For many people Christmas is a stressful time of year. Along with financial concerns and planning to get everything just right there’s the stress of the big day itself.
You may be dealing with family members who don’t get along or the logistics of stepfamilies and divorce. Harder still you may be dreading Christmas day for reasons of loss and grief.
So in order to help us all lighten up a bit I’ve put together a tongue-in-cheek guide to deal with Christmas stress just like a toddler.
Expect a magical experience
Children know that Christmas is a magical time. As a grown up you might not buy into Saint Nick and his mystical reindeer, but many of us still hold on to unrealistic expectations of our relatives during the festive season.
Ignore the fact that your family tend to fight during the year and that each one of them has been under the same seasonal stress that you have. Expect that they’ll be on their best behaviour because having unrealistic expectations of people is the best way to end the day in a crying fit.
Let it fester
Instead of talking things out with your family, let your irritations fester. Don’t explain to your grandma that judgmental diatribes about your religious beliefs really hurt your feelings and certainly don’t tell your dad that he needs to stop deriding your partner!
What you want to do is ball up all that anger and hurt. Forcing it into the pit of your stomach where it will seethe and gnaw away at you until you can’t help but throw a massive temper tantrum.
Sit near the drinks fridge
In order to make the most of your day impersonating a two year old, you need to sit as close to the alcohol as possible. If necessary retrieve a chair from somewhere else so once you’ve finished one drink you can easily and quickly, get another.
There’s nothing better than alcohol for inducing a much needed after lunch nap. How else are you going to run around all afternoon getting in everyone’s way?
If you follow my three simple steps you’ll have successfully celebrated Christmas just like a toddler. I can’t say my method will result in a stress-free holiday, but at least it’ll be one to remember.