12 ways to make Christmas less stressful
1. Get enough sleep. I know we all know this, but lack of sleep literally affects everything, especially your mood and how you handle stress.
2. Give yourself space to connect in with yourself when things are feeling hectic. Allow yourself five minutes, you deserve at least five minutes out of each day.
3. Prioritise your wellness and pencil in some self-care time. They don’t have to be big things. But looking after yourself is a must and will help you enjoy the festive time more! Pick out a few self-care activities you can easily do. Keep your fave hand cream in your bag and pull it out when the stress is rising. Carve out time every week for a bubble bath and your favourite book or whatever fills up your cup. Don’t let yourself feel guilty for taking care of you!
4. Romanticise your life, make even then mundane things that little bit more enjoyable. Pop on your fave playlist, light a candle or habit stack things (my go to is watching something on my phone while doing the dishes – I now no longer dread doing them every day as it’s a little pocket of time for me.
5. Remember - There is no shame in asking for help, you don’t have to do it all on your own. Don’t miss out on your share of the magic… share out the jobs rather than going back to work in January exhausted.
6. Prioritise what is important and just focus on that. We have a habit of planning too much in, over committing ourselves but end up feeling burnt out and frazzled. Pick just a few things that bring you happiness and then focus in on the bits of joy you can find at home while relaxing. (I am thinking a Christmas PJ day, or hot chocolates and a festive movie – they don’t have to be all singing, all dancing days out. The little things bring just as much joy as the big things – but have less stress attached to them!
7. Don’t ever spend. Make a budget and stick to it. The January blues are even harder if you have spent more than you can afford. Remember, gifts can be handmade or preloved. There are also some absolutely amazing charity shops that have some incredibly good quality items that would make amazing gifts (while supporting some wonderful causes). I’m not saying don’t buy your kids that gift they are dreaming of ofcourse but there are lots of ways you can weave preloved into your Christmas – books are a really great place to start as are kids toys, especially when you have little ones as they have no concept of new or second hand. Buying something meaningful over expensive.
8. Take a breath when everything feels abit much will help your slow things down.
9. Check in with yourself, being able to ask yourself “What do I need?” in the moment can be really powerful!
10. Don’t set your expectations too high… we can try too hard to make Christmas perfect, remember it’s about family time and making memories.
11. It’s important to be gentle with yourself and others during any time of stress, and the holidays are no different. While there’s no quick fix for eliminating stress entirely, there are things you can do to help manage it and mitigate its effects. It is important to find what works for you and do that.
12 . Plan a treat after the festive season… give yourself something to look forward to in January. Maybe plan a girl’s night in…keep a look out for the January newsletter as I will be posting some great ideas that have minimal cost but don’t scrimp on the fun!