Don’t get in a mess with Christmas stress
Christmas should be a lovely time of year for us all as we cosy up with our family and friends and watch a few good shows on telly after sharing the Christmas presents and feasting on a scrumptious festive dinner washed down with your favourite libations over After Eight mints.
But Christmas is not all that it’s made out to be. Leaving the religious dimension aside from what this festive season should really be all about, and focussing on the social dimension, it is quite alarming how we year-on-year put ourselves – well, some of us – under unnecessary pressures.
It reveals the cracks in our relationships, and in our society itself. It can prove to be a very stressful time of year for some of us. So, in no particular order, I’ve created a hit list of how to survive Christmas and save a few bob in the process.
And this list is by no means exclusive. I’ve concentrated on the main points to help focus on the issues. And they are varied.
The Dreaded Debt Ladder
Some of us have low incomes and high desires to please other people, especially the ones closest to us. This raises our anxiety levels and as a result we stretch our financial outgoings so far that we embrace seasonal debts – whether that be from loans, deferred payments, credit cards, store cards, etc.
Don’t play snakes and ladders with your mental health or family’s welfare.
In the end everything has to be paid for – including all the lovely Christmas presents you may have purchased on the drip.
Did you know that the most stressful times of year are January and February when people are faced with loan repayments?
The Citizens Advice statistics show that post-Christmas, a lot of people are facing financial worries and even crisis, and also suffer from the psychological impacts from chronic debt issues.
Don’t fall into this trap of buying today and paying tomorrow! If you face financial problems after the Christmas season go and speak to Citizens Advice and seek money advice. A stitch in time saves nine!
A Beef About Turkey
I have a thing about turkey at Christmas. We always have a turkey with a ham at Christmas, but this year as we’ll be hosting a dinner for 15, I’ve decided to change the menu a bit to avoid WASTE.
Many of you will recognise the ‘waste’ factor when it comes to Christmas dinners. We tend to cook too much. Our eyes and bigger than our bellies!
And of course it all costs money to cook copious amounts of food. So good planning is essential to make the Christmas dinner exercise properly economic.
So, the big turkey is simply getting the ‘boot’. We never eat the legs which take up valuable space in the oven, and even our cats have a limit to the amount of turkey they can consume without giving off.
Instead we are going to get a saddle of turkey (which we’ll portion with a sharp knife ) and a lovely juicy roast of beef (and a small ham) – and all the trimmings.
That way it will be easier to work out the portions, and cut back on waste and still have a delicious Christmas dinner.
And less waste to scrape into the brown bins.
Shop Local And Shop Early
We all need to Shop Local and Shop Early – that is a given.
Even with the recent tragedy of the floods in South Down, logic should prevail. We need to support our Circular Economy and keep money circulating in our micro-economies, otherwise we are all poorer if money bleeds out of our local economy.
The floods have been a tremendous blow to our local traders especially happening just in the build up to Christmas when they would have increased their stocks for the Christmas rush. Many lost everything! And for this reason we need to show solidarity with the business community and support those hardest hit.
But, there is another side to this – it is also a good idea to shop early for Christmas and many a good bargain can be had throughout the year, and even in the January sales.
So planning ahead is key to saving money. Of course this is dependent on whetehr yo have the financial resources to be able to do this, but wouldn’t be a great and unstressful Christmas when you having to drive around in the dark to have all the shopping done – well most of it – by October. J
Just a thought, but if it was embedded in your Christmas spend strategy for 2024, it might pay off for you, and help the local businesses as well.
Scrap Christmas Cards Unless…
I’ll keep this simple… I can remember making Christmas cards when I was a wee lad at school and it was fun. And that is a useful educational exercise, but buying expensive cards with all the fancy doo-dahs such as playing Christmas tunes is just madness and to me, a waste.
We don’t send cards unless we’ve bought a packet of charity cards then happy to send. But apart from the sheer environmental waste – they all end up in the blue bin after the festive season – they can even be a fire hazzard in the home if hung over a fireplace.
But I appreciate charities need support so yes, support them by means. However, there is a caviat.
Royal Mail has in recent years increased its posting charges so be aware that a packet of 30 cards could cost upwards of £40 to post depending on size of course. So again, a saying could be had here with a bit of careful thought and management.
Make Out A Shopping List
I know I’m giving my age away when I say I read a book back in 1965 by Vance Packard called “The Hidden Persuaders”. It’s about the consumer society and the mechanisms used to squeeze money out of the consumers in the retail sector.
So whether it’s in a big supermarket or a smaller outlet, there is the danger of impulse buying brought on by a clever arrangement of colours, designs, products, and shelf lay-out etc that makes it difficult to say no to that shiny packet staring back at you pleading ‘Buy Me!’
The solution is to write out a shopping list and stick too it. It will prevent you from over-filling you shopping trolley. This requires self-discipline.
But interestingly, you can use the shopping visit as an opportunity to improve dialogue in your family by saying: ‘Right guys I’m going shopping so what do we need? … as differentiated from what do we want ? THis can save you hundereds of pounds a year.
Give Santa The Sack
Not literally, he already has a sack!
Just think, when your kids get to that precious age they are asking Santa for expensive presents each year, you could look at them dumbly and say: “Santa, what Santa?” I hope there are no under 9s reading this !
That way, you re-gear the present giving to something a bit more sensible gradually from X Boxes to socks and underwear et. I always though that the debunking of the Santa fairytale was just part of growing up – then we are introduced to politics!
And don’t go overboard and be a total Grinch and say Santa doesn’t exist – of course he does!
So winding down Santa gradually and putting more emphasis of other aspects of Christmas might work for you. (Such as… ?)
Book Your Annual Holiday Away At Christmas
Why stay here at Christmas when the weather is ‘dreich’ (inclement) ?
I like a white Christmas but the weather now seems to be more rain than anything, and certainly less sunshine in the winter.
So why not save the price of an annual holiday paid for by virtually pulling the plug on Christmas after you’ve done your essential family shopping (shopping local of course) ?
You could save literally hundreds of pounds by clearing off to a far flung destination such as the Mediterranean on a cheap holiday booked well in advance getting the benefit of low cost air fairs.
And what a tonic for the immune system to get the sun in the darkest month of the year – December!
When the kids get off school why not board a plane and leave all the materialism of Christmas behind you ?
Get in Shape For 2024
Some people say New Year Resolutions are made to be broken. One of the biggest challenges for anyone especially as you get older is to lose weight.
Why not combine this weight resolution to trimming back on Christmas food – from the dinner itself, to nibbles and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Let it be known you are ‘on a diet’. That gives you the entitlement to avoid office parties, booze ups with your family and friends and stop ordering carry-outs etc.
Get a head’s start for 2024 and be fighting fit. It all sounds a bit Grinchy, but Christmas is about love, and you need to love yourelf first before you can love other people.
So have a love in this Christmas starting with yourself – and save some money through will power and self-discipline.
Build Bridges At Christmas Time
Life is complicated and probably more so at Christmas. It’s certainly noted as the most stressful time of year for many.
Some people whether they be lonely, elderly, disabled, suffer from mental health issues, are often forgotten about at Christmas. There are many reasons why there are great gulfs between us as human beings.
Class, religion, politics, culture and many other things can divide us and leave some people in a dark place at the time of year when we should be sharing the Christmas spirit.
The Christmas spirit is free. It’s for us all to enjoy, benefit from and share.
For this reason, to me a true part of Christmas is reaching out to those in need. If we all made this charitable gesture the world would be a better place.
I have tried throughout the year to help people along the way, but I will be making a specific gesture before Christmas to an elderly couple who have fallen on hard times of late.
Christmas is about giving, I believe, and receiving graciously when offered a gift. But much more about the giving.
Secret Santa
Santa is probably the most public person in the world, so what is a secret Santa ? It is definitely an oxymoron.
The whole idea behind a Secret Santa is that a group of people all buy presents at an agreed amount eg £10, and they are secretly drawn against someone else’s name to buy the present for to ensure the present matches.
An example is that you would buy something such as a men’s deodorant set a ladies’ luxury bath salts or even something completely whacky as long as it was within the £10 limit.
In this way you will have avoided spending a fortune on gifts that are not appreciated. So the Secret Santa cuts to the point and always raises a few laughs when things get to the outrageous stage when the pressies are distributed!
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So, that’s my 10 ways to save money this Christmas. I might sound difficult in some ways, but it is a box of Licquorice Allsorts, and there is something there for everyone to try. out!
