Death by Christmas


by Karen Skidmore - Date: 2006-12-21 - Word Count: 667 Share This!

As the holidays are almost upon us, I thought I would take a "tongue-in-cheek" look at dealing with the pressures of Christmas. So if you find yourself too stressed and possibly taking the Christmas preparations too seriously, I hope my checklist will help you put the breaks on.

Christmas is that time of year when life really can get hectic - nativity plays, Christmas card posting deadlines and finding a turkey that won't need a second mortgage. Everything has to be done and there is not enough time to do it all.

The best form of defence in this silly season is not madness (although I am sure there will be a few of you who would like to debate this!) but a sense of humour. And this is why I have decided to look at the less than serious side to having a good Christmas.

Our to-do-lists can be so long and complicated that it is very easy to lose sight of what the holiday season is all about. We need to have fun, laugh out loud and enjoy the time we have with our family and friends. Christmas comes but once a year, so make sure that 2006 is the year that you are able to step back and smile at the wonderful life that you have and appreciate what is around you.

To help you do this and make sure you don't take Christmas too seriously - use my checklist to make sure you haven't fallen in to the trap of Death by Christmas! If you do find yourself doing any of the below, my tip for you is to go into your back garden and scream at the top of your voice "I love Christmas". It won't make everything go away but if that doesn't make you laugh at yourself, you can be sure your neighbours will be!

Are you experiencing Death by Christmas?

You know you are experiencing Death by Christmas when you……

Spend days writing your Christmas cards only to find them all ready for posting in the boot of your car on the 28th December.

Buy presents for your friends and family living abroad only to find out that the postage is more than the actual amount you have spent on the gifts.

Phone up Visa to increase your limit. That turkey you have just ordered may be organic and bred in the shadows of a lowly cattle shed, but do you really need to increase your credit card limit to cover the cost of it?

Have invited both sets of parents round for Christmas drinks and you find yourself sitting in the broom cupboard with a nice bottle of Chablis, wondering when everyone is going to go home.

Buy mince pies from M&S, de-stress them with a rolling pin and try and pass them off as your own at the neighbours' drinks party.

Spend hours queuing up in Tesco's for brussel sprouts and then wonder why no-one eats them on Christmas Day.

Get milk rage on Christmas Eve as you find yourself fighting over the last pint with another suitably deranged woman at your local petrol station.

Wrap up your Christmas presents only to find that you have two identical gifts for your mother because you had forgotten about the first one bought back in July.

Want to make sure the Christmas feast is so perfect that you have made five Christmas puddings and have no idea what to do with them all.

Have spent so much time worrying about the central table decoration and presentation of the name tags that you have forgotten to order the turkey and you can't find one for love nor money on Christmas Eve.

Clean out your wardrobe in Spring to pack away the winter woollies only to find the hidden Christmas stocking fillers that you were screaming at your husband for "losing" on Christmas Eve.

Would you like to share this top tips sheet with others? Please do. All I ask is that you give credit where credit is due. Please always include my web address when you reproduce this information: http://www.CanDoCanBe.com


Related Tags: holidays, christmas, humour, stressed

Karen Skidmore is a business coach and mentor for women starting up in business. She created CanDoCanBe in September 2004 because she was frustrated by the lack of business support choice for women who wanted to build their own business. CanDoCanBe offers networking events, business coaching and mentoring.

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