How To Survive Xmas

Past the golden age of thirteen, Crimbo for most people becomes the time of the year synonymous with burning credit cards, high blood pressure and gluttony. It can be a hectic time for all concerned what with the added pressures of hosting odd relatives and an increasingly consumerist society telling us we should buy more pointless expensive crap for people who don’t need it. So are there a few useful tips to help keep Xmas fun for ALL the family? We think so, and here they are.

1./ Volunteer yourself to a few, specific roles over the Xmas get-together-period. Think useful jobs that can’t be expanded upon by imposing Hyacinth Bucket-esque mother-in-laws, such as, ‘I will make the turkey stuffing,’ or, ‘how about I walk the dog today and tomorrow?’ This’ll stop you becoming the go-to person for all the stressful household chores and also offers great ingratiation potential.

 

2./ When it comes to Xmas presents think experiences rather than things. Experiences stay with the recipient far longer than the taste of a Thornton’s selection box. Buys gig tickets, plan intimate dinners for two, wrap up National Geographic puzzles for Nan. Be inventive and make your gift ideas original and interactive.

3./ Play games. The childhood rituals of decorating the tree and waking up at dawn to catch the enigmatic Santa chap at work made Xmas so good because of 3 vital ingredients: action, imagination and fun. Getting everyone off the sofa and playing games punctuates the gluttony, injects some much needed seasonal silliness and puts off doing the dishes a little longer. We recommend The Hat Game and the Human Xmas Tree

4./ Television watching should be kept at a minimum (see why above). If you’re going to dose up on gloriously naff Xmas telly though, don’t bicker over what you watch, let a rock paper scissors tournament decide the viewing.

5./ Get off your bum. Go for a seaside stroll, bench press your diminutive cousins (exercise caution here please) hell, if you’re a fully fledged fitness nut go for a 10k run, just do your January gut a favour and do some exercise. Boosts those beautiful endorphins and dispels festive family-induced cabin fever in an instant.

 

6./ Give a little love. Regardless of whether you religiously observe Christmas or not it’s a chilly time of year that’s a little lonely for some, so why not spread the love and do summat nice for someone? Donate old clothes to a Charity shop, offer to babysit/walk someone’s dog, buy a Big Issue (do this anyway, great magazine,) give your postman a snog; just take a moment to deliver some festive cheer and together we can all survive Xmas.