Christmas comes too early?
By: Rachael, redwigwam
How to avoid stress during a time of merry.
It’s one day.
One day of the year which is already conflated to around 3-4 weeks, actually hold up, more like 8/9 weeks as it creeps into mid-November on the shelves and eager Christmas-lovers front windows.
… Then those weeks are even MORE lengthened by those who like to ‘prepare’ for the holiday season, I’m talking about people who go as far as shopping ahead in October time, I mean, some people don’t even wait for Halloween to come?!
To prolong the stress further, there’s people who buy little bits that are on sale in January, those who start their gift buying around summertime, and those who just decide to leave their decorations up all year – and yes, those people do exist!
So basically, if these preparations are to be believed, you should be planning for this one day 365 days a year, every year.
Which is escapism on steroids.
It’s ridiculous. Seriously.
Christmas is fun, and a nice time to set aside for the family.
But when you’re setting time aside to set time aside in the future this becomes a vortex – a vortex of time restriction and stressing about something inconsequential.
Now, I know what you’re thinking ‘That’s a lot of moaning, maybe you can just chill and let these people be excited!’
And fair enough, it doesn’t affect me that much specifically.
But it can desensitise the special day.
Something which should be satisfying and fun turns into a chore. And can also produce some stress. How do you avoid this?
Spend what you can, and don’t feel guilty.
There will be many blogs that’ll tell you to start saving up on the 1st of January so you can buy presents next year.
But this negates the point.
You shouldn’t be spending a year’s worth of savings on your loved ones, the pressure is ridiculous.
Buy what you can and if they're ungrateful don’t buy them presents again, they don’t deserve them.
Remember, Christmas isn’t about presents, it’s been commercialised into making us think that’s the purpose of it, but it’s about love, family and joy.
Make it about family
Don’t focus on decorating your house amazingly over giving you kid freedom to make the tree, because that colour-coordinated tree isn’t as nice as seeing a happy child.
Set time aside to see the family rather than focus on the inner-most circle, because even if they are insufferable, it can be nice to be out of your day-to-day grind, a break in a routine can be a good thing.
If there’s anything we’ve learned from COVID 19, is our loved ones are everything. Presents, and money is meaningless when it comes to being with those you love.
Don’t turn into an alcoholic.
There’s always that family member who takes it too far, and there’s that person who does it for two weeks straight.
And as far as I know, just because you can drink every day/night it doesn’t mean you should. It takes away from the point. You could do something else but be drunk. That’s not a holiday.
Christmas can be an amazing time, one to be grateful and make the most stubborn people generous.
A time for nostalgia, enjoyment and relaxation.
So don’t take it too seriously, or it will quickly turn into your worst enemy.
Get fat and escape from your stress, don’t create more, it’s unnecessary.
We hear of way too many incidents of families having drunken parties and falling out by Christmas Day – make sure your Christmas is filled with happiness and no bad blood at the hands of alcohol.
Of course, though, we aren’t saying don’t have a little tipple. Afterall Father Christmas has his sherry when he does the rounds!
Stay off social media and enjoy your day!
One thing we all do, is compare our Christmas to others.
She’s got a bigger Christmas tree than I do…
They’ve given their kids much more than I have…
They’re now engaged…
The list of news unravelled on our social media pages Christmas morning goes on and on…
But remember, people only share the best version of themselves online, and of course, everyone on social media will be having the best day of their lives.
None of us know what’s going on behind closed doors, stay off social media and enjoy your family time.
Every family is different, your version of a perfect Christmas could be completely different to someone else. So why try and compare? Your family is unique and special, whether you do a matching pj night on Christmas Eve or have a tradition of waking up at 6am and dancing round the house with your kids.
So do what you do best & ignore the crowd on your socials!
We hope these tips will help you during the festive month, remember this December to relax, spend some time with your family, go to the Christmas Markets, and don’t go mad on the shopping!
We wish you a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
