Married Life
How to Survive the Festive Season Together
Love it or hate it, there’s no escaping the festive season. And it’s approaching fast!
For some, it’s dreams of a white Christmas in front of yule logs, singing carols and trimming the tree… a lot of the time though, the stress of the holidays can result in heated arguments, crappy presents and trying to mesh the traditions of both your own family and your in-laws.
Here is some advice to couples for surviving the coming weeks.
1. Make sure to spend time alone together among all the fuss…
Keep your regular date nights going! Theme them to make them more fun. Make decorating the tree or baking Christmas cookies your quality time together. Be philanthropic and help out at a soup kitchen! Go ice skating or build snowmen! If you’re in a warmer area, chill out at the beach for an afternoon.
2. Gift buying
You know what one of the most stressful parts of Christmas is? The mall… the piped carols, the hoards of people and the hours of wandering aimlessly in search of the perfect present will take it’s toll eventually.
Either make your list early and get in there before it’s too late or use the wonder of the Internet to shop… no queues, no screaming children… no sore feet at the end of the day! All your presents will arrive wrapped and ready, leaving you more time to spend with your sweetie!
3. Family negotiations
Scheduling your Christmas in with family, friend and loved ones can be exhausting – start creating a tradition that works for everyone that you can repeat every year so people know what they’re doing in advance. It saves the stress. Some people do alternate years with each family, some do Christmas lunch at one and dinner at the other, some do Christmas Day at one house and Boxing Day at the other…
Whatever your Christmas day plans, once there, avoid arguments at all costs! Be polite, be happy. You only have to get through one day of it! And smile and thank your sweetie’s Aunt Ethel for the lovely box of hankies she bought you.
How do you survive Christmas together? Do you love it or loathe it? What is your current arrangement with respective families?
Related Posts
20 Festive Christmas Date Ideas
To Have and to Hold, and to Buy All the Presents.
Merry Christmas!
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Writer, dating columnist, wife, coffee addict, foodie, fashionista... Melburnian through and through. Muser, dancer, blogger, tweeter. Likes to get her head on telly now and again. Sleeper, dreamer, a sucker for romance. And of course... a cheap date.
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I have heard so many people saying that being in a relationship at Xmas is a really stressful thing to have to do but I am sure it is only stressful if you are in a bad one? I would have thought that it is the one time of year that you would want to spend more time together having fun and enjoying each other’s company?
It’s not so much about being in the relationship that causes issues at xmas time… its outside factors… like IN LAWS causing trouble!! Ok.. so maybe that might just be me…hmm!