Events,  Lifestyle

Chistmas: 10 Tips On Avoiding The Stress

17th November 2016 /

Christmas eh? It’s already well into November, high street shops are completely immersed in the spirit, not to mention the delicious festive drinks in places like Starbucks & Costa.. You can’t help but feel a little anxious about the whole thing, “am I not prepared enough…. should I have my gifts already bought? …” even down to the supermarkets… you go in for two or three items, you see someone with a basket overflowing and suddenly that anxiety builds up again “What am I forgetting?!”

 Here’s my top 10 tips on getting super organised for the yuletide season..

 Ditch The Clutter:

If you have children especially, you’re going to want to do this. Be ruthless and buy a roll of refuse sacks… go through drawers, nooks, and wardrobes, even old toys-if haven’t thought about it or used it in over a year, it’s useless! New toys, ‘soap sets’, socks  etc are going to arrive in abundance, why not clear out the old to make way for the new, take toys to local charity drives like the ‘Shoebox Appeal’. When all the junk has gone, give the house a good once-over, clean windows, chair covers, get rid of the dust bunnies. When you decorate your house with Christmas ornaments, it’ll feel wonderful.

Budget:

Set yourself a budget of what you’re going to spend, sit down with a cup of coffee and make lists for EVERYTHING, how many guests for lunch, what you’re cooking, what groceries you’ll need and how many gifts you’ll need and for whom. Invest in a good notebook and cross as you achieve everything you need to do.

 Stationery:

Write your Christmas cards, stamp them and have them ready to go in December. It will creep up on you before you know it and the idea of having that job done will come as a blessing in disguise.

Storage Space:

Find a closet in the house to store all the Christmas items as you buy them. 

Check Your lights:

Check that all your string lights are working in advance, there is nothing more disappointing that putting up your tree, only to find that only one set of lights is working. Have a couple of sets set aside-just in case.

Saving money:

If you’re not going to see someone before Christmas, there is no need to stress over  getting their present, you’ll save yourself the anxiety and there is the bonus of January sales.

Start Preparing Meals:

Make sauces that can be frozen, in advance, if you can make pastry, make some batches, wrap them well and freeze them, it’s always nice to have fresh pastry ready for any impromptu visits. Don’t forget mincemeat jars, you can spruce up mince pies by adding a little amaretto or toasted almonds or figs. Check on pantry supplies on basics now, sauce seasonings, herbs and stock too.

Scent-sational:

If you have an artificial tree or live in an apartment, where having a real tree is difficult, go to a tree seller and ask for the off cuts of sold trees to make a garland, they’ll only be delighted to oblige as it will mean less cleaning up for them.  Perhaps sweeten the deal by offering a tip or a libation of come kind. There is no substitute for the scent of real tree boughs.

Get Into The ‘Spirit’:

Start collecting spirits now and stocking up your pantry.

 Stocking Fillers:

The best gifts are the ones that keep coming, that’s why I love to buy lots of little things and put them into a box or makeup-bag for my friends, so they have little things to keep unwrapping, it’s also less expensive if you’re on a budget. The best stocking fillers are available now as the madness hasn’t started, little books, hand creams, buy multi-packs and break them up, divide them out among the gifts. Keep a stash as if you happen to forget someone, you have something to hand.

And….. don’t forget to order that Turkey!


You May Also Like

A Minute With……Moss Cottage

23rd May 2016

Dublin Horse Show, Ladies’ Day: Top Tips on Etiquette & The All Important Emergency Kit

8th August 2017

40th Birthday Party: Tapas and Heatwaves

12th July 2017

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.