Christmas is a time of joy, fun, relaxation and celebration. And more stress, noise, chaos, exhaustion, expense and arguments than any other time of the year!
Surviving Christmas would be difficult enough if it were just you and your closest family sharing time together, but for most of us it involves throwing huge numbers of relatives of all ages and opinions together (many of whom we have nothing in common with at all except for genetics or marriage), turning the heating up to the max, eating and drinking too much, and expecting us all to get along.
What could possibly go wrong?
One of the biggest challenges at Christmas is the multigenerational aspect; often one has to cater for everyone from babies to octogenarians, with every age in-between, all of whom wanting and needing such different things.
So what should you look out for, and how can you make things easier?
For babies, Christmas can play havoc with all routines, from sleeping to eating. This in turn can be exhausting for you, because suddenly a baby who has a nice nap every afternoon and goes to bed at 7pm is now fractious, crying and hungry all day.
Stick to your guns as much as possible, and work the family Christmas around the timings of your baby. At the end of the day, if you eat the turkey half an hour later but it means you have a sleeping baby, it’s worth it.
It’s hard to expect toddlers to understand any of the Christmas shenanigans, or to appreciate their presents very much. Just keep it simple; you don’t need many presents at all at this stage; most of them are happier with the cardboard box than the present itself!
This age is also the most excited one where Xmas is concerned too. Most toddlers still firmly believe in Father Christmas, and the magic and excitement of it all is at its peak. This, of course, can easily spill into unmanageable over-excitement, exhaustion and tears, so be sure to factor in some quiet down-time, to keep things calm.
Going outside for fresh air is a MUST; it burns off some of their pent-up energy, and tires them out nicely so they can sleep properly that night.
Most teenagers love reverting back to young childhood again at Christmas, and letting go of all the angst and pressures of school life. That said, teenagers can also be very useful where it comes to all the cooking and food preparation and tidying, so use them! And again, some time outdoors is essential, to keep things form getting over-heated and over-tired.
The elderly get tired very quickly by noise and chaos, so make sure there’s a quiet place for them to get some peace for a while.
It’s a case of letting people come together and have fun but making sure they all have their own space and time apart to do what they want to do too. Remember, when it’s all getting a bit too much, just breathe for a moment!
Entertaining the Family on Christmas day
Christmas is a time of joy, fun, relaxation and celebration. And more stress, noise, chaos, exhaustion, expense and arguments than any other time of the year! Surviving Christmas would be difficult enough if it were just you and your closest family sharing time together.
