Only 4 days to go! Many of us are finishing work today but for many more the busyness will continue right up to Christmas Eve and for some they will be on duty all through the Christmas period.
Presents to buy, presents to wrap and deliver, meal planning, food shopping to endure and cooking prep to do, travelling to see relatives or preparing for visitors. Perhaps you have excited young children breaking up from school and of course you may have already attended school carol services/nativity plays.
Sounds exhausting doesn’t it and that’s because it usually is. Remember that the thing you have forgotten to get was probably not needed anyway and the children did not really need so many presents and so what if the meal is not perfect – will anyone really notice?
However, maybe you would give a lot to experience the above and that Christmas is not the busy family time, instead it brings a deepened sense of loneliness, anxiety or depression. What can you do to get through this period with any sense of well-being? Firstly lowering expectations of Christmas can help. Indulging yourself in self-care – what do you love to do? Doing something different perhaps such as volunteering with a charity who provide Christmas lunches for those in need. Maybe your neighbour would like some company and a shared meal. Maybe it is comfortable clothing on the sofa in front of the TV.
Take care everyone whatever Christmas will mean to you!
