Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be the most stressful time of year when things are left to the last minute and not planned properly. To help you towards having a perfect Christmas and avoiding catastrophe, here are some quick tips to ensure the run up to the big day is nothing but smooth.

1. Christmas Shop Online

You don’t even need to leave your house to do your Christmas shopping these days, everything can be done from the comfort of your own home. Simply take a few hours of your evening, preferably with a glass of wine or a hot chocolate in hand, and peruse the online shopping world at ease. You might be better off making a list beforehand though, it can be too easy to impulse buy at the click of a button!

2. Look After Yourself

Christmas is a time for giving, but you have to remember to give to yourself also. Once you have your presents bought for everyone else buy yourself something nice as a reward, at least you know you’ll be guaranteed to like one gift this year! If you don’t want to make a material purchase simply give yourself a pamper night or spa treatment to relax and unwind before all the festive madness begins. A long bath with candles and essential oils can really reset your mental psyche during stressful periods.

3. Plan And Prep Christmas Dinner

If you are unlucky enough to be responsible for cooking the Christmas dinner ;), you will want to make the experience as stress free as possible. Depending on how many people you are cooking for the task can be a daunting one, so you will want to make the most of your time and prepare anything you can in advance such as chopping vegetables, stuffing the bird, and assembling any cold starters or desserts. Make a shopping list at least a week in advance and start gathering all of your bits and pieces for the day (and an abundance of snacks to last at least three days..).

4. Stress Free Wrapping

If you hate wrapping presents, simply use gift bags or gift boxes and wrap the gifts in crepe paper so the receiver has at least something to unravel. Or on the other hand if you love wrapping, why not take it to a new level and watch some fancy gift wrapping videos on Youtube to see how you can outdo yourself this year.

5. Get Merry

When all else fails, just remember ’tis the season to be jolly. Grab yourself a glass of mulled wine or your favourite festive drink, a piping hot mince pie, listen to some relaxing christmas music and forget about any of the Christmas stress. Remember, a perfect Christmas is not one where everything went perfectly, but one that you enjoyed despite everything that went wrong!