During the festive season there are many decisions to make so relaxing is very important in order to think clearly and positively. Avoid the chaos of Christmas this year with these 5 practical tips.
Practical Tips
Shop Early
An advantage to shopping early is that you manage to avoid the horrendous queues which seem to pop up left, right and centre just before Christmas time but it also eases the pressure of finding the perfect present for someone before it runs out of stock. Once all the Christmas presents are bought it will be far less stressful and thus easier for you to focus on what needs to be done to prepare for Christmas day.
Extra Gifts
Buying extra small gifts for the people, you have not even thought of yet saves you a lot of time, money and stress but most of all it takes away the awkward moment of realising a family member has a new partner you completely forgot about. Alternatively, get each family member to give each other an IOU note.
Presents such as candles, small pot plants, incense, a small pair of earrings and the like are all ideal as small gifts and you won’t need much wrapping paper either to wrap them up. Avoid waste and environmental problems by wrapping your presents in recycled birthday paper, use old recycled Christmas wrapping paper, newspaper, recycled gift bags, material, or even make some of your own handmade paper.
Plan The Event Thoroughly
Make sure you plan your Christmas day thoroughly. There is nothing worse than realising you forgot the turkey or discovering that you partner drank the last drop of alcohol when you have not reached the main course yet. It is always a good idea to plan what you need to buy, how much you need to buy and write up a big shopping list.
Delegate Chores
It is hard to do everything yourself most of the time but especially on Christmas day. Delegate some of the chores to family members. For example, setting the table, putting out chairs, preparing the food, and cleaning the bathroom. This will save a lot of time and you’ll half a chance of looking vaguely relaxed and enjoying your Christmas.
An Alternative Christmas
For an inexpensive and alternative Christmas, hire out a party boat (pontoon). But if you really want to spice things up get family members to prepare and bring one dish from 10 different countries, such as Spain, Brazil, China and India. Alternatively, have a curry Christmas and get each person attending Christmas at your house to bring a different curry dish. Someone could bring a beef curry another person could bring a fish curry and so forth. If possible, try to have Christmas at someone else's house this year.
Share the Christmas responsibility with someone else in the family and avoid any chaos. Try to alternate between the houses of different family members each year, just so you do not end up having Christmas at your house each year. Avoid house wrecking get family members to bring different dishes and eat on the beach or have a seafood BBQ at a lake or river. An alternative to hot food, especially if the weather is a scorching 40 degrees, is to have cold meats and salads.
Remember that if it’s all getting a little too much for you to deal with this festive season don’t worry because here’s a relaxation technique that you can do which doesn’t require you to rush home to a silent temple or hot bath.
The walking meditation below can be done whilst walking down a shopping aisle.
Start up straight with your feet slightly separated and parallel to each another. Feel that your weight is evenly distributed on your feet so that you are not putting more weight on the balls of your feet or on the heels.
Consciously move one foot forward and become aware of how your foot touches
the ground.
Move the second foot forward with the same attentiveness.
Be aware of your lower back, lower tummy muscles lifting and slightly moving in towards one another.
Keep your eyes open but cast downwards.
Feel how the body moves in the space: the placement of your feet, how your arms and legs move.
As you are aware of all the sensations in your body, also focus on your breath. Where do you most feel your breath: in your chest, your abdomen, or your nose? Repeat this process again if necessary.
Source:
Meditation taken from the book: Meditation for Beginners by Miriam Austin, Stirling Publishing.
 |
