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How to Reduce Stress This Christmas
10
Oct
Oct
Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, however, it can be pretty overwhelming too.
When you’ve got gifts to wrap, food to prepare and children to look after, Christmas can be extremely time-consuming and a lot of hassle. The key to beating the stress is to be organised, which is why we’re talking about Christmas ahead of time.
Keeping Calm Before Christmas
Many people dread Christmas because of the associated stress our brain has with the occasion. However, this doesn’t always have to be the case. Take some of the stress out of the festive season by following these simple tips to make sure that your number one priority is enjoying your time with family and friends this Christmas.
Plan ahead
Planning really is key when it comes to getting organised for Christmas. Start planning as early as you possibly can, even if that means that you have to start buying Christmas presents at the beginning of November. Know what tasks you want to complete before a certain date, and get them done by then. A really easy Christmas related job to get done is to write your Christmas cards early.
Make a list (and check it twice)
Excuse the awful pun in the heading of this section, but making a list is useful when you feel inundated with a huge number of tasks. Christmas can seem particularly overwhelming, especially if you’re thinking about several things at once. The easiest way to manage all your tasks is to write them all down in a list and prioritise them. For example, make different lists for the different tasks too, like Christmas shopping, food and decorations.
You could also think about making different lists for different family members. This way you’re delegating the tasks and can make it more of a family activity so that all the pressure doesn’t just rest on you.
Buy gifts in advance
You don’t want to be leaving all your Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve. To save yourself a whole lot of stress, shop early. Black Friday can be a great day to get lots of bargains in time for Christmas, such as personalised wine gift sets for the wine lovers in your family. So buying any present in this way will save you both money and stress. It can sometimes be hard to think of new ideas on what to get certain members of your family, after all, some people are just more difficult to buy for.
Buying gifts can be really fun if you have an idea of what you’re looking for and a budget. To get inspiration, you can either take a stroll around the shops or if you haven’t got time, do a quick Google search and a myriad of gift and toy options will appear. A gift of personalised Bollinger champagne is always popular with adults!
Make sure your home is ready for the big day
This is probably one of the most dreaded parts of Christmas – making sure that your home is tidy and organised ready for any guests. Begin by doing your deep clean ahead of time, make sure that you’ve dusted and vacuumed your home. It also might be a good idea to stock up on cleaning products like carpet stain remover because you never know when a glass of mulled wine could be knocked over.
Making sure your kitchen is ready is also a huge part of the Christmas Day preparations. Go through each cupboard in your kitchen to organise it so that you know where everything is, come the big day. Another tip is to also count how many plates and pieces of cutlery you’ve got and whether it’s enough to accommodate all of your guests.
Limit your Christmas spending
Budgeting is essential to make sure that you’re not overspending on one holiday. When Christmas comes around, there’s always the temptation to buy things that you don’t necessarily need, so bear this in mind when going into supermarkets or looking for gifts online. Sometimes the most inexpensive presents with thought behind them are the best types of gifts.
To ensure that you’re not overspending, create a family budget and make a note of roughly how much you intend to spend on each family, or if you want to go into more detail, each individual.
Take care of your health
Your health should be your number one priority at any time of the year, regardless of whether it’s Christmas or not. However, as Christmas is usually a time of eating and drinking to excess, it’s a good idea to just keep an eye on your health. You don’t want to stress yourself out so much that you’re ill for Christmas Day. If you do start to feel sluggish throughout the Christmas period, then go for a walk. Walking or other types of exercise can help to reduce stress as movement helps to produce endorphins which are known to alter your overall mood.
Some gift ideas for this Christmas
As previously said, some of the most thoughtful gifts are those which are personalised. You can even begin as early as buying a custom advent calendar. There are so many options available when it comes to getting the right present, so start by thinking of the item you’d like to get someone, then see whether it can be personalised – you probably can. From watches to rocket ships, the options are endless when it comes to selecting the perfect gift for someone you love.
Buying presents online is also an easy way of reducing Christmas-related stress, as you can just order gifts and toys at the click of a button, and they will arrive directly at your door. If you’re a parent, this can be a good way of getting your children’s gifts into your home without them noticing.
Don’t stress too much, remember that this part of the year is about having fun
Things may not always go to plan around this time of year, but that’s the fun of it. Enjoy the time you have off with family and friends, and don’t worry too much about having everything 100% organised or perfect.
