Christmas Stress, Christmas Stress, Christmas Stress – Holidays can get a bit overwhelming, between shopping and wrapping presents, baking all those treats and cookies and fiddling with that darn the Elf on the Shelf and sending out cards. (I forgot to post last years and found them in a handbag in February – sorry friends)
Plus all that hopping from party after party (mostly kids parties & events) – it can be quite a lot. We forget that the holidays are also a time to relax and spend time with family. But often we drive ourselves crazy trying to be super mums. By the time the year is up, you feel like you need a holiday from your Christmas holiday!
Interesting Stressmas Facts
Mums/housewives spend about 270 hours preparing for Christmas – Thats 11 days people! – with 226 hours devoted to shopping alone.
More than half (61 per cent) of women quizzed said the festive season was their most stressful time of the year – with the dreaded mum-in-law being a guest a big factor. Most of them (87 per cent) accused their menfolk of being ‘clueless’ as to how much work was needed.
But despite the heavy workload, nearly half (48 per cent) admitted they would not trust their male partners with important Christmas tasks.
More than a third (39 per cent) of men even claimed they would do a better job of hosting Christmas Day and that they would be a lot less stressed.
Here are our tips on avoiding Christmas Stress
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1. PLAN YOUR CHRISTMAS BUDGET. This should be done as soon as you can- even as early as December 26th! Knowing this in advance not only allows you to start saving and putting money away early on, but you can keep track and make sure that you are not overspending when it’s time to purchase presents. As soon as your budget is figured out, you can then decide how much you are going to spend and shop accordingly. We love this handy budget calculator tool.
2. BUY PRESENTS BULK. Not only does this help cut some of the costs, it also helps eliminate having to get a ton of different gifts for everyone and having to go shopping in a million stores. Some of the items that you can buy in bulk are alcohol such as wine, tins filled with chocolate covered thingamabobs or you can even purchase gift cards at a discounted price! Consider clubbing together with a few friends and leveraging your buying power as a group, especially if you’re all after the same items. MumsCard is another useful tool – with discounts of up to 25% across local businesses – you can even get your Turkey with it!
3. BUY PER FAMILY. Cut down your holiday present list by instead of purchasing a gift for each individual person, you can buy the whole family a present. Not only does this help cut the costs of gift giving there are wonderful gifts out there that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Some ideas include family memberships to museums or zoos, garden or board games as well as passes to a roller-skating rinks or rock climbing. Not only are these fun and unique gifts to give but they also promote family time with one another.
4. ENLIST THE HELP OF YOUR FAMILY. There is no reason to be super mum and try to do everything on your own. Take this opportunity to get your family members help. Turn on the Christmas music and put everyone to work. Whether that is helping decorate the house, bake or wrap presents – there is a job that everyone can do. And you will find you are making special holiday family memories at the same time! Although never ask a 4 year old to dress the tree – you’ll find all the lights and ornaments in a mess on one branch!
5. TAKE A DAY OFF. Yes, there may be a ton of things you still need to do but make sure you set aside one day where you are doing nothing christmas related. If you can, go get a message, (we know a good therapist – thumbs of fury) lunch with friends or take time to just sit around and read a book or magazine. of course I appreciate this is easier said than done – I lock myself in the loo, if I need a time out.
6. DON’T OVER SCHEDULE YOUR FAMILY. Between all of the holiday events, parties and family get-togethers, it can be a lot. There is no fun in hopping from one event to another. In the end, you tend to not enjoy the party you are at when you know there is another party that you need to make that night. Choose only the parties and events you truly want to attend and politely decline the rest. Not only will this make Christmas less stressful, your family will be very thankful too!
You could however refuse to participate in Christmas altogether – unplug the phone, go nowhere except the fridge and keep everything really simple. Or you could find a man (39 per cent of them) that claimed they could do a better job. Although if you have kids there is a snowballs chance in hell of that happening until well retirement….Merry christmas Greenwich!
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