I’m sure we all know from experience that it’s very rare that the run up to Christmas (and the big day itself) will go off without a hitch, a meltdown or even a disaster so what I wanted to share with you today are my seven super simple rules to make sure you have a great family Christmas even taking into account everything that could go wrong….
Christmas Day is a day that we spend weeks, if not months, preparing ourselves and our homes for by the time the day arrives we (meaning me) usually have such high expectations of the perfect Christmas that we (again meaning me) stress out over the smaller things that really don’t matter all that much.
You’re going to see lots of people posting on social media about how much they’ve spend and how perfect their Christmas is but you need to ignore all that and concentrate on enjoying your family Christmas – Your way! My two probably couldn’t tell you most of the presents they’ve got over the last few years but ask them what we’ve done as a family and they will have lots to say!
I don’t know about you but the more prepared I am, the better I feel so I try to get everything ready for Christmas as early as I can each year. Knowing that presents are bought and wrapped makes having fun a lot easier!
December is the busiest month of the year for us and with so much going on, it’s really easy to lost track. I print out a calendar of December and write in all of our shifts and activities for the month and stick it on the fridge. That way we can all see what’s going on and when at a glance!
Don’t rush around trying to make everyone happy and forget about yourself! Make a little time for yourself, even just a bubble bath or an early night with a good book. I sometimes pop to Costa on a night just to relax and catch up on emails in peace.
It’s important for us as a family to be thankful for how lucky we are, especially at this time of year. We show this by donating toys and clothes to charity and taking food to the food bank and although I know we can’t change the world, it feels good to do something.
Do you have any rules to live by at Christmas?
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Great advice – and all true. We have had a wonderful Christmas, and hope you have too. Kaz x
You're absolutely right – it's not a competition! I also agree it's important to make a bit of time for yourself in amongst everything else.
some great advice! i need to lower my expectations!
A really super list highlighting some great tips.
Super list. I agree that lowering expectations is kep and also finding out what the expectations are from the rest of the family too
I’m all for lowering expectations. I think as long people are alive and well we have a lot to be thankful for.
Some great tips there – be prepared is probably the best one…….I have extra pressies and lots of batteries!!
Great tips, I wrote a similar post the other week about staying sane at this time of year as we forget about ourselves.
I love this – it is such a great list, we do so often get all caught up with everything that is going on I think. x
What a great list. Totally agree with them all, especially when you point out the kids can't remember the presents they got but they don't forget what they did. We went through a couple of years having a Xmas Day dance-off after dinner (great for the digestion!) and that was a hoot. This year I got a friend to pick up an English Monopoly game as all the ones here in Canada have American street names and locations – it's just not the same! Looking forward to a family game of Monopoly after Xmas lunch and a trip down memory lane. Merry Christmas Cass!