Top stress savers this Christmas
It’s 2 days before Christmas and I’m sitting in this beautiful café with a hot chocolate. It’s freezing outside (okay, may it’s just cold and wet). What a relaxed day before the holidays are upon us. It’s absolutely fantastic!
Do you also want to enjoy a stress-free Christmas? Who doesn’t?! Here are my top 5 tips to start Christmas in the most relaxed and stress-free way!
Prepare in advance.
Are you cooking for your family and friends this Christmas? Prepare the meal in part in advance. Get your family to help you chop the vegetables, mix the filling for the turkey or start the winter punch. You can keep these refrigerated for 1-2 days and the ingredients can soak up the flavours. I’m sure that you know that cutting up vegetables can be one of the most time consuming activities when preparing the meal.
Here’s an easy recipe for a winter punch which I created for a little party last weekend: Pour 1 litre of orange juice and apple juice in a pot. Add 3-5 cinnamon sticks, 10 cloves and 3 star anise. Slice 1-2 organic oranges and add them for decoration purposes. Bring to a boil and let it simmer afterwards. Serve warm.
You can also set the table for your guests the night before. If you’re having a relaxed BBQ or buffet, set aside the cutlery, plates and glasses.
Pick out your outfit.
Choosing your outfit the night before reduces your indecisiveness on the big day. Don’t forget to also select your accessories. Having picked an outfit allows you to sleep a bit longer, wake up more relaxed and saves you the hassle of not knowing what to wear.
If you have young children, you may want to choose their outfits the night before, too. Are they old enough to decide for themselves? Involve them and let them pick out their special outfit.
Take some time out during Christmas.
As you’re celebrating Christmas, having to put on a smile and being surrounded by probably a lot more family members than usual, it can all become a bit too much. Excuse yourself for 5-15 minutes and sit in an empty spot of your home. Maybe this sanctuary is your own bedroom. Whether you’ll do some breathing or meditation exercises, read a few pages or listen to your favourite song, do something that soothes you. Don’t forget to re-hydrate and drink plenty of water!
Send your family and visitors out for a walk.
Growing up, we’d go for walks after lunch. The belief was that this would help your digestion. I secretly think that the hosts just wanted us out of the house and get some time for themselves for a snooze! If you’ve visitors from out of town, they may appreciate some fresh air and exploring the vicinity. The weather is lovely and they can also soak up the sun! Let your kids show them their favourite spots in the neighbourhood.
Now, you may want to use this time for a well deserved snooze or prepare for the next part of the day.
Entertain your guests the easy way.
Just like sending out your family and visitors for a walk, make your home welcoming for them. Provide easy entertainment options for them. Have some films readily available as a DVD or downloaded from your TV provided. Put out some classic board game for everyone to enjoy. Speaking from personal experience, you may not want to play Monopoly! Are you more into music and have a karaoke singing contest!
Get your family together tonight and see what you can and want to prepare ahead of the festivities. Make your life easy and forget the Christmas stress by preparing! You can now guess what we’ll be doing tonight. With that, have a very merry Christmas!
Until next time,
Agni