A Handy Christmas Guide

There you go thinking it’s only November, plenty of time yet, and then December starts and it’s always already a week in before you’ve noticed what’s happened. Time for a Christmas guide!

Based on many years of experience, I’ve written this handy Christmas guide for parents just in time to catch you before the real stress sets in. Here are the important points to remember:

• Don’t buy your kids too many presents. No, really, DON’T. You can always increase the number later but you can’t decrease
• Cut corners wherever possible. Do you really need to make your own mincemeat?
• Aldi does a surprisingly good basic fruit cake which you just have to ice yourself (after skewering holes all over and dousing with brandy)
• Remember that whatever Christmas traditions you set up when your kids are little, YOU WILL HAVE TO DO THEM FOREVER
• Make your children believe that it’s fun all mucking in and ‘making Christmas happen together’
• Remember that no-one’s going to eat that Christmas pudding anyway. No-one’s ever eaten it before and they won’t start this year
• Try not to make a Christmas like in the adverts. They never show you what happens next
• I know you’re supposed to be all nice and full of cheer but your shadow side wants to enjoy Christmas too
• Well in advance of the big day, get into the habit of saying to yourself ‘it’ll do’
• Remember that nobody is pressuring you to create the perfect Christmas except the whole of society. Ignore them

I hope that’s helpful. I think if you bear these points in mind over the Christmas season it’s less likely to all end in tears (and I mean for you, not for your children). And don’t forget, you can cut out and keep this handy Christmas guide to remind you in years to come! Good luck!