Use These 37 Christmas Journaling Prompts to Reflect and Reset for the New Year”

Read time: 6 minutes

Quick summary: 37 cosy Christmas journaling prompts to help you reflect on the year, appreciate the good bits, let go of what didn’t serve you, and step into the new year feeling grounded. No pressure, no forced gratitude – just honest reflection with a cuppa in hand.

Christmas journaling prompts aren’t just about gratitude lists and positive vibes. They can show you where you’re actually growing, help you process the stuff you can’t say out loud, and give you somewhere to put your thoughts when life gets heavy.

The week between Christmas and New Year is a strange little pocket of time. The rush is over, the pressure lifts, and there’s finally space to think. If this season feels more complicated than the adverts suggest, you’re not alone. These prompts are for the quiet hour when the house is still, the fairy lights are on, and you’ve got nowhere to be.

No right answers. No performance. Just you and the page.

What Am I Grateful For This Year?

1. What made me laugh until my face hurt this year?
2. What’s one small thing I’m grateful for that I usually overlook?
3. Who showed up for me when I needed it?
4. What’s the best meal I had this year – and who was I with?
5. What song, book, or film made this year better?
6. What ordinary moment turned out to be really special?
7. What am I proud of that I haven’t told anyone about?

What Did This Year Teach Me?

8. What did this year teach me about myself?
9. What’s one thing I worried about that turned out fine?
10. Where did I surprise myself?
11. What would I tell myself on January 1st this year, knowing what I know now?
12. What habit actually stuck this year?
13. When did I feel like I was performing instead of living?
14. What got easier as the year went on?

What Am I Ready to Let Go Of?

15. What belief am I ready to release?
16. What didn’t work this year – and what did it teach me?
17. Who or what do I need to forgive (including myself)?
18. What am I pretending to feel that I don’t?
19. What am I done carrying into the new year?
20. What would my life look like if I stopped waiting for permission?

Relationships & Connection

21. Who made my year better just by being in it?
22. What’s one thing I want to say to someone but haven’t?
23. How did I show love this year?
24. What relationship surprised me – good or bad?
25. Who do I want to spend more time with next year?
26. How can I be a better friend, partner, or family member?

What Do I Want From Next Year?

27. How do I want to feel this time next year?
28. What’s one thing I want to do that scares me a little?
29. What would I stop doing tomorrow if nobody would judge me?
30. What am I looking forward to?
31. What’s one small promise I can make to myself for January?
32. If next year had a theme, what would it be?

Cosy Christmas Moments

33. What’s my favourite Christmas memory from childhood?
34. What tradition do I want to keep – and which one could I let go?
35. Describe my perfect cosy winter evening.
36. What does “home” feel like to me right now?
37. What’s one thing about this Christmas I want to remember?

Pause and Reflect: Before you dive in – what drew you here today? What are you hoping to discover or release? There’s no wrong answer.

And if a voice in your head is already telling you this is pointless – that you don’t have time, that it won’t change anything, that journaling is for other people just tell him to wait outside for ten minutes. He’ll survive.

How Do I Use These Christmas Journaling Prompts?

You don’t need to answer all 37. That’s not the point.

You don’t need a leather-bound journal and a cabin in the woods. A napkin and five minutes while the kettle boils works fine.

Pick one that tugs at you. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Write without editing, without judging, without worrying if it makes sense. Let it be messy.

Some of these Christmas journaling prompts will feel easy. Others might sit with you for days. That’s exactly how it should be.

The Stoics believed that reflection wasn’t navel-gazing it was how you learned to live better. Marcus Aurelius journaled every night, not for posterity, but to understand himself. You’re in good company.

Research from Harvard Health shows that expressive writing for even just 15 minutes, helps people organise their thoughts and process stressful experiences.

And if your brain tries to turn journaling into another thing to overthink, here’s how to use it to quiet the noise instead.

Your 3 Everyday Mastery Steps

Step 1: Pick one prompt. Don’t overthink it. The one that made you pause? Start there.

Step 2: Write for 10 minutes without stopping. No editing, no crossing out. Let it flow – messy is fine.

Step 3: Read it back tomorrow. Sometimes the real insight shows up when you revisit what you wrote with fresh eyes.

Journaling Prompts to Sit With

What would change if I truly believed I was enough?

What’s one thing I’m ready to stop postponing?

If the idea of New Year’s resolutions already feels exhausting, you might prefer a different approach entirely – tiny habits instead of big promises.

And if you’re holding onto things from this year that feel heavy, learning how to let go of the past might be the gentlest gift you give yourself this season.

I’m a habits coach, not a therapist or mental health professional. I’m based in the UK and sharing what’s worked for me and my clients. If you’re struggling with serious mental health issues, please reach out to your GP or a qualified professional. Mind UK (mind.org.uk) and the NHS mental health services are good starting points.

Want more like this? I send out one email a week with practical tools for building habits that actually stick – no fluff, no hustle culture, just real strategies for regular folk trying to get unstuck. Join the Everyday Mastery newsletter here.

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Kel

Kel is the writer behind Everyday Mastery, where she shares the real, messy, and meaningful process of building habits, resilience, and self-belief from the ground up. Her writing blends ancient philosophy with modern science, always focused on small, practical steps that lead to lasting