Christmas Stress Is Over Rated

Christmas Stress, why oh why do we stress over what is basically 1 day.  I never stress about Christmas at all.  Can't understand why people do. It's just one day with a roast bird slightly larger than your typical Sunday roast. Our kids worlds are not going to end if they don't get everything they want. 

Christmas should be about fun and laughter not how much you can eat and drink, how much you spend and how fancy your decorations are. A lot have people have lost what this time of year should be about and if kids can't have everything they want it acts as a life lesson as we can't always have everything we desire. Truly think you are setting your kids up for heartache and disappointment in future years if they get everything they want or if everything is not colour co-ordinated and just so right.  

I never got all that is on offer at Christmas now and I'm sure a lot of others didn't and did it do us any harm?  

Media is once again putting too much pressure on us to have it all and if we don't have this, don't have that and don't make this handmade item we are failures. 

Isn't it time to take the pressure of ourselves, stop stressing at Christmas and just have some fun.

But if it all get a little too much for you or you are dreading the festive period, here are some tips from Relate counsellor Christine Northam:

If there have been any family rows during the year, resolve them. Tell the people you argued with that you're looking forward to seeing them. Ask if you can get together before Christmas to talk about whatever problem you had.

Plan the day and share out the jobs that need to be done. Don't slave away for hours on your own and feel like people have taken advantage of you.

Discuss your plans with others, including any children who will be there, so that you can listen to their ideas and wishes for the day. Then you can come up with a celebration which includes things that please everyone.

Have a timetable for Christmas Day so that you don’t all sit around for hours doing nothing. Try to make sure you won't be spending a lot of time with a difficult person or someone you don’t get along with. 

Don’t drink too much. Drinking excessively is never a good idea. Find out more on safer drinking. 

Children can get overexcited, so plan a lovely long walk for a change of scene and some fresh air. Everybody will feel better and pleasantly tired instead of irritably tired.

Original article can be found here