You will have heard the old saying “Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail”. While this doesn’t always hold, when it comes to reducing the stress of the festive period, having a few simple strategies prepared in advance can be helpful. 

Here are my top five suggestions to prepare yourself for a calmer Christmas! 

Suggestion 1 — Set expectations early 

Have an honest conversation with your close family about what they really want – you might be surprised. Family traditions are of course important, but only if they continue to bring us the joy of the season they once did. 

Take a step back and look together as a family, couple, or from your own perspective if you live alone, at what you ‘usually do’ over the Christmas period or have already planned to do. Then open up an honest conversation, without judgement, about each activity and whether it brings everyone joy. ‘Allow each person to do one thing they want to do and one thing they don’t want to in the run up and over Christmas itself – and this includes you too!’ 

Try not to view things through the lens of ‘well, we always do that’ but rather in terms of what it adds to the true spirit of what Christmas means to you and your loved ones.

Suggestion 2 — Get organised 

December can feel like the month of the never-ending list of things that need to be done and very little time to actually do them.  

• Write down a long list of everything that needs doing in the run up to Christmas.

Apply the 4Ds principle:  

• What can you ‘Delegate’ to someone else? Buy rather than make the mince pies, get your partner to buy the gifts for their family or get the kids to write the cards.  

• What can be ‘Delayed’ until after Christmas is over? Could you meet up with friends in January when you all have more time or get the carpet cleaned after it has had the wine spilled on it rather than before?  

• What can actually be ‘Discarded’ from the list altogether and won’t make a jot of difference to how much you enjoy Christmas? We are all guilty of doing things because we think we ‘should’ or because it is the ‘done thing’ for a perfect Christmas, but is it really?   

• What you are left with is what really and truly needs to be ‘Done’, so allocate time to do it.   

Suggestion 3 — Presence not presents 

Gifting can be a real headache, so make it easy on yourself by trying some of the following ideas: 

• Have themes for different groups e.g. tickets or experience vouchers for couples, pyjamas for all the children, toiletries for the ladies, etc. 

• As humans we only have three basic needs – to be loved, to be fed and to feel safe - the best presents are those that don’t necessarily cost any money but fulfill at least one of these needs. 

• Make shopping enjoyable – go with a friend, treat yourself to a coffee or cake whilst out or cuddle with the dog whilst you online shop. 

• Set up a wrapping station with everything you need ready to go so you can wrap as you buy. 

Suggestion 4 — Balance the busy-ness 

Make sure you are doing things that nourish you during this busy run up time – keep going to that yoga class, get out for a weekend walk – whatever makes you feel good and healthy. 

• Set boundaries and say no to some things so you don’t burn out too early. It is ok to say no! 

• Schedule in ‘down days’, ‘duvet days’, ‘movie days’ or ‘games days’ in between the busy ones.

Suggestion 5 — Plan to stick to some of your normal routines over the festive period 

For example: 

• Get to bed at a reasonable time when you can. 

• Still walk the dog. 

• Do some mindfulness or stretches before breakfast. 

• Our brains love routine so by giving it a few things it is used to doing to hang on to helps it to feel safe and less stressed when our routine is different.  

For more tips on how to have a stress-free Christmas, I hope you will join me for my Free masterclass on 12th December via Zoom, when I’ll be sharing even more suggestions on how to navigate the festive period with calm and joy. 

There will also be a ’12 Days of Festive Mindfulness’ event happening in my free Facebook group from 13th to 24th December with daily exercises and simple stress-busting strategies.