A Simple Guide On How To Avoid Christmas Stress
Christmas is supposed to be the best time of the year. It’s a cosy family time: you see people you usually never see, enjoy great meals, the air smells like pine trees and everybody is baking and dropping off presents. Sounds like a dream? That’s right! Nobody has this kind of Christmas. Usually around Christmas everyone is stressed and tense. There is a reason for why you do not see your family for the rest of the year and just think about all that weight you put on every year around Christmas!
To Do Lists are essential!
With this list you might have some more luck to make your Christmas dream come true. First rule though is, don’t expect miracles! If you want to reduce stress, try not to get your expectations up too high. Keep it simple, this makes everything with the preparations easier and nobody gets agitated if their plans do not work out the way they want them to. Write one big to do list, this way you won’t forget anything and all your tasks are clear. Also write a little timetable you stick to around Christmas Then everybody knows what the plans are, everybody can give their input so that there will be no arguing about to which Grandma to go for Christmas lunch on the day itself. Plan well in advance and you can enjoy Christmas.
Last Minute presents
You can save up a lot of stress with your preparations already. It’s crucial to start early. There won’t be a harmonic atmosphere at the Christmas table if you’ve just come back from the shops trying to find the perfect Christmas present for your mother in law five minutes before the shops are closing. Buy your Christmas presents as early as possible. This saves you the giant credit card bill at the start of January and you can get presents when you think of something good for a person to give them, this avoids terrible last minute presents. Being an early bird with Christmas presents probably saves you most Christmas stress preparations.
Budgeting
Most people moan over the expenses they have before Christmas, firstly as already said above, buy your presents throughout the year. You still spend the same amount but it is more evenly spread.
Secondly, who says you have to spend a lot on presents? Presents should be personal and not expensive. Why don’t you try your craft skills again? Find here the instructions for a DIY glitter globe: http://bit.ly/SDy6qO.
If you aren’t arty yourself, get your kids to do it. While they are busy making glitter globes for Grandma and Grandpa, you can get started on the next point of your to do list. A great way of saving money and stress before Christmas is making use of the post-Christmas sale. Then you have all your decorations for Christmas already and you can get them a lot cheaper!
Christmas Day
What to do about the stress during the Christmas days? You can’t choose your family, so you just have to get along with them! Making it a bit easier for you is avoiding subjects you know are sensitive for the family and can easily cause a massive fight. Although it’s tempting, don’t stress drink!
Another big point that causes a lot of stress during the Christmas holidays is the food. Nobody wants to stand the whole holiday in the kitchen only to have their family moaning at the table they don’t like the food. So you can either go for a less traditional Christmas dinner and instead of a traditional roast you can try this: http://bit.ly/vvk9bH.
For the vegetables just cut up what you have left in the house and put it together in the oven or try this one: http://bit.ly/rw1KVt.
You can put some potatoes in there too or just make creamy, mashed potato. If you want to make it a bit more special put some cheese in it and let it melt (e.g. Gorgonzola).
Here is a quick and easy desert http://bbc.in/U169qq .
That’s it already, you have your dinner! If you think your guests can get a bit involved too, you can get everybody to bring something. This way everybody can bring something they like and there will be a much greater variety of dishes!
Try these tips and maybe this year you will actually be able to enjoy Christmas the way it is supposed to be like. If this doesn’t work or it’s already too late, there is only one option left! Grit your teeth and wish for a nice relaxing massage!