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Top Tips for Christmas Stress
 Well it’s that time of year again you can feel your stress levels rising just thinking about Christmas. It often seems like an assault course, writing the constant stream of Christmas cards, buying presents for everyone as well as doing those mammoth food shops. Then there’s that last bit of decorating or any jobs left around the house that we have put off but now need finishing and the deadline is fast approaching. With having to juggle finances, it seems like its going to be an even tougher year than ever.
According to the Stress Management Society finding perfect presents within budget for all the family isn’t easy. In fact it raises our heart rate, shuts down our digestive systems leaving us physically and mentally exhausted.
We all expect Christmas to be a happy time a time to spend with our family and friends. Every year everyone says the same old thing “I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas once again”. I think that for most of us it’s the thought of all the things we need to do as well as the family arguments well it wouldn’t be Christmas would it without it!
However, for you it may be that it’s a sad time of year, you may have lost a loved one, have no one to share Christmas with or are having relationship problems. So it’s thinking about how you can cope with this, putting plans into place that will help you get through this period.
No wonder so many of us end up feeling stressed and exhausted. So how can we keep those stress levels to a minimum?
The best way to ensure you don’t get stressed is to be organised, plan all the things that you need to do and write a list which you can then tick as you progress:
Shopping
- First write a list of everyone you have to buy presents for, then decide on a budget and the presents you are going to buy for them and from where you can get them.
- If money is really tight – why not make your own cards or gifts - remember it’s not about how much you spend it about the thought and the giving.
- When buying for the children decide on a budget and keep to it.
- Try shopping on the internet, do it early you then know you’ve got it - Read our top tips for internet shopping
- Plan on a day to do your shopping and only do that. Stick to the list and don’t go browsing, have an in and out policy. The Stress Management Society suggest that if you go to the shops, don’t stop for coffee as caffeine makes the body release cortisol, the stress hormone, which leaves you feeling tense. Instead take a bottle of water with you.
- Write and wrap your cards & presents early so you can tick this off your list – it’s a real motivator when you can see that progress is being made.
- Also if you can do you food shopping on line – the supermarkets are great for your essentials, book your delivery a few days before – then anything last minute can be bought from your local shops. Don’t buy too much – you will only end up throwing it away you can always nip out for bits, remember the shops are only closed for a couple of days.
Christmas – Food and drink
- Most of us will eat and drink far too much and then regret it when we get on the scales in January. So why not plan some healthy eating in between, which will make you feel better and not so sluggish.
- Have some day’s alcohol free or drinking alternate glasses of water.
- Try to eat lots of fruit and vegetables, or snack on nuts and raisins instead of sweets or chocolates.
On the Cooking Front
- If you are cooking don’t try and do it all yourself get the family involved. Write a list of all that needs doing and allocate jobs – so you are all involved in making it a happy Christmas Dinner. Don’t panic if something goes wrong – it’s only a dinner!
Health
- Rushing around doing everything our health can suffer our immune system can get run down making us more susceptible to colds and flu. It’s a time when we tend to come into contact with more people exposing us to more infections. So it’s important to ensure that at this time of year we eat healthily.
- Eating excessive amounts of foods which are high in fat and salt takes its toll on our health along with the lack of exercise. So why not build some time in for some walks with the family.
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