So here we are, it’s the final Friday before Christmas and hopefully the last day of work for many of us. If it’s not? Well, yikes, I’m sorry…? Anyway, whatever day you’re working until, or whether you have to work throughout the duration of the ‘holidays’, one thing is for sure, Christmas is COMINGGGGG! So, as we all gear-up to descend into the festive season with chaotic joy, leaving any unfinished work with reckless abandon and preparing to triple our calorie intake on a daily basis until January 1st, are we all really prepared?

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, it’s an opportunity to reconnect with family, spend quality time with friends, and finally switch-off from the endless amount of work that you’ve been battling with all year-long. But let’s not forget how stressful the Christmas break can actually be sometimes. Whether it’s finding the time to shop for presents, actually wrapping the darn presents, putting up a tree or somehow finding a jumper with a reindeer on it – all within the 0.05 hours that you’re not actually working, eating, taking care of your children or just general adulting (which is actually such a joke, right?) – the festive period can be one long headache and can leave you desperately searching for a dark room to lay down in for 3-5 days straight.

Before we all head off to deck the halls, top up the brandy for Santa, and shed our sequins on the vomit-spattered cobbles of our hometowns, we asked the Pistachio team to share their best advice for surviving Christmas like a pro…

Tip 1.

Plan. Ok, so it’s probably a little late in the day for this tip, considering Xmas is a mere 4 days away, but try and take as much stress as possible out of your Christmas period by having a little foresight. For example, get your non-perishable food goods in before the mad-supermarket-rush, plan and buy all of your presents in advance, and most importantly, prepare a long list of excuses you can use to rebuff the endless invitations to all those non-alcoholic-vegan-infused mulled wine parties you’re bound to get invited to.

Tip 2.

Don’t overspend. Try not bankrupt yourself on buying gifts that no one really wants. Tit-for-tat present buying for the sake of saying you got someone a present isn’t really what Xmas is about, so if you feel obliged or duty to bound to spend money that you don’t have on meaningless gifts, try to take a step a back and offer up your time instead. Meaningful relationships and spreading love and joy is what Jesus really wanted us to celebrate, well, that and red wine, obvs.

Tip 3.

Switch off. Yes, some people do still have to work over Xmas, but if you can, try and switch off as much as possible. Everyone else is secretly hoping and praying that they also don’t get bothered by work during this time, so play your part and pretend that work does not exist until January, literally everyone will thank you for it. No one likes a martyr.

Tip 4.

Stay positive. Tense family reunions, kids wreaking-havoc all day long and relationships put under the microscope – it’s no secret that Christmas can be a breeding ground for fraught emotions and heighten stress levels, leaving people feeling less than optimistic about surviving the festive period with their pride and feelings firmly intact. But don’t give in to the negativity, grumpy Uncle giving you grief about your life choices? Just smile and get drunk. Mother in law crying over a burnt turkey? Order a takeaway for one and get drunk. Kids screaming for more presents? Ignore them and be thankful that they’re not your kids, and get drunk.

Tip 5.

Smile. The whole point about this time of year is that we’re supposed to enjoy it and be happy. Normal rules don’t apply, shops open and close when they want to, pork pies can be eaten for breakfast, work deadlines are null and void and glitter and faux-fur attire is non-negotiable. So throw caution to the wind and bloody well enjoy yourself, ok?

If you’ve made it to the end of this blog then congratulations, you’re another 10 minutes closer to packing up shop for the holidays. So don’t stress, take a deep breath and have a very Merry Christmas!!

We hope that everyone has had a wonderful 2018 and we wish everyone a very prosperous 2019. Remember, if you would like to kick 2019 off with a bang then don’t forget to talk to us about your latest marketing or communications campaign, we’d love to help!