Six ways to get your relationship back on track after the holidays

Published in Blog by Andrew Davidson on August 18th 2023

When we return from our break, we often have mixed feelings about work and family life. It can feel like we need another holiday to get over that one! This can unfairly affect our relationships with the ones we love.

Here are six tips to bear in mind over the holiday period:

1. Focus on your ‘couple’

Couples always need a bit of a transition time during the changes of summer. Our busy routines ‘separate’ us from our partner and we lose sight of each other. You both need to refocus and rediscover one another. Allow yourselves to unwind and relax together.

2. Be realistic

The pressure to have an amazing holiday can often get in the way of our enjoyment. We might look for things to blame when the reality falls short.  This is often not so much to do with your partner, but to do with our own expectations.

3. Take time to process

Sometimes we might need the space of a holiday to question things that don’t feel right. This doesn’t mean you need to make a drastic or catastrophic change. It can sometimes be an indication that something needs to be processed. Think about seeing a therapist to work out what is really going on.

4. Bring your ‘holiday couple’ home

When we return in September we have to prepare to go off into our routines again. Try not to put your couple back in the drawer with your swimsuit.  Instead, take a slice of your holiday with you through the year by making time for each other. Go for a coffee or drink together, or a walk. Plan the time to watch a film, eat together at home or out. Get a babysitter and make it a night for the kids as well, so they can have fun with whoever is looking after them, as well as seeing you go out to enjoy yourselves.

5. Touch each other more 

On holiday, we do things that we might not do at home, for example putting suntan lotion on each other. The act of touching each other in a non-sexual way can connect us. Touch is essential for everyone. We often don’t know we miss it until we receive it lovingly. After a bath or shower, ask your partner to put on some body lotion. Or offer each other a massage or a foot rub with or without your clothes on. Keep that connection alive.

6. Have fun together

Holidays are often our only allocated time to play or have fun. Day-to-day life seems to be all about work. This is an imbalance that leads to burn-out. Let playfulness flow into the rest of the working year - it’s essential to your wellbeing.

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