Page 5 - Christmas At Home 2019 YEP DUMMY EDITION

Christmas at home
Cthe perfect place Follow these top tips for surviving – and enjoying – Christmas Day with the
family, says Prudence Wade
hristmas is things up inside your house? supposed to be A great way of doing this is filled with fun, food a ‘present safari’, where you and family –but move rooms depending on even though it’s who’s giving out presents. This
meant to be a happy time of changes up the atmosphere
year, it can still come with its difficulties.
Spending intense time
at home with your whole family isn’t always easy, and arguments can break out – especially when everyone has had a few drinks on December 25.
While we can’t solve deep- rooted family issues, we can give easy tricks and tips for avoiding a bust-up on the big day.
Whether it’s thinking about taking care of yourself or strategically organising the day, there are things you can do to make Christmas as stress- free and peaceful as possible.
Be a master orGaniser
A bit of preparation can go a long way on Christmas Day. Tensions tend to rise when people are bored, so make sure you have plenty of games
Kim Moore
and activities on hand to keep everyone occupied.
For Christmas lunch, it’s worth making a seating plan – this way you can avoid having people who don’t get on sitting next to each other.
If there are a lot of you, get everyone to switch seats after each course of the meal; this way the conversation keeps flowing smoothly.
For some families, there is one relative who can be particularly difficult. To keep everyone happy, talk with those closest to you beforehand and organise subtly taking turns to spend
Dr Sarita Robinson
time with the problem person. Think of it like a ‘relative’s rota’.
Get tHinGs movinG
It might sound basic, but a change of scenery can do everyone the world of good.
“A walk in the fresh air can help you calm down during the busy Christmas period,” says Dr Sarita Robinson, principal lecturer in psychology at
the University of Central Lancashire. “Nature and exercise are good for stress relief.”
If the weather is too grim to venture outdoors, why not mix
and means you are not all cooped up in one room for a long period of time.
defuse tensions
Most of us can sense a family argument coming a mile off. If you see things starting to become heated, Robinson says, “get people to separate for at least 15 minutes to reflect”. You needn’t make a song and dance of this, but perhaps casually ask one of the family members involved to help you with something in another room.
Robinson adds: “This allows for tensions to cool and removes the anger out
of the fight, and the issue can normally be resolved peacefully after people have had a break from each other.”
take Care of yourself
Christmas Day can feel high
pressure, particularly if you are responsible for hosting. Try not to get too swept up in making sure everyone else has a good day and take time to check in on yourself.
Mental health nurse and senior lecturer at Birmingham City University, Kim Moore says: “If you are vulnerable
at this time of year and know that you may have a low mood or experience symptoms of depression, then give some consideration to any trigger or risk factors that might affect you.”
For example, she says, if
you know alcohol can trigger low moods for you: “Space
out your drinks and consider trying ‘mocktails’. Alcohol free drinks can be just as satisfying and sociable as their alcoholic equivalents.”
And she also advises: “Know where you can get
help and keep these visible and accessible – use them when you need to. There are health apps you can link to your phone and, no matter what your age is, there are online and telephone supports available to you during this time.”