BEST OF HEALTH – Fighting Christmas burnout

EVERY YEAR hundreds of Barbadians fail to enjoy Christmas Day because they are so tired after spending Christmas Eve completely pulling the house apart and putting it back together again.
Householders have to hang new curtains and change chair covers and bed linens, in addition to baking ham, cakes and turkey and preparing a meal of almost ten different dishes.
So many people do this, and so much so that on Christmas morning they are too tired to wake up for the church service or even keep their eyes open long enough to enjoy their Christmas meal.
Getting ready for the big day requires shopping, cooking, cleaning and the many other stresses that accompany the Christmas holiday because of the extra tasks to accomplish and activities to attend.
In addition, there are increased demands, spending, traffic, long lines and the different personalities and people to deal with.
Christmas is supposed to be the season of comfort and joy, but for some people it can become a season of stress, craziness and chaos. But what can be done to avoid feeling burned out during the Christmas season? 
The important thing for everyone to bear in mind this Christmas is not how to deal with Christmas burnout, but how to avoid it by making the necessary changes to their Christmas preparations before the burnout occurs.
Here are some tips for making the Christmas preparations a little less hectic. 
You are encouraged to make a list of every single thing you need to get for your Christmas preparations. Keep the list safe and tick off items as you buy them.
Also, wrap all your Christmas presents as you buy them – that way you will not be overwhelmed at having to wrap them all at the same time.
In addition, when the preparations for the Christmas season begin to feel more stressful than soothing, keep all the positive factors about Christmas in mind. No matter what the home or work situation may be, make a list of positive aspects that can help generate positive thinking.
Get excited about Christmas and get into the Christmas spirit.  Remember Christmas is a fun time for everyone, or should be, so get into the spirit and spread some Christmas cheer.
To ensure that you do not have difficulties returning faulty gifts or having them exchanged, always keep your receipts in a safe place.
Try to complete your shopping early to avoid the rush.  Malls and stores tend to get more crowded the closer it gets to Christmas Day, and there is nothing worse than shopping when it is extremely crowded and shoppers are getting irate because it’s too busy.
It is also advised that you find the time to get additional rest even if it is a short amount as it can make a huge difference in your attitude to your Christmas preparations. Since you will be busier than usual, it is better to get as much sleep as possible so you will have the energy to do everything.
If you want to take the stress out of having to do the cooking the Christmas dinner yourself, be mindful that there are places that prepare meals and deliver them to you.  That removes the hassle of long lines in the supermarkets and hours in the kitchen.
 
Finally, dedicate a day for rest as Christmas Day gets closer. 
Since you would have shopped early and have everything prepared, you can take a day to rest.