Please don’t be mad, but I have to say it…Chirstmas is looming and if you celebrate this magical holiday, it’s time to start the preparations. But DO NOT PANIC – it doesn’t have to send your blood pressure soaring!
The thing about Christmas is that so many of us get stressed about having to get everything done in time and not going over budget. If you start planning early, it can ease the stress dramatically.
I say ‘early’, but it’s already the 18th November and there are 37 days to go, so starting now is not particularly early. I know a lady who has all her gifts bought and wrapped by 31st August every year…now THAT is early! (If I did that, I would never remember what I’d got anyone, and probably wouldn’t be able to find it in December!) But anyway, don’t panic because there’s actually plenty of time. The important thing is to keep yourself stress-free, which will actually make you more productive too. The last thing you want is to be stressed, run-down and exhausted by Christmas Day.
So here are 7 tips for you to try:
1) Make a list of all the people you will buy a gift for, however big or small. Include ideas that you have, a maximum you wish to spend, and two satisfying tick-boxes for when it’s bought and wrapped!
2) Make a similar list for your food shopping for Christmas week. List what you need and how early or late you can buy items (e.g. fresh vegetables versus frozen or tinned foods). Start buying the long shelf life items now along with your regular food shop and you’ll hardly notice it in your bill, making that Christmas food shop less painful.
3) Do you still write Christmas cards? Consider writing a newsletter to email out to everyone instead – it is much more interesting to your family and friends (unless you make it smug and pretentious!), and you only need to write it once, saving you time , plus there’s no postage cost (a huge saving if you have a lot of friends abroad).
4) Choose a date (or multiple dates) when you are going to shop for gifts. You may be better off getting some things online, but do support your local shops too. If you can take a day off work in the week you’ll find the shopping experience much nicer, as it’s so much calmer. And if you have young children, see if you can get a friend or relative to look after them – a day of shopping with a toddler is not much fun for either of you, and you’ll get more done in less time.
5) Have a tight budget? There are plenty of ways to save money and still give lovely gifts. You can hand make a multitude of things such as sweets, biscuits, bath bombs, candles, toys, and more – search the internet for a million ideas! There’s something really special about receiving a hand-made gift.
6) Set a date for wrapping gifts so that it’s not left to the last minute. It always seems to take longer that you anticipate, and it’s not fun frantically wrapping gifts until 2 am Christmas morning!
7) Delegate! If you think you’ll still be struggling for time, enlist the help of a friend.
Remember, the Time Fairy can help you with almost anything: shopping, planning, gift-wrapping, house organising, present-making, putting up Christmas decorations, etc. Do get in touch to see if I can make this season less stressful for you. You deserve it! Contact me on 07928 553658 or ruthlowe@thetimefairy.co.uk
I hope that you can make use of some of these tips, and if you have some to add, then please share. It’s far too early to say merry Christmas, but I do wish you a happy, stress-free run up to Christmas.
