3 Top Tips For A Stress-Free Festive Season

If we're lucky enough to have friends and family around this festive season, I hope you'll find these tips for a stress-free Christmas useful.

It’s all too easy at this time of year to get ourselves stressed out trying to create the “perfect Christmas”.

We run about buying and wrapping presents, forgetting grandad can’t eat Toblerone since they changed the shape and getting the menu just right- oh and the in-laws are coming!

So here are my top tips to lighten our load and mood.

1. Stop looking for perfection. You don’t have to put on the perfect show. The ones who really matter will be happy to have some time off to relax and be with you if you’ll just let them. And as for the others…see no.3 below.

2. Make a list & prioritize; yip plan it all out; (I know it sounds boring but it'll then leave you time for the spontaneity without the stress. ) What you’ve got left to do and ask yourself, do you really have to have the wine glass trinkets to match the napkin rings? Anything that is not essential can be dropped. Honestly, give them enough wine and they won't care whose glass it is

3. Choose what's really important and then let the rest go. No matter how hard you try to please everyone (see number 1 again) there will always be that couple of people (or more depending on our family and social circle) who seemingly want to ruin things for you by either being a bore or getting stressed trying to create their perfect Christmas (at least in their delusional wee mind). Let that BS go – your house your rules – and the same goes for visiting them; no matter how much their BS annoys you. You’ve chosen to be there (or let them be there in your house) so let it go - it's only a few hours and then you can retreat to the comfort of your own armchair and that packet of sweets you hid from the kids. Let any irritation go and make yourself feel all superior by not behaving like them.

However you spend this festive period I hope you'll experience some of the joy it's supposed to bring.

Brian

PS BONUS TIP: My ultimate tip for a great Christmas dinner party is just to load the dessert with booze and they all go home thinking they've had a great time anyway.

#stressless #lifeevenbetter #happiness