Christmas can be such a lovely time of year to enjoy yourself and get lost in the festive fun! Sometimes however, the “to do” list can be endless when there is not enough time to do things! There are presents to buy, decorations to put up, family events to organise, trips away to book, Christmas baking to do, planning and more planning….
So take a moment and just STOP for one second. Enjoy this blog and find a moment for just YOU! Yes, doing nothing is sometimes more important than your long list of things to do. I want to share some tips that can help during the festive season to make your December a little bit easier and less stressful!
Organisation is the key…
Making lists for tasks, writing events down in a diary as soon as they are planned and keeping on track of what needs to be done is so vital! It can be so easy to get into a panic over forgotten tasks that crop up from nowhere. So keep on track of it and make sure you are ahead of the game and not leaving things to the last minute. Try to do all your Christmas shopping at the start to middle of December. I know this sounds early but it really takes the pressure off the end of the month and allows time for parcels to arrive and wrapping to be done! That way the week before Christmas can be more fun and you can enjoy it and really relax in time for Christmas.
Make Christmas wrapping quick and easy
I love wrapping but sometimes time just doesn’t allow for my perfectionism. If you know anyone that loves wrapping then by all means ask for their help! Maybe give them some Christmas chocolates as a little thank you! Otherwise, using quick and easy wrapping techniques such as buying boxes and stick on bows really elevate a present without taking that much time to wrap! You can find some really great ribbons, string and gift tags in Paperchase and stationery brands like Meri Meri online. Some shops even wrap things up for you like Accessorize which saves so much time!
Always make a shopping list
It can be so easy to get distracted by Christmas goodies and offers in the shops when doing festive shopping! That’s why making a list is so great! Try to work systematically through it and you will be done in no time. I am so bad at this but when I do try and focus on what needs to be done, my shopping is so much easier! Sorting your list into presents by shop or category is so much better too!
Try and do most of your shopping online
Crowds can be quite overwhelming for me when out and about, especially in London. I LOVE doing my shopping online. It is so much easier and means I don’t have to carry things around either! Yay! You can also Google for offers and discount codes so you are pretty much sorted!
Make a plan and stick to it
I know what it’s like. You think a plan has been made and then it changes… Someone can’t come or the weather isn’t right…. I know this sounds harder than it might be in reality but really try not to let people change plans around too much. If some people can’t come it is a shame but it will take so much longer to organise another event when you have other people to see too. That said, if it is a small change go with it and try not to get too stressed about it, otherwise you will spend too much time worrying about it.
Find some time for YOU
It is SO important to just put in the diary some time just for YOU and make that your special relax and pamper time. Whatever you like to do, plan some exciting things that you can look forward to. Personally, I love just chilling at home…. put a bit of TV on, having a bath, reading some blog posts, using some of my pamper products… perfect! Having this time to look forward to in December will really get you through the Christmas planning and festive business.
Have fun and enjoy it!
Try to really enjoy Christmas! It is such a lovely time of year and spending time with friends and family is the best gift ever. Everyone has loads to do in December so you aren’t alone! If you can’t get everything done, then don’t worry too much. People are there to help! Life is not perfect and I’m learning that things don’t go to plan all the time. I used to have plans mapped up for years ahead but I soon realised that things DO change! As long as you work hard, things will pay off and no one can be a robot and get everything 100% right. It would be weird if we did!
I hope you found my tips useful! I really enjoyed writing them so let me know if you want me to do more blog posts like these!