Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year or so the saying goes. It is but l have a love hate relationship with the planning for Christmas. Every year without fail, I find myself torn between the joy of the season and the stress of planning it all.
The excitement that starts building up at around this time of year with shops stocking all the Christmas goodies, movies being shown on the TV, the kids writing Christmas lists, me eating mince pies and Christmas music popping into my head. It's all so magical and I get suckered into the excitement forgetting all about the chaos and the stress that it brings. All the anticipation gets the better of me.
I hate decorating the house for Christmas, I always say it's a job for Stu and the girls. Putting up the tree, the lights and all of the decorations but I will sit in my armchair and feel the rage rising inside of me. Why do they need to put that there or put all the tinsel on the top of the tree with none at the bottom? When they are finished I will of course move everything about but then I am happy again when I see the twinkling lights and my favourite things on the tree. It is worth every scowl and tangled tree light.
Choosing the perfect gifts is another part of Christmas planning that makes me question my sanity! Some people I love buying presents for, this year Ellie, my dad's partner and my brother are easy to buy for but for other people it is so hard. There is the worry of wondering if they'll like what I get them and the agony of wrapping everything! I will do most of the wrapping, mostly because as much as the girls know what they're getting for Christmas I still want it to be a little surprise. The only joy is that I have a tradition of watching Avengers: Infinity War when wrapping one of girls presents and End Game when wrapping the other. It takes me that long. lol The girls will help me wrap most of the presents for everyone else.
The Christmas food shopping sends me insane but this year I have already got the delivery slot which means I don't have to get up early and join the online queue with Tesco. Hooray! There's the buying of the drinks, sweets, cupboard stuff and the frozen stuff weeks before the big day and then tweaking the online food order until I have everything that I need only to find it's no longer in stock the night before it's delivered. Ugh! It's all worth it though, when we sit down on Christmas day to a grand feast which with the leftovers lasts us a good few days. It probably isn't worth all the stress and sleepless nights it gives me but it wouldn't be Christmas without the madness of the food shop.
I do cause myself a lot stress. I could buy mince pies but like to make them, I could skip going to the Christmas carols around the tree in town and get more of a head start on prepping the Christmas dinner but I like to nip in the pub for a drink on the way home and I could say that we don't have to all wear matching pj's, save a bit of money and skip trying to get a photo of us all in them but the photos are worth all of the hassle.
Of course I could get my family to help more but I feel like such a control freak in the run up to Christmas. I want it all done properly, well my version of properly. They would do their version of properly and then complain when it isn't like mam does. lol
Don't get me wrong, it has got easier over the years now that my girls don't believe in the big man in red but at the same time it is harder trying to make up new traditions. There's no leaving a mince pie and milk out, sprinkling reindeer dust or going to bed early for Santa. Thankfully those traditions are slowly being replaced with new things.
The biggest reason I put myself through the chaos of Christmas planning is the love for my family, it is a time when we all come together and have some proper quality time. Even though I hate planning Christmas with a passion, I do it anyway because it just wouldn't be the same if I didn't plan it!
Do you love and hate planning for Christmas?
Despite the chaos, it's the love and togetherness that make it all worth it. Thanks for sharing your candid thoughts on the holiday season!
ReplyDeleteTotally relate to this! Such a stressful time but so worth it in the end. My saviour each year is my calendar and diary to plan it all, as there is so much going on in December! #MMBC
ReplyDeleteI can absolutely relate; all the holiday planning and prep falls to me. I pick all the gifts for everyone in both sides of our families (though through the years I keep whittling down who we buy for and what we get them to make it easier) and I have always done all the wrapping myself.... some years even picking out, buying and wrapping my own gifts! I definitely find it has gotten much less stressful now that the boys are nonbelievers and we don't have little ones in our extended families either.
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