December means winter festivity in Cologne, and a whirlwind of activities to complete and celebrate the year!
The last quarter of 2025 and holiday season were particularly full for me even compared to past hectic years, and I worked (danced, taught, published…) hard, then partied hard with my beloved, friends and family. I then collapsed into a short period of lovely rest to reset before returning to my joyful commitments in the New Year.
As evidenced by the publishing of this article in January, my personal completion process continues into the New Year, as I prefer to reflect on the month once it is complete. At the annual shift there are many things to be present to, plan for, and look back upon and I want to set the tone for gentle action and sustainable growth.
December’s Bender
Amidst a month of festivity, I was also wildly creative, teaching and publishing, enjoying the artistic work and presence of others, recovering from a demanding and exciting period, and beginning the process of reflecting on the past year as a whole, dreaming and planning the next.
- Dance Daily December is my own interpretation of a Create December type of challenge, where I share daily clips on social media, a kind of movement advent calendar
- Last Physical Therapy sessions of the year and of this hip pain/injury I dealt with in 2025, learned that my stretching practice needs to increase as my daily physical demands escalate
- Last Baking projects of the year: muffins, sugar cookies to decorate with the kids, ginger snaps
- Got sick and well again
- Last Classes of the year in all locations
- We celebrated my partner Ela’s Birthday on the Winter Solstice / Yule
- Advanced Dance Program acknowledgements: my daily ballet students, a professional group of dancers I’ve been so delighted to work with for the 3-month program, brought me flowers and a sweet card signed by all
- My cousin and his family visited, celebrated Ela’s birthday with us as well as many Christmas Markets
- Christmas feasting, partying was magical but exhausting
- Family medical emergencies, from Ela’s aunt breaking her hip on Christmas eve to other beloveds suffering various ailments
- Rest, recovery, deep reflection, planning
- Decluttering, cleaning, home organization
- Fresh Socks & Soap to step into a New Year clean, comfortable, and well-resourced
- Silvester with neighboring friends: Happy New Year!
Bullet Journaling & Planning
The above YouTube Video is a flip-through of the month in my Seasonal Book including goals, glows, media favorites, and events I recorded along the way.
I shared my initial setup on Instagram here: “Bullet journal has donned its gay apparel and I’m ready for Dance Daily December, #createdecember and much festivity.” A bit of wintry, Christmassy decor was good for my soul.
Continued to update my Monthly, Weekly, and Daily logs, Annual Collections, and especially created my January spreads, started scheming about my 2026 Annual Book spreads.
Got the physical books for my Annual, Spring & Summer Seasonal Books and considered my upcoming Word of the Year, themes and projects, visual design theme.
Also watched a lot of fun videos of folks’ Notebook Lineups and Planner/BuJo Set-Ups for the New Year as well as current pen & ink pairings to inspire correspondence and journaling.
Teaching & Coaching
Regular Mindful Movement classes in Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga continued throughout, and studio classes in Ballet continued, plus a new project, the Advanced Dance Program, for whom I gave daily Ballet Technique each morning at 9:00, creating amazing results in the 3-month intensive.
There are a couple of coaching slots available in the New Year and I will keep you posted on further offerings as they come together!
Writing & Publishing Articles
I didn’t publish any new articles at ablythcoach.com in December, but was working on reflections like this one and November‘s, as well as upcoming content about my projects and Word of the Year for 2026, personal curriculum and reading, ballet, dance, and creative living…
For Quarter 4, this brings my total articles published to 6, and 35 for the year, not bad!
Filming & Sharing Videos
In Quarter 4 I created and added to the Tasty Technique Tips playlist on YouTube, which will continue to grow as I capture further tricks for developing brilliant dancing.
I published 3 videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel in December on the topics of dance, creativity, and joyful living, for a total of 14 in Q4 and 53 for the year, averaging one every week:
- Strong Cylinder – Balletlicious Dance Alignment Visualization – Tasty Technique Tip video, the latest in the series: While our bodies don’t closely resemble a cylinder in shape, the visualization of equal length and support evenly on every surface can help us channel the shape’s strength and resilience in the face of tension/stress and compressive forces (balancing, movement).
- November Flip & Faves – Review, Reflect, Refresh – Creative Bullet Journal of a Teaching Artist video: the month of November in my life was about gratitude, harvest, bittersweet endings/transitions, dancing & prolific creativity!
- Foot Foundations – Golden Triangle Weight Distribution Visualization for Dance – Tasty Technique Tip video: the feet are the foundation of all ballet movements, so how do we build the architecture of our strong stance? It starts with awareness of where our weight rests in the feet, equal between the inside/big toe and outside/little toe, across the whole of the metatarsal/front of the foot, and equal or less in the heel/back of the foot. A dynamic golden triangle results, readiness to move in all directions.
Connecting: Email & Social Media
Email Newsletter
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as work from others that I believe to be of value for fellow creatives is to subscribe to my email newsletter.
I sent one Email Newsletter in December, Happy Holidays, may the season bring celebration, dance, peace!, totaling 3 in Q4 and 38 in 2025.
Socials
In December I also posted 26 times to Instagram, every day during my #dancedailydecember “movement advent calendar” and a couple further entries. That makes 57 posts to IG in Q4, and 125 total for the year.
It is my honor to be connected to you there, here, on social media, online and in-person!
Creative Challenges
Dance Daily December is a creative challenge that I created in 2024, while other artists worked on Create December, Vlogmas, Inkvent, and other wintery artistic undertakings, this is a movement-themed playful project.
This in addition to writing in my journals, playing with my new fountain pens, publishing articles, creating improvisations and choreography, video filming and editing.
Dance Daily December
I took on the personal challenge to dance every day in December up until Christmas, a mindful movement advent calendar, and invited others to join in, too!
A few favorite clips:
- Pretty light one morning at in the studio giving ballet for #advanceddanceprogram excerpt from a petit allegro combination developed by students, such a joy
- Pique fouetté and balance my way away from teaching my last elective class of the year https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSXpt7vDDBz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Final reverence on the (actually crowded) train platform
Twenty 25s in 2025
Inspired by Jess/JashiiCorrin on YouTube), this creative challenge is a playful way to track various leading metrics, projects and activities I wish to keep an eye on.
Having found such a structure useful since 2023, for 2025 I am reduced the number of categories tracked to 20, and raised the actions by one for a catchy “Twenty 25s in 2025.” In December I continued to take action towards my 25s goals, and final results and reflections will be in my my article reflecting on the year as a whole to come…
Media Musings
My December in reading, listening, and viewing pleasures:
Books & Reading
The month of December was so full that I didn’t have many opportunities to read (or watch films or series), but I continued small daily selections from current fiction and nonfiction picks.
Books
Still reading along on my nonfiction picks (poetry, scripture, self-help), and I completed one novel in December:
- Finished listening to Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things: A Novel (Sisters of Light and Shadow Book 1) by Breanne Randall as an audiobook on Libby, forget who recommended it, interesting premise and one queer character, who unfortunately just kind of served their purpose of supportive friend of a troubled family and then disappeared
- Worked on the novel Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan and its been compelling so far
Poetry
- The new anthology I started that will take me through 2026, Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life compiled by Ben Crystal and David Crystal is now my daily poetry reading
Listening Highlights
Favorite things heard over the course of the month go here, such as concerts, songs, pieces of music, playlists, podcasts and more.
Music: Songs, Playlists & Albums
- “Everybody Scream“ from Florence + the Machine is a good way to let off steam
- Silver Bells Winter Warmers is my playlist of musical holiday treats
- The Nutcracker Ballet Class album from Trisha Wolf is a great one for seasonal dancing
Viewing Highlights
Films
Movies watched last month:
- “White Christmas,” a seasonal favorite
Series
Series streamed in December:
- Emmy-winning “The Great” satirical comedy historical fiction series about Russia then is relevant now
- We are back for more of the “Hacks” Comedy-Drama series
Questions for Reflection
- What do you want to remember from December/the past month, quarter, and year?
- Which books, musical selections, and viewing do you currently recommend?
- Where will you shine your light in the New Year?
- What are your favorite winter treats?
Resources for Further Exploration
- Float in 2025 – Word / Intention of the Year Article
- Twenty 25s in 2025: Analog Project Planning & Action Tracking, Creative Bullet Journal Style Article
- Quantum Leaping into 2024 Word of the Year Article
- Twenty-Four 24s in 2024 Article
- To-Enjoy List for Quarter 4 2024 Article
- Say the Magic Words Article
- Analog Journals for Creativity Article
My final recap of 2025, 2026 Word of the Year, Twenty 26s, explorations in dance, coaching, further adventures in creative living and more coming soon.
Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!
Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully, let me know how if I can be of service, would love to see you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst they/she
Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach
dancing through difficulty
taking leaps of faith