So, it’s December… well and truly. If it was 20 years ago this may be exciting for me, but sadly over the years the joyous season has lost its joy.

There is so much more stress involved in being an adult than you realize when you’re getting your daily dos of advent chocolate and struggling to get to sleep on Christmas eve.

For me, it starts mid November…. I start panicking about money for presents… start thinking about lay buys… and it builds dramatically from there. Every year I say the same thing to myself, “Next year, next year I’ll relax and enjoy Christmas”.

Beyond the abundant gift shopping, and the planning of where Christmas will be this year and how many events do we have to attend, and what do I have to bake to take to each event… there is the stress of how to cope with the holiday situation.

I’m typing about this subject as I sit on a couch in my parent’s time share in the Bay of Islands on our annual holiday, good reason for me to write about how to cope with this season and all it throws at us. I am a bit of a planning nut… if I am going out for the day I plan 8 hours ahead for what I will need to take with me and what the kids will need and in particular, what we will eat. As most people who know me know I’m quite routine driven especially when it comes to eating, and the idea of not knowing what I’ll be eating each day for a WHOLE WEEK is incredibly scary for me!

So how do I cope? What are my secrets for this kind of situation and for the bountiful Christmas meals and silliness that comes with December (and often January too!)? Let me give you some pointers that may help… and you won’t lose the enjoyment of the day in the process.

Firstly.. Christmas is not food. Not many people hang out for December for the mashed potatoes. Ask yourself what you love about Christmas, what would you be miserably upset about losing? Family? Beach time? Time off work? Sure for some it may be the BBQ, the ham, the trifle…. But my point is don’t waste the day on things that are only average. If you absolutely LOVE cheesecake then you may feel Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a slice of Aunty whoever’s famous cheesecake, but if you have peas for dinner every night then bypass them for some veges you haven’t tried before…

Next, remember your age. Don’t approach the table with the attitude of treating yourself as if food is going out of fashion. It’s become quite acceptable now to have at least three types of meat available, then potatoes (quite often the options of mashed, roasted and boiled), kumara, bean salad, and then don’t forget dessert….. and of course this is just lunch, there’ll be dinner at another house in a few hours… so instead of eating so much you regret the size of the pants you wore, approach it wisely. Choose your favourite meat, load up on veges, limit your starch… try and think as you do with every meal (hopefully): protein, starchy carbs, fibrous carbs, and fats. So don’t try to make your plate look completely foreign to how dinner at home does, as I said earlier, you’re not a child, don’t act like one. Food is not to reward yourself or use as a treat.

Thirdly…. MOVE! I have lost track of how many people tell me that on Christmas day they eat their breakfast at one house, the lunch at another and dinner at yet another and in between they sleep. Why? Because they’ve eaten so much they can’t do anything else.

When I was a kid after our Christmas lunch with my dad’s side of the family we would go across the road to the park and play bat down cricket. This is not only one of my best childhood memories, its an incredibly smart idea. How much less would you eat if you knew in a few minutes you’ll be out in the park running around? In New Zealand we are blessed with Christmas in the summer yet we spend most of the celebratory season indoors (recovering from our over indulgence). If you are celebrating at the beach get out and play some beach soccer, if you’re staying within the same town then walk to the venue (I did this one year and it was GREAT! We then walked home so I was conscious of the fact I’d have to walk a decent way again), a game of touch in the backyard, whatever it may be get out and do some socializing that revolves around movement rather than stuffing your face and create some good memories at the same time.

Next, if you are going potluck styles (as most kiwis do) don’t sabotage yourself. Don’t take a plate of donuts and complain that there’s no good choices. If you go along with a big platter of fruit you at least know that there will be fruit to eat. Like not voting, you cant complain if you don’t do your bit to help the situation.

And finally… the art of distraction. Christmas these days doesn’t tend to have slaves that clear the table as soon as you finish eating (if you do have slaves, you probably should keep that to yourself), so the food tends to stay on the table for a while calling out “you can have seconds of me… it’s Christmas day… you can start eating well again tomorrow… or in January…” When food starts talking to you, you need to walk away. Seeing as there are no slaves, perhaps you could go and do the dishes, offer to help clean up the wrapping paper. Just do something that gets you away from the voices… even if they are just in your head. If you’re a boredom eater then a table of food and a bunch of people you don’t know what to talk to about can be a dangerous combination. Acknowledge that you’ve eaten, you’re content, there’s no need for more, then walk away.

Need it be said? There’s no need for seconds. Is there any other time of year you’d have two plates of mains and then dessert? Now that’s just silly...

Lastly, (yes, I know I said finally before, but I thought of something else!) if you are hosting, send people away with food! Leftovers are probably more dangerous than the actual meal. When you open up your fridge the next day and consider making a breakfast hash of bacon, ham, potato, cream and trifle… then you’re in trouble. Get rid of the food so these terrible ideas don’t come to you. Besides people are always glad to take their stuff home and not have to worry about retrieving dishes later on.

So I hope there’s at least something you can take from this article, maybe it’s just one thing that you can remember and put into practice for your event, and when done well they shouldn’t take from the enjoyment of your day either .

Merry Christmas!

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