How to Prepare for Christmas Like a Boss
Yes, it’s not long now and the man in the red coat will be squeezing down our chimneys, delivering our loved ones their gifts. Ha! If only! Unfortunately, we take on that burden at Christmas time. And it’s not just the presents. It’s the food prep, organising the family, logistics of seeing everyone we need to see, juggling work with time with the kids and a whole lot more. But this article will help you prepare for Christmas like a boss.
Tips to Prepare for Christmas in Style
Lay the present ground rules
When you have a big family or a large circle of friends, gift-giving can become ridiculous. In a cost of living crisis, it is just not practical to buy everyone presents and, let’s face it, how often do we get what we really want anyway?
You might want to exchange gifts with your closest people, but buying for your extended circle becomes expensive and complicated. Talk to these loved ones and discuss whether you are all okay with just buying for the children, for example. You could even agree to meet up for a meal in the new year with each other as the adults’ gifts. Or plan some other quality time together when you can better appreciate it.
This takes a lot of pressure off your finances, creative thinking and gift wrapping sessions too.
Christmas dinner hack
One of the biggest stresses as we prepare for Christmas is the food on the day. Whoever has the responsibility to have the food on the table at a certain time on the 25th December can often feel the full weight of expectation. Not ideal on a day that is meant to be a celebration.
So, spread the task amongst the family. Even young children can help out by peeling sprouts or even just laying the table. Better still, if you are inviting people around, get them to bring a dish each. You take on the turkey and roast potatoes, and then delegate everything else to your guests. Gone is the need to spend the whole morning in the kitchen. Instead, you just heat up what they’ve brought and have more time to chat, laugh and enjoy each other’s company.
Until the tricky question of the washing up rears its ugly head.
Balancing work and family
By a quirk of when Christmas falls this year, there is a lot of school holiday before the big day and that means, for many parents, having to work whilst the children are building up to the most exciting time of year.
It is not always practical to take the full time off to be with your family in the run up to Christmas, but you also don’t want to miss out on the magical times. If you have a colleague with children, you might be able to take time off separately and look after each other’s children on the run up to Christmas Day. That way, they get to do magical activities and you don’t miss everything.
Even if you can’t be there for much of the week before the event, make sure you make the most of the time you do have. Yes, you won’t be able to spend days looking round festive grottos, but making sure you focus on family when you get home from work and get everyone to take part in a group activity such as playing board games (with phones and other devices set aside), you can still enjoy each other’s presence as you prepare for Christmas.
Get personal with presents
Money is tight, energy bills are through the roof and everything in the shops is more expensive than it was. The big, extravagant, statement presents that we once might have given could well be out this year. Instead, it is all about thinking more personally and finding something that might not cost a lot of money, but means the world because of the thought behind it.
For the person in your life with African roots or whose love for Africa they wear on their sleeve, an African-inspired gift is a perfect, thoughtful present. You could gift African themed notebooks, candles and mugs that reflect their passion and which they will love opening on Christmas Day.
Have you got any ideas on how to prepare for Christmas in these strange times? Let me know by contacting me today.