Blogmas 2023

It may be the season to be jolly, but for many people, Christmas, and the anticipation and build up to Christmas is a time of tension and stress... For me, it has always been this way.... For many years, (29), i lived "down South" or "Dawn Sarf" as we say in Essex... I either worked on Christmas Day, or i shared the stress of Christmas with my best, and long suffering friend Nikki and her family and we merged the families, food, jollies all together.... That worked really well until my mum became more poorly and decided after moving to and from Essex three times and finally, in the September of 2013, mother dearest decided that she could not settle, and wanted to move back to Liverpool.... Suffice to say, I moved back to Liverpool to care for her as the boys had left home to go on their adventures at Music College and University and only appeared looking hungry or with a bin bag of washing for me to do... So here I am, ten years into being back in Liverpool. Another Christmas is looming around the corner... My boys are older now, and although they do appear over the Christmas week, one lives in Essex, and the other has his own family. My birthday falls between Christmas and New Year, so my boys will always be here to celebrate with me. Usually, I am fairly organised, I buy Christmas presents throughout the year, so Christmas shopping is not too scary, although some of my friends give donations to charities instead of buying cards and gifts... I have thought this a great way of celebrating with the "feel good" factor and helping (in my case) Dogs Trust or Spanish Rescues.... So, some weeks back, after spending £41 sending Christmas Cards through Royal Mail, I thought this would be the way forward... instead of giving presents, we can dontate... except for the children, and grandchildren... Initially, it seemed to go down well, but then it wasn't... I do lots of fund raising and donating to charities anyway, we sponsor a donkey, a lurcher at Dogs Trust, I fund raise for a Spanish rescue and we have three Spanish rescue dogs, and our son's cockerpoo. Last Christmas, Christmas Day was lovely - it was just my husband and i and our doggies.... The boys and my step daughter arrived on Boxing Day when somehow, the pressure is off, and we celebrated then, and on my birthday. This year seems not to be going to plan... There appears to be stress and conflict already over what is happening, who is bringing what, who wants what, the list goes on.... The husband now wants me to delete his families numbers from my phone as i cannot do right for doing wrong... It is now only the 19th December and we have another six days to go... For those of you having stress in your build up to Christmas, here are two of my suggestions as to how to survive it... Focus on What You Enjoy about Christmas - If you’re anticipating a stressful Christmas, acknowledge it, and try to remind yourself that you’re not alone. Most families struggle at this time of year. Try to focus on an element of Christmas you do enjoy. Remember that nobody is perfect and it is only one day. Develop New Traditions - If you have joined a family, like I did 9 years ago, suggest new traditions. Try to blend the old with the new. Do not drink too much!! - it might seem a good way to get through the season, but really, it is unlikely to present the best you to everyone and can be embaressing afterwards! Finally - Good Luck!!