The smart girl’s guide to curing the holiday blues: Loyalty and air miles point programs equal luxury!

spa-get-away-bad-economy

I think this post submitted by Shannon, one of our readers, could not have come at a better time. I’d suggest that we all take her advice because I think we really all need to little bit of “R & R” (rest and relaxation) time given the current daily string of bad economical news!

Post submitted by reader Shannon Melnyk

Ah, the Saturday morning paper; a universal symbol of weekend lingering, indulgence and slow, lazy breakfasts.  But something is different, have you noticed?  My intrigue in the fashion page has waned.  I don’t care what Karen Von Hahn has to say, and I find myself rushing through the features to clip coupons.  And instead of the crossword puzzle, I mull about in a grim haze trying to see just how many times I can circle the word economy on the front page.  I’ll spare you from my most recent findings.

This holiday season, the psychological effects of the sliding economy are going around like a bad rash.  It’s enough to want to hit the spa, pronto.  Ironically, however, that’s just the sort of indulgence that would contribute to our increasing stress over our hard-earned money, or lack of it.

It’s no surprise that sales of luxury goods are down; but cosmetics sales are up … economists call it the lipstick index.  When times are tough, buying behaviour takes a turn for the little things that makes us feel good.  Women everywhere are looking for the big bang in their blush or some glee in their new gloss.

I’m all for immediate gratification, but what about truly feeling well at a time when the stress of merry, merry is looming?  Is running off to the spa a regenerative reality?

“R” may be for recession, but it’s also for resourceful.  The killer combination of beauty and brains can have you saying Moor Mud Wrap in two minutes or less.  How about a complimentary hot stone massage?  Or a free arctic berry facial?  It’s time to pull out your wallet and … no, leave your cash and credit cards alone.  Find that grocery store loyalty or air miles card and you’ll be on your way to booking some bliss for absolutely no cost.

We all carry loyalty cards to save up for those big ticket items.  A flight to France; a big screen tv.  But air miles and loyalty programs also offer small items that pack a big punch.  Imagine the happy dance I did when I found out my grocery store points were eligible for a gift card to one of the premiere spas on the west coast.  My weekly trudging down fluorescent-lit aisles for soy milk, carrots and toilet paper translated into a Hot Chocolate Bliss Mud Wrap at the very swanky sanctuary known as Spa Utopia in Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel.  Of course I made a day of it.

There’s nothing that says relief better than pattering around in a fluffy white robe sipping fresh infusions, laying around a luxury lounge and indulging in a eucalyptus steam in-between treatments.

Rejuvenated and relaxed, I also realized the extent that loyalty pays off.  I still had points to do this year’s holiday shopping!  Exfoliating the rough times out of our lives is indeed possible with a little ingenuity; put down the newspaper and just say spaaaaaaaaaaah.

Photo by tinou bao