December
08
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10 Holiday Tips for a Stress-Free Christmas
Christmas is magical, in the same way that running a marathon in fluffy slippers is magical. There’s glitter in places glitter should never be, your calendar is fuller than a turkey on the 25th, and someone always brings up politics at the dinner table.
So this year, we’re serving up some festive “tops” (tips!) to keep you sane, centred, and maybe even slightly smug as everyone else melts down around you.
🎄 1. Top: Choose Your Chaos Wisely
You don’t have to go to every drinks, dinner, carol service, and “quick catch-up before Christmas!”.
Give yourself the gift of strategic decline.
Say yes to the things that warm your soul, say no to anything that requires an ironing board.
🍷 2. Top: Keep a Secret Stash
Not of presents, of you-time.
A hidden box of your favourite chocolates, a festive candle, a bath bomb labelled “Do Not Disturb Unless Fire or Disaster.”
Self-care is not selfish, especially when you’re the one buying, wrapping, cooking, hosting, smiling, and refereeing.
🎁 3. Top: The Two-Gift Rule
One thoughtful gift,
One gift that is unapologetically lazy (socks, candles, a gift card to literally anywhere).
This rule has saved more relationships than mistletoe ever has.
🧦 4. Top: Outsource the Stuff You Hate
Hate wrapping? Pay someone.
Hate baking? Buy it.
Hate assembling toys? Bribe a cousin with mince pies.
Christmas is about joy, not proving you’re secretly a one-woman workshop at the North Pole.
☕ 5. Top: Schedule a ‘Nothing Day’
Pick one day in December. Write “NOTHING” in bold on your calendar.
No plans, no outings, no festive pressure.
If someone asks you to do something, simply say, “Oh, I’m fully booked that day.”
(They don’t need to know you’ll be horizontal with a hot chocolate watching Love Actually.)
❄️ 6. Top: Keep Expectations Low but Spirits High
You are not responsible for everyone else’s happiness.
If the tree leans slightly, call it whimsical.
If the roast is a bit dry, blame Mercury in retrograde.
Lower the expectations, raise the cheer.
🎶 7. Top: Make Yourself a Sanity Playlist
A carefully curated mix of,
- One song that makes you feel like the main character
- One song that makes you laugh
- One song that drowns out difficult relatives
- Three Christmas classics you secretly love but pretend to hate
Press play as needed.
🕯️ 8. Top: Have an Escape Plan at Family Events
You can’t pick your relatives, but you can pick your exit strategy.
A quick stroll, an urgent “phone call.”
Or simply volunteering to “check on the roast potatoes” (code for hiding in the kitchen for five minutes of blessed silence).
✨ 9. Top: Embrace the Imperfect Christmas
The best Christmases are messy.
Someone forgets the cranberry sauce, someone burns the bread sauce, and someone gifts you a mug that says “Live, Laugh, Love” even though you’ve made your feelings clear.
But the memories? They’re perfect.
THE FINAL SANE-GIRL RULE
Christmas isn’t something to survive, it’s something to enjoy, on your own terms.
So keep your boundaries strong, your snacks close, and your sense of humour fully charged.
Because the most important “top” of all?
Do whatever makes December feel like joy, not a job.
Heart London Magazine 