5 Top Tips for Avoiding Festive Stress
Organisation is essential for time management and there is no time of year more than December where those skills need time management honing so we thought this is the perfect time (pun intended!) to share a few tips for a smooth-running Christmas, and if you don’t celebrate, the principles are the same for any celebration.
What are your top tips to share with other readers? Add a comment below or get in touch to let us know. We would love to hear from you.
Map out your Christmas
Before you start planning your Christmas, take a sheet of paper and jot down everything you need to do but more importantly, start with how you would like Christmas to be – full of party games and presents? Relaxing? Cosy family chats in front of the fire?
Make a list of what needs to be done to make this come true. Now get your calendar and schedule in each of these tasks, remembering to including time for shopping, wrapping gifts, writing cards, posting them (remember the last posting dates) and of course, celebrating!
Menu Plan
Whether you have a houseful on December 25th or want to make sure you have enough festive treats for yourself, plan in advance to avoid piling on the festive stress. Again, think of everything you need – you don’t want to find out you have no stuffing/gravy/sprouts just as you go to put them into the oven although Andrea would be happy to have sprouts forgotten!
Delegate!
You know this is one of our favourite tips. No matter how good you are, nobody can manage everything by themselves without at least some stress. Outsource as much as possible, particularly time-consuming or specialised tasks such as decorating, window-cleaning, general cleaning or even catering. Could we be your guardian Christmas Angels? Check how we can help reduce festive stress at home and in business.
Make a (Shopping) List and Check it Twice
If it works for Santa, it will work for you. No more last minute shopping; make a list of what you need to buy. Plan your route around the shops so you can fit it into no more than (ideally) three trips and have it all done by mid-December or even better shop online and save your shoe leather.
De-clutter
We are willing to bet that you have a stash of decorations you never use. You may have inherited them or maybe they are decorations which don’t fit in with your new colour scheme. There’s nothing wrong with decorations being less than perfectly matched but there’s no point having piles sitting in boxes. If you didn’t use it last year and don’t intend to use it this time round, bag it up and donate it to charity. Next year’s Christmas is already easier now that you’ve culled some of the excess!
Keep an eye on our blog for more top tips on organising Christmas and minimising festive stress. If you have a specific issue which you would like assistance with, we would be more than happy to help. Just contact us to find out what we can do for you.
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