Blogmas Day 6 : How to deal with holiday stress

This blog post is one that I thought was necessary to do amongst the business and crazy that is Christmas. Anxiety and Stress.

Baubles, tinsel and tree decorating aside, Christmas can be both one of the most exciting and stressful times of the year. Christmas to me is my favourite season to celebrate. I love the excitement of the countdown to December, and nothing beats driving at night down dark streets lit solely by fairy lights! I have always loved it and my love has grown as I have grown. If anything I have become a lot more obsessed, as I am now in a position that I can treat my family members with gifts that they will love. Although, gift giving isn’t always as simple as it seems. Quite often the idea of shopping at Christmas is easier said than done. I don’t know what it is about Christmas shopping that turns the average shopper into a stress mess, but people turn crazy in the run up to the big day. I know how stressed my mum always gets around this time of year as well trying to make sure that everything is perfect for the family. Which lets face it, it always is!

It is important though to make sure that throughout all of the excitement of work do’s, Christmas drinks, present buying, turkey eating and caroling your mental health isn’t affected. I for one love to end some of the busiest days with a warm bath and a cup of tea. Here are a few of the things I do to make sure I’m feeling stress free at Christmas.

1)   Lists. Oh boy do I love a good old list! (Lets be honest, we all add things to the lists that we have done throughout the day JUST so we can tick them off.) But jokes aside having a list is a great way to clear your mind with all of the things you need to do, whilst allowing you to be proactive in the process. Gifts for people are usually one of the main things on my list, which also helps with my next tip!

2)   Shopping online. I know that this almost seems a given now a days but it seriously makes everything so much easier. Christmas shopping is one of my favourite kinds of shopping to do but standing in long queues is certainly not the one. One of the things I have started to do is make a note of what I see in store so I know what to order online. This not only allows you to be in and out of shops quickly, but it also makes your life a whole lot easier as you can order in the comfort of your own home, feet up and Christmas movie on!

3)   Take time for yourself. Like every other time of the year, taking time out for you is just as important during the festive period. Christmas is a time to spend with friends and family. Which is true, but amongst all of the partying and celebrating you need to remember to have some time to yourself to compile your thoughts!

4)   Live in the moment. I think one of the main causes of my stress and anxiety is the want of everything to be perfect, I think I take after my mama on this one! It’s hard not to want everything to be neat and tidy with a gorgeous Christmas theme, but let’s be honest what’s the fun in that! Last Christmas (I gave you my heart, jokes) my brother’s girlfriend Emma and I decorated the tree together for the first time. We started off with a colour scheme but like everything we had two different opinions of what would look good. Combined, the finish of our tree looked perfectly un-perfect and you know what, it was ok! If anything it made the house look more Christmassy!

I hope you can find some use with these tips. More importantly, try not to stress out if things don’t go right. I guess in the end, that’s what Christmas is about!

Love,