically and emotionally will actually help the day go more smoothly. Your reflexes will be faster to avoid accidents, and your patience will be refreshed.
We all know those stressors will come that we can’t do anything about. We can’t control other people’s actions; we can only control how we react to them. Here is a stress-relief tip that I use in real life: Turn it into Bingo!
Using a free online bingo card generator, plug in all the things clients say in your shop that might make you crazy. It can be anything from “Don’t forget the nails,” to “Do you have any openings today?” As long as you know they’ll be said, and that it might annoy you, you might as well turn it into something fun. You can even give out silly prizes and get the whole salon in on the action!
The holiday season is what we make it, and self-care looks different for everyone. Taking time to do something—or “nothing”—for yourself can help put the “happy” in Happy Holidays or the “merry” in Merry Christmas.
The bottom line is, self-care and the holiday rush are not just compatible; they’re vital to one another. So, be good to yourself through the holidays and well into the new year.
References:
- Understanding Workplace Accidents Caused by Fatigue. (2025, August). Fatigue Science. https://fatiguescience.com/blog/workplace-accidents-caused-by-fatigue