My 'Top Four Things That Really Don’t Matter' – Christmas Edition.

Hi everyone!
 
It’s fast approaching - only 11 days to go and I’m still a disorganised mess.  We finally decorated our tree yesterday - it’s a Balsam Fir which means that it smells unbelievable; the aroma of Christmas fills the house & I love it.  The only downside is that touching the branches is comparable to putting your hand in a bowl of razor blades – I think Amanda in the movie ‘Saw’ had an easier ordeal (think giant pit of hypodermic needles).  But like me, she fought through the pain for her cause – she went on to do unspeakable things to innocent people, I comparatively, have a pretty decent looking tree. 

 
There is but only one thing that I can currently imagine to be more painful than the prickly, spiny branches of this tree, and that is having a toddler that wishes to dress said tree.  Mum always says, "Christmas is about the children", but seeing Instagram clips of tiny humans completely failing to adequately space baubles fills me with a level of anxiety that only truly hits around this time of year.  I get it, it’s all in the name of Christmas cheer, but now I better understand why my Dad left the room when we were little – there’s only so much one human can handle.

 

Anyway, I digress.  The point in this blog is not to try and put you off doing the following things but rather to remind you (and myself) that Christmas is really about spending time with people.  Not doing the following things doesn't make you a bad parent, in the same way that doing them doesn't make you parent of the year.  I guess my point is, enjoy the season and try not to let the pressure of it get to you.  

 

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

 - Maya Angelou

 

Number one:  It's not a necessity to have matching pyjamas for you/your significant other/children/dog/cat/house plant.
 
Ok, I get it.  It’s very cute, and if you have the time, inclination and above all, the cash to do it, then by all means crack on.
 
Otherwise – is it necessary?  Scenario time (we love these in nursing, although this might be slightly out of place on a training day): you’re the postman and you turn up to deliver a parcel to Number 8 in mid-June.  You ring the doorbell, wait with parcel in hand, & here come the entire family, pets included, in the same matching pyjamas to greet you at the door.  Creepy? No doubt about it.
 
Now I’m not going all ‘Bah Humbug’ on the idea – I love to see matching jimjams on the Gram.  But what I'm saying is ask yourself whether it’s worth the stress (and money) to buy something that’s only going to be useful for one photo and one morning.  If not, then in the words of Elsa, 'let it go'.

 
Number two: You don’t have to go to Winter Wonderland or Lapland UK for your kids to enjoy Christmas.

Christ alive, now Winter Wonderland charge a fiver just to get in the gate?!  If you’re going with mates for a booze up and a sing-song, then pay the Jacks and let your hair down.  If you’re heading there with a gaggle of children, be prepared to have to re-mortgage your house for a few jumbo German hotdogs & the chance to win an oversized teddy so badly produced, you’re sure it’s possessed by some sort of demon.  Is it watching you in the middle of the night?  There’s a strong chance.

Instead, why not have a look around your local area?  Most towns & villages run smaller fairs - it'll be less crowded, most likely free to enter, cheaper & the small stalls selling there will be beyond grateful for your business.

Number three:  The smallest of the small ones like boxes.
 
Babies like boxes, it's just a straight up fact.  You can spend the most money,  have the fanciest presents, wrap them beautifully like Rowan Atkinson in Love Actually (a sprig of holly, Sir?), go above and beyond, have it shipped from Mongolia & made from solid gold - the baby will want to play with the box. 

Buy small, buy local & try to be practical - most parents will agree that getting huge presents for their children when they have nowhere to store them is a nightmare.  Sure, the life-size kitchen, diner and laundromat set looks great at first, but unless you’re planning to fund the building of a small outhouse to store this stuff, try and be sensible!
 
Number four:  Enjoy your Christmas dinner.
 
Sit & talk.  Enjoy your time & relax.  Unless you’re Nigella, most people have very little interest in seeing what your dinner looks like (remember the ‘what does my name mean on Urban Dictionary’ fiasco and the stories we all had to endure on the Gram).  Being 100% honest, I only ever want to see pictures of terrible dinners so that I can be thankful that I don’t have to eat them.  Now, you are free to pretend that you disagree with me but if you are being truthful to yourself, you know we all feel the same way.  As an add on to that, I certainly don’t want to see a picture of a dinner that looks BETTER than mine, let me live already. 

 

Having said all of this, I am the furthest thing from a Humbug.  I adore Christmas, it’s always been a really special time of year for my family.  It just seems that every year there is something new – something that you must do to prove that you’re the best at “Christmassing”, especially if you're a new parent.  All I'm saying is don’t overstretch yourself for the sake of one day – it’s going to be super special anyway, and that’s going to be down to the time you get to spend together.

 
Eat, drink and be bloody merry.
 
Your no-nonsense Christmas Elf,
 
Maz x

 

Photo credit to by Jared Lind, Andreea Radu and Devon Rogers on Unsplash.