Christmas planning can easily become overwhelming, making it important to start early. Starting to plan Christmas with a few weeks to go will give you more than enough time to get everything done, especially if you’ve planned effectively. Explore our top tips to keep stress levels low throughout the festive season. Continue reading to find out more.
Top Tips for Stress-Free Christmas Planning
Stick to Tried and Tested
Even though it may be tempting to try out all of the new ideas such as recipes for Christmas dinner, it’s safer not to. If you have time to trial it beforehand then go ahead, but otherwise stick to recipes you’re confident you can pull off to avoid disaster.
Take Shortcuts
When there’s a long list of things to do in time for Christmas, it can become incredibly stressful trying to keep on track. To ease some of the pressure, take as many shortcuts as you can. Whether that’s buying ready-made pastry, cakes or choosing the gift wrap option at the till, these short time-saving hacks can save a lot of hassle in the long run.
Create A List
Without a clear plan of what needs to be done and which presents need to be bought, it’s easy to get confused and forget things. Write a list either physically or in the notes section of your phone and keep it updated. This way you can check back on what’s left to do whenever things seem overwhelming and see what’s left to do.
Focus On Essentials
After writing out a list of everything you need to do, double-check it and try to remove unnecessary jobs. By taking away pressure and only leaving yourself with essential tasks, you’ll instantly feel less stressed about the festive season. You could even have a spare list of those extra tasks so if you find that you do have some spare time, you know what to do.
Stock Up On Supplies
When shopping for drinks, gift wrap, tape and any other Christmas essentials, make sure to buy more than you think you’ll need. This will prevent you getting caught out without something such as running out of tape part-way through wrapping your presents. If there’s anything leftover, you can also save it for next year.
Ask for Help
If there really is too much to do, don’t feel bad for asking for help. Family and friends will probably be happy to help you out with tasks, even if it’s just doing some washing up or hanging up coats. It will alleviate some of the pressure so you can focus on the most important tasks.
Have A Budget
During Christmas, it’s very easy to go overboard and buy plenty of things you really don’t need. To prevent this from happening, set a budget you can spend and make sure that you don’t go over it. Pair the budget with your pre-prepared list of gifts and you’ll be less tempted to splurge.
Take Time Out
No matter how many things need to be done, if you need to take a break then take one. You can always pick up where you left off after a rest and you’ll most likely be more productive once you’ve had chance to de-stress and unwind.
What are your top tips to plan Christmas stress-free? Let us know over on Twitter.