For many people Christmas is one of the most stressful times of the year, which is a pity when you consider it’s supposed to be a festival of great joy and it’s a time to celebrate with friends and family. Of course some people are terribly organised and by the beginning of December they have everything done and dusted. Presents wrapped, invitations issues, menus planned, new party gear purchased ... But were not all like that and if you’re not, December can turn into 3 weeks of continuous stress. Here are some tips on how to minimise Christmas stress starting today.

Set a budget

We all know people who go right over the top when it comes to Christmas which is horribly stressful. Set a sensible budget for your spending. However much you try and convince yourself you have to buy something you really don’t. The stress of not buying something will be less than the stress you will experience later if you’ve over spent.

Create a Christmas list

It doesn’t matter how you do it, but working with some type of list will make things easier. A cork board with post it notes can work well, a notebook, list on your telephone or laptop. It really doesn’t matter what method you use – but trying to keep everything in your head only increases stress (particularly if you forget something). Get the list down in one form or another and add to it when you think of something.

Prune your list

Once you have your list the chances are it will be ridiculously long. Well prune it. Do you really need all the food you have down? Will it matter whether you buy presents for your third cousin once removed? Probably not. Don’t fool yourself and pretend you have to do everything because you actually don’t. You can minimise your own stress by deciding what remains on the list and what is consigned to the ‘bin’

Accept your limitations

It’s a fact that we all have our limitations. Christmas is supposed to be fun, not an endurance test. It’s okay not to pack your diary to the maximum with too many events, parties or outings. You don’t have to accept lots of invitations if you don’t want to and you don’t have to spend the whole festival visiting friends and families. Decide what you can do and want to do and plan accordingly. It's up to you to take steps to ensure that your stress isn't self-induced by taking on too much.

Learn to say no

Saying no can be difficult at anytime of the year but at Christmas many people appear to find it even more difficult. If that’s you start practicing now because it will save you a lot of stress. You don’t have to give into the pester power of your children to buy the ‘latest big thing’, you don’t have to give into the pester power of relatives who want you to visit and you don’t have to bow to every Christmas tradition and run yourself ragged trying to get too much done. It’s about making choices and minimising your stress by sometimes deciding to say no.

What steps are you going to take to minimise your Christmas stress?