The 12 Days of Christmas Survival

How to look after your health and wellbeing in the run up to the festive season

Delegate. Sharing the load helps you manage and the people around you feel useful. We all know the pressure to create a perfect Christmas is enormous.We are constantly swamped with images of the ideal Christmas; the perfectly cooked lunch, the sparklingly clean house, the delightful guests. But life is not always like that and the endless Christmas tasks and high expectations can create a lot of strain. Learning to let go and share the responsibility can have an enormous impact on your wellbeing at Christmas.

If you are having guests come to stay think ahead about the types of jobs they can help with. Everyone likes to feel useful, especially at such a busy time. Play to people’s strengths and get people doing the jobs they enjoy doing and are good at. Getting everyone involved in creating a wonderful Christmas day can ensure everyone feels included.

Make sure you give very clear instructions when you delegate, so there is little room for error. If you want the potatoes peeled and chopped to a certain size then make sure you say so! The more detail you can give, the less margin there is for things to go wrong.

Yet along the same lines, learn to let go. Maybe someone else will lay the table slightly differently, but having a ‘who cares’ attitude, goes a long way to making the day go smoothly.
Lastly, remember no one like a martyr, especially at Christmas. By giving yourself a break you are also allowing everyone else to relax and enjoy the festive season too.