Don’t shoot me. I know it’s October but it’s only just under 8 weeks until Christmas and that’s actually Christmas day so more like under 7 weeks.
Does Christmas fill you with dread?
There will be those of you reading this that already have their lists, have been buying presents throughout the year and the prospect of Christmas doesn’t fill them with dread.
We are not all the same.
How to ease the overwhelm.
So, what can you think about now to ease the overwhelm later? Below are some ideas for how to ease the Christmas stress. They won’t be for everyone – you might pick out only a few but they might just help.
- Firstly, what do YOU want to do for Christmas? It’s on a Monday this year so there will be a weekend before the day. Are there people you want to see? Are there places you need to be? Gently map out the days, especially how you would like it to work for you? When will you finish work? When will you travel – if you need to? This gives you time to discuss with the various parties and not be hijacked and therefore forced into making plans you don’t want to do.
- If you still send Christmas cards, why not buy them now? Start writing them just a few at a time to save both hand ache and the last minute-Christmas stress to get out on the last posting date.
- When it comes to Christmas presents, do you know who you are buying for? Has that changed since last year? Are there people that you could talk to now that might be very relieved if you didn’t do presents this year? Talk about it now, save the stress.
- I’m not suggesting you start food shopping now – although the supermarkets have just opened their online Christmas shopping dates – but you can start planning what your meals might be around that time. It can just be a rough idea so that you can start purchasing the non-perishables over the next month or so, spreading the cost and the overwhelm.
- December can be a busy month, I recommend that you go through your diary and block out some days/half days or even chunks of time to do certain tasks. This way, instead of feeling totally overwhelmed, you feel more in control. For me, one of those scheduled afternoons is some batch cooking for those ‘in-between Christmas and New year’ days so that I don’t have to be constantly thinking about food!
These are just a few of the things that can make a difference and help you ease the Christmas stress. What can you do right now to ease potential Christmas anxiety?
