TAKING TIME TO yourself to relax the mind and body is an essential Christmas activity.

Although it’s a good opportunity to spending time with family and friends, a little personal downtime is also badly needed.

So one way to mentally switch off is watching a good TV show or film. So we’ve compiled a few suggestions for you (this is by no means a complete list) to give you an idea of what to watch over the Christmas period.

There’s a mix between new and old, but we’ve tried to shy away from the obvious ones.

Bodyguard is one of the BBC’s greatest successes of the year: the show’s season finale amassed 11 million viewers – the largest audience for a BBC show since 2008. Set in London, it gives us a view inside the House of Commons through a House of Cards-esque filter.

Starring Richard Madden, who’s excellent as a Scottish policeman turned bodyguard, it’s a six-episodes-long exploration of terrorism, British politics, human relationships and war with a fresh, fascinating and gripping approach.

Netflix has released Springsteen on Broadway, a film about Springsteen’s autobiographical Broadway show.

Based on his best-selling autobiography Born to Run, it’s a solo acoustic performance written and performed by the award winning singer songwriter, with a special appearance by Patti Scialfa. 

Another easy watch: A Very Murray Christmas opens with Bill Murray preparing to host a live, international holiday broadcast.

After a blizzard shuts down the production, he makes the best of the situation. Guests include George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Chris Rock, Amy Poehler, and Michael Cera.

If you’ve already watched the Bodyguard and want something to fill the void it’s left – here’s a relatively unheard of solid option: Occupied.

It’s about a diplomatic rift between Norway and Russia rooted in climate change and oil. If you’re disappointed with the latest season of House of Cards, this could be a good replacement.

And a blast from the past: The Wire.

Not a new one, but inserted here because it’s an all-rounder of a show with fascinating characters, a brilliant script and far too many people give up on it after one episode (wait at least until episode three before you make a decision on whether to continue).

Set in Baltimore, Maryland, the series follows a maverick Irish-American policeman called Jimmy McNulty who pushes his coworkers to not sit back and to go after a drug dealing kingpin.

It has a brilliant cast, including Idris Elba in his first role and Aidan Gillen appears in the third series as a sleazy politician, makes brave decisions and is unpredictable, which is always welcome in a TV show.