The best way to make Christmas less stressful and more fun is to find ways to save time. If you do this, you’ll have more time to do all the extra things you need to do for Christmas. You’ll also feel more relaxed and ready to have fun.
Here are some simple ideas for saving time and making the Christmas season less stressful.
If you don’t already buy your food online, now is a good time to think about it. You can definitely save a lot of time here. I used to spend hours in the grocery store buying all the main Christmas food. You can also stick to your Christmas budget and stop wasting money on food by doing your big shopping online.
Keep track of when delivery slots become available and book yours as soon as you can. After this is done, you can add to your order whenever you want.
Prescriptions are another great thing you can do online instead of in person. Right now, it’s not easy to go to the doctor or the local pharmacy, so an online pharmacy is a good alternative. When you use an online pharmacy that is regulated in the UK, you can order prescription drugs and have them sent straight to your home. You can get medicines for your pets and general health supplies like painkillers and vitamins. This is a great way to stock up before the holidays.
Creating space in your home by getting rid of unused items such as old clothing, books, and toys may not seem like an obvious way to save time during the Christmas season, but it is a great way to help things run more smoothly.
If you get rid of things around the house that you don’t use or need, cleaning and organising will go much more quickly and smoothly. You won’t have to spend a lot of time clearing the clutter before you can find new homes for your kid’s toys and presents, either. Additionally, there will be enough space for the Christmas tree.
You should also set aside some time to rearrange the contents of your kitchen cabinets and restock their shelves. When the kitchen is in full-on Christmas mode, it will save you time if you already know where everything is located and if you have space for extra supplies. It will also assist you in determining what you need to add to your shopping list so that you do not have to dash off to the store when you realise you have forgotten something.
A lot of the extra time we need to find at Christmas can be spent making food. Try to cook as much as you can ahead of time, and use your freezer to its fullest. Don’t just think about the main days of Christmas. Another great way to save time is to have some of your usual family meals ready to go in the days leading up to Christmas.
Get the kids to help with the cooking to make Christmas less stressful.
When it comes to getting ready for Christmas, doing everything by yourself is a far too simple option. It’s possible that you believe it would be simpler or faster to do it yourself, or it’s possible that you secretly believe that you’re the only one who can “do it right.” This is definitely not the time of year to be having these thoughts! Even if it’s just someone to help you decorate the Christmas tree, it can make a big difference in how much time you save.
Get everyone in the family involved as much as possible. If you have more hands to help you clean, cook, shop for presents, wrap presents, and write cards, you will save a significant amount of time and energy. Even very young children are capable of assisting with tasks such as cleaning and dusting. And it goes without saying that everybody ought to pitch in and help decorate the house for Christmas. It is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with one another. A side benefit of recruiting everyone’s assistance is that it frees up more time for you to spend with your family.
If any of the Christmas gifts require batteries or are difficult to set up, this piece of advice could be a real game-changer for you. On the evening before Christmas, set aside five minutes to gather supplies like batteries, scissors, and screwdrivers. After that, you will be prepared to deal with tricky packaging and will be able to get those gifts functioning much more quickly.
If you are giving away toys that are still very securely attached to their packaging, you might be able to save even more time by taking the toys out of their packaging and placing batteries in them before you wrap them. When our children were younger, we did this quite often, and we found that it was helpful in reducing the amount of stress we felt.
Last but not least, make sure you have a notepad and a pen on hand so that you can send thank-you notes for all of the presents you received. Nobody wants to spend hours looking for paper on Christmas morning because nobody wants to do that.
How can you make the most of the time you have over the holidays? What is the one thing that you do every year to make the holiday season a little less stressful?
Full time I'm an ambitious Head of Marketing and Communications in the luxury industry. Part time, I'm an enthusiastic British Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle blogger and YouTuber from Manchester, UK. This blog has been my outlet for the past 7+ years, and as a longstanding, Award-winning blogger I take the most enjoyment from creating content I truly love and believe in. All authentic. Always.