I love Christmas in December. As much as I hate Brussel sprouts in June.
So, what is so wrong with starting the count-down to Christmas in November?
There is so much drama attached to Christmas why start early to give you more time to get stressed?
The great buying trap.
The more time we have to be lulled into buying stuff, the easier it is to get caught up in the consumer overload. Every trip to the supermarket is a bombardment of Christmas crap… toys our kids don’t need, the next must-have gadget, the decorations and boxes of chocolates… we don’t need.
We’ve been sold this idea that the only way to show our family we love them is to buy things we can’t afford, or we just buy utter rubbish that’s going to be sitting in a charity shop once January rolls around.
In order to numb the tension and stress of all the buying, we overspend on food and drink and…. It depresses me to think of all the strain and burden we put on ourselves.
Great expectations
The more planning the more dreaming…and with that comes high hopes and expectations for a perfect Christmas.
We’re assaulted with adverts and Christmas movies of happy, joyous families all getting on with happy endings and blissful family reunions.
We have this unrealistic view of what Christmas should be like, of how our families should behave. There is a disconnect whenever there’s a gap between our expectations and reality.
Dream of a perfect Christmas holiday but don’t be disappointed if it ends up nothing as you’ve planned.
Too overwhelming for children
7 weeks to a child can feel like forever… It’s too long to wait.
The lead up to the holidays can be an exciting time but also a crazy busy one.
The truth is, all the hullabaloo means out of whack routines, late nights and frazzled children.
Think Christmas is stressful for you? It’s just as stressful and overwhelming for your child too. And if you have a more sensitive or reactive child, they pick up on your energy and feed off your stress.
What makes it tricky for children is that they don’t have the maturity or emotional responsiveness to tell us how they feel. Which can manifest itself into all kinds of behaviour.
Some turn inwards and become shy, withdrawn or hide away in their rooms.
Others, overreact and become loud, boisterous, hyper, unruly, rude or defiant. And it’s exactly these kids who are told off, told they’re naughty, punished or threatened with no presents. Further pushing them to more overwhelm and stress.
And I have to ask, who’s pushed them into this overwhelm in the first place?! Hmm?! Just saying!
So, it’s not surprising that by the time the big day rolls around so many people are fed up and all the excitement and anticipation has vanished.
So, what can you do to prepare?
Without it all getting too overwhelming.
1- When you see all the Christmas stuff in the supermarket, don’t mention it if your child doesn’t. Or a simple ‘It’s such a long way off’ ‘rather than “Oooh how exciting, Christmas is coming, are you excited? I’m excited.”
2 – If your child is excited already in November, use a physical calendar to show them how far off it is, and all the other events between now and then, so they can get a sense of time and perspective.
3 – It’s never too early to start a Christmas list – so long as they know it isn’t a guarantee that they’ll get everything on the list. Have a wish-gathering stage, then set a date when your child will let you know what the priorities are and manage their expectations that the rest of the list may or may not be there.
P.S Christmas will be easier to navigate if you’ve learned this special technique – take my free class. Sign here.