It’s that time of year for joy and panic, yes; indeed, Christmas is approaching fast. While we all know Christmas is one of the most delightful times of the year, it still comes with its fair share of stress.
If you are looking forward to Christmas but could do with some coping techniques, fear not, we have you covered. In today’s post, we are going to be giving you some incredible tips to help you and your family have the perfect Christmas.
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Advanced Planning Is Key
If there is one thing that some of us are guilty of when it comes to Christmas, it’s that we don’t plan far enough in advance. Of course, there are people on the other end of the spectrum who already have their gifts wrapped in February, but this is a little overkill.
The whole of the festive season should be about sensible planning. The first thing you should be looking at is to start saving or buying gifts in around September time. If you start your Christmas shopping around then, you will find, by mid-December, there will be no need to head out on a massive pre-Christmas dash to get everything.
It may seem quite unbelievable but even with access to online shopping and the ability to have everything delivered way before Christmas, over half of Brits choose to do their Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve.
When it comes to planning, it doesn’t have to stop at Christmas shopping. There are still a ton of Brits out there that get up during the early hours to start preparing Christmas dinner, and this is also something that can be prepared in advance.
The one thing that takes time when it comes to your festive food will always be the veg prep. You can either prepare them the day before or if you have the room, you can prepare them way in advance and freeze them.
Get Your Table Arrangements Sorted
While people love to take care of the decorations in most rooms of the house, the table where you all sit and dine together can often go neglected.
If you are looking to create the perfect Christmas this year, paying a little extra attention to your dining table can really give your festive feast the finishing touch it deserves. While most people are comfortable decorating a tree, most find themselves lost when it comes to how to decorate a table.
The first step you need to take is to dress the table. When looking for a table cover, you want to avoid the wipe-clean options, they look cheap and will do nothing for your Christmas table. You should be looking for something like hotel quality tablecloths from Richard Haworth. Not only do tablecloths like this give a crisp look to the table, but they will also last for many years.
The next thing you need to consider is a table centrepiece; it is surprising just how much of an impact a good centrepiece can have on your Christmas table arrangement and providing it’s not too large, it can really set off the whole thing.
The last thing you want to add is place cards that compliment the centrepiece. Simple name cards placed at each seat can add a finishing touch to the table and are sure to impress.
Get The Tree Right
The main focus of every person’s house at Christmas will always be the tree. More often than not, though, people have no idea how to decorate the Christmas tree, and they end up looking like a complete disaster.
The first thing you need to establish is whether you will have a real tree or not, this is often a debate among many people, but the truth is, it always comes down to personal preference. While some people say that fake trees will never be as aesthetically pleasing as real ones, this is incorrect; there are some incredible fake tree options available nowadays.
The next thing that must be right is the colour scheme that you choose for the tree. It is recommended to aim for no more than three colours, but preferably two. You should certainly avoid a mish-mash of colours, while this can look great with a skilled decorator, for most of us, it will not look good at all.
Now you must consider two final things, and both are very important. The first of these two is lights. The choice and placement of lights can be the difference between class and disaster for your tree, so if you aren’t sure of the correct way to hang Christmas lights on a tree, you should do a little research.
Now, the very final thing you need to consider is where you are going to position your tree. The tree position in your living room is incredibly important. Position your tree in the right place, and you will instantly give your room a Christmas feel. However, should you get this wrong, it may look a mess.
Keep Family Traditions Alive
The final thing on our list today is something that helps keep the spirit of Christmas alive, that is, of course, tradition.
Christmas is a time of tradition whether it’s eating or the gift-giving. Today though, we are going to be looking at family traditions. During the festive period, you often find you will see family members that you haven’t seen since the previous year, you will dust off games, and you will feel completely different to the rest of the year.
If there are things that you remember doing as a child with your family at Christmas and now you have children, it’s so incredibly important to try to carry on these traditions to show future generations that there is still enjoyment to be had outside of Fortnite.
Hopefully, these four simple things can help you on your way to the perfect Christmas this year and for many to come.
