Ideas to Help with a Stress-Free Christmas

It felt like it was just Summer and yet, here we are, heading into winter 2024/25 with Christmas nearly a little in the air.

Though the holidays are meant to be a time of joy and fun, there is a risk that hosting the festivities could make for a day of stress and worry, maybe ending with a 10.30pm glass of red that simply brings relief rather than a little more festive spirit and a want to get up and dance. So, how to ensure your Christmas runs smoothly and that you too can genuinely have a great day?

The good news is that there is a lot you can do to minimise stress this Christmas. If you’re planning and hosting it this year, it’s a good idea to plan well in advance while taking on some helpful and practical tips and ideas.

However, we also have some bonus tips further down if you’re looking for general tips for a stress-free Christmas even if not hosting. Let’s dive in!

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Plan Lots Ahead of Time

As already touched on, planning in significant detail and well ahead of time (to the extent feasible/suitable) can go a long way to making Christmas stress-free.

While you won’t be able to work out every detail of hosting Christmas too far in advance, planning as much as you can at an early stage can prevent last minute stress or panic, which you’ll be thankful for later.

Here is what you should do at least several weeks before Christmas Day:

• Come up with a to-do list and potential schedule for the weeks ahead
• Develop another schedule, one for Christmas Day itself
• Be realistic about what you can and can’t do entirely by yourself; delegate tasks to others to ensure things run smoothly*

*We’ll discuss these points more in the next two subsections.

Set Reasonable Expectations for Your Plans

You’ll want to make sure that you do not push yourself to take on too much, whether during the planning phase or/and on Christmas Day itself.

This can, of course, involve delegating task to others (with more detail on this in the next subsection), though it’s also important to consider how much is realistic to fit in, whether in the form of the number of activities or how long the day will go on for.

Delegate Tasks to Ensure You Are Not Overwhelmed

Delegating tasks is also important to make hosting Christmas more manageable. It’s important to be realistic about how much you can take on by yourself and not simply how much is too much for the entire process. Also, delegating tasks can make it possible to do more and up to a certain point too.

When coming up with a to-do list for the weeks leading up to Christmas Day and a to-do list/schedule for Christmas Day, consider what tasks you might want to pass onto others and to what extent. This way, you can have an organised and realistic approach to what’s possible on the day itself.

When delegating tasks, it’s a good idea to consider who in your family (or other individuals who will be there on the friend such as friends, a partner, extended family or otherwise) could help best with what tasks.

For instance, one person may be great when it comes to making desserts, another may be able to quickly and easily setup any interactive games or video games that the family chooses to play, while someone else could be perfect for helping to decorate.

You may also want to get support for food preparation by someone who you feel can be trusted to offer help with some parts of the food preparation process or even when it comes to finalising food prep and handing out plates of food.

For the last point, that assumes the meals are pre-determined but it’s possible that a buffet approach may work better – though it’s important to be extra sure that there is enough to go around in this case.

Whether for planning or delegating tasks on the day itself, make sure you get the support you need and do not overwhelm yourself with too much to do by yourself on Christmas Day; it’s your Christmas Day too, after all!

Remove Activities & Ideas from Your Schedule That Aren’t for You

Whether it feels like too much of a headache, it's one too many tasks or you simply find certain tasks/preparations to be intolerable, do not be afraid to exclude certain activities or ideas from your Christmas Day hosting schedule.

Of course, there are certain aspects to hosting Christmas that will generally fall under the ‘necessity’ list (though this can depend on your circumstances, family traditions and reasonable expectations).

However, on the other hand, there are also some ideas and activities that do not fit this list. The best way to approach this is to consider what ideas and activities are needed, what other ideas you have in mind (some which you might keep, others maybe not) and how to prioritise these ideas based on what you find are feasible and how you feel about planning them yourself or even with support by delegation. You can then decide what activities/ideas you may want to exclude.

Other ideas may make the necessary list depending on your family’s traditions. For example, some families might attend a Church service. Some also tend to visit graveyards to remember loved ones on Christmas Day.

Beyond that, other families may have more specific or unique Christmas traditions. It’s important to take care to keep all of these aspects in mind in advance so you can ensure the day is planned in a way that does not overwhelm you with too much to do in too short a timeframe.

Likewise, other ideas that are not necessary may come to mind, such as a popular idea with the family for this Christmas specifically.

For instance, maybe your family likes the idea of trying different board games for a change, Christmas mad libs or even a Christmas costume party (e.g. maybe someone dresses up as Elf, another as Mrs. Clause, another as the Grinch and so forth)! For the latter idea, a word of warning that side-effects may include going viral… or you could tell everyone to put their phones away for a few hours!

Get Into the Festive Spirit (e.g. decorations)

Note: If adding Christmas lights, just be sure that they are safe and suitable for the type of Christmas tree you have to limit any fire hazards.

As mentioned, a part of making Christmas a more fun experience for you and everyone attending, you should look at what decorations to add to indulge in the Christmas spirit.

Some ideas for decorations include:

• Tinsel
• Wreath
• Advent calendar
• Christmas ornaments
• Santa figurine
• A Christmas tree*
• Christmas stockings

Limit Space for Conflict and Unnecessary Stress for Yourself

One complicated area that can be tricky to navigate but helpful to figure out in advance (to keep stress levels down and make Christmas Day run smoothly) is potential points of conflict.

This could mean family members who don’t get on, the risk of debates becoming heated (especially with drinks involved) and, in some cases, problematic individuals.

These are definitely stressful topics but if any possible areas of conflict like this may apply to your Christmas hosting, it’s best to carefully consider (with others for support, advice and working on it together to the extent possible) in advance how to limit these risks.

That said, you should still also recognise that you are still not fundamentally responsible for other family members’ actions, so in summary, it’s a good idea to do what you can but then leaving it at that point.

Take Care of Your Mind and Energy Levels on Christmas Day

It’s essential to take care of yourself on Christmas Day. Aside from delegating tasks (as discussed earlier), make sure to eat well and drink sufficient water while also taking a break or two on occasion, if possible, even if it's brief.

Also, know when it’s time to relax and unwind. Having others help out with the clean-up can help you sit down and relax after a busy day sooner rather than later. And then, you can presumably enjoy someone else doing the hosting on Boxing Day!

Keep Activities and Plans Relatively Straightforward

Last but not least, it’s a good idea to prevent activities and plans becoming too complicated. So, if opting for family games later in the day, choosing simpler games can save time and hassle.

Of course, an exception would apply if an activity or plan is a staple or otherwise something that you feel can be included without using up too much of the schedule.