Coping with the Christmas Overwhelm
I feel overwhelmed just thinking about what to call this article let alone thinking about the festive season that is now upon us!
Christmas and all that it brings is a challenging time for parents. Fitting in the shopping for gifts, food, taking care of your own celebrations with friends and colleagues not to mention the end of term plays and carol concerts that, post covid are probably crowding our December diary once more.
Not only that, but we are also under pressure with our families and possibly even friends to keep up certain expectations around gift giving, when costs are increasing fast and it is often impossible to keep up. When we are already overwhelmed with the mental and physical load the thought of Christmas can take us to the brink. I know it does for me!
What if we gave ourselves a gift this year? What would that look like for you?
What if we gave ourselves an hour with a cuppa and the opportunity to stare out of the window and contemplate what Christmas could be like this year?
A Christmas that means we don’t feel on edge.
Don’t feel pressure to please all of the people all of the time.
Can let go of the need to be a perfect gift giver.
What really is most important for you and your family to have a very special Christmas and festive season?
Maybe it’s time together - curled up with a Christmas film, old favourites and new additions as our children grow.
Or a walk in the woods, stomping through the leaves, basking in the winter sunshine, climbing fallen trees. Perhaps an evening walk to take in the Christmas lights (every year more and more homes are lit up for Christmas). Or having friends and family over and sharing the load, bringing a dish, bringing drinks so there is not as much pressure/demand for you to provide everything.
It can be hard, but it is often worth having honest and open conversations about gifts. Do any of us really need another smellies gift set to know we are loved by someone? Releasing others from the pressure of buying for you can be the best gift you can give to them.
How about getting creative about gifts? Secret Santa and White Elephant are hot favourites in our family with the children and grown ups alike.
And if you are being honest, have you ever managed to create the ‘perfect’ Christmas? What does that even mean? Does putting pressure on ourselves actually help? Especially this year when we are navigating rising costs in all aspects of our lives. How can we be creative and explore making a Christmas that returns us to the core of what Christmas means, togetherness, joy and loving each other as we are?
It is traditional to make New Year’s Resolutions, but this year I am making a pre-Christmas Resolution. To let myself focus on things that will be gifts to me this Christmas so that I can enjoy it.
Can you give yourself and others the gift of grace, time, and space? Be honest with yourself, your family, your friends that this year has been tough for everybody, so let’s all stop trying to be perfect. Passing that onto others will feel liberating for you and them.
If we think about all the things the festivities mean for us, at once we can very quickly get overwhelmed so take things a step at a time, celebrating the small steps of progress along the way.
With a bit of self care Christmas doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Let me know how you get on.
Merry Christmas!
