Clare stands in the snow with crossed arms and smiling!

Do you get the Christmas cheer or the Christmas fear?!

Christmas is such a lovely holiday but it can also be so stressful! How many of us end up spending time with people that we would usually only tolerate in small doses throughout the rest of the year? In most cases there is an element of obligation involved over the festive season. We buy a gift for our grumpy stepdad and participate in the office secret santa!

As a celebrant I spend a lot of time thinking about relationships and the dynamics between people. This Christmas if you have to spend time with people that you don’t always gel with, how about balancing out some of your time and energy?

While the obligation to spend time with family is often that- an obligation and therefore unavoidable, make sure you also plan to spend plenty of time with friends and other like-minded people. It will make the difficult bit more tolerable if you know you have some control over the rest of your time. You could bookend Christmas day with seeing friends on Christmas Eve and spending time doing something for yourself on Boxing Day. Don’t feel guilty about planning it like this; it’s very normal to need time out from the intensity of (what is apparently) the biggest event of the year.

Christmas for me often feels over-inflated, and like a sort of collective madness has taken over the country! I balance it out by also celebrating Winter Solstice with my friends, which for me holds much more meaning. As much as you can, just opt into the elements of Christmas you actually like, such as having some time off work! Resist the hype if it stresses you out and you too can avoid the Christmas Fear!

Season’s Greetings to you all XXXXX

For some people, the difficulties faced at Christmas are no joking matter. If you need support during Christmas but just don’t have it, please reach out to the professionals, help is out there and you can get through it.