Let's Talk About... Christmas

Christmas is the happiest time of the year, right? Not for everyone!

It can be hard for a lot of people for a number of reasons. Family, relationships, money or just hating being forced to be happy for a month straight. It’s also a time that you can feel really off about your body because of all the food and drink, your mental health can feel all out of whack and your diary doesn’t have a free day until mid jan!

Should we really be made to feel like this one day is worth putting all this on the line? I personally think not. Coming from a small family of just me & my mum, Christmas can feel forced & almost like you’re missing out on the big family party. I've struggled with Christmas for years and maybe it’s just being an adult and the magic has gone a bit but also maybe it’s okay that maybe I’m just not a Christmas person!

I feel like lots of people in their 20s & 30s feel like this, comparing what they don’t have to others posting proposals on Instagram, to big family gatherings and maybe even people look at my Christmas and are jealous. We put emphasis on a day to be perfect and wonderful and feel let down when it’s not. We always seem to want what we don’t have and this is particularly clear during the festive season. So how do we combat this feeling of festive comparison?

This year I did what I wanted. No turkey, no forced fun, just me, my mum, the dog and mac & cheese. We took the focus off the day itself and made the focus more about doing stuff that makes us happy, cheers us up & revives us for the year ahead. Not trailing an hour in the car to eat dry food at a family member's house you don’t see any other time of the year!

It was Christmas week and we really took the American meaning of holiday literally and went to Cornwall where each day we did something nice but also prioritised our needs and wants. There was not one special day but 4 lovely heart warming ones.

I also stopped asking people what they were going to do, I just wished them happy Christmas and that was it. That question for me ‘oh what are you doing this year?’ Starts the spiral of ‘theirs is better than mine’ etc.

We didn’t do presents, take that pressure off. Are you buying them a present as you reallllly want to and you think they’ll love it? Or do you just feel obliged?

Christmas doesn’t need to be perfect or the most special day ever. It can be just be fine and that doesn’t mean you are less loved or less wanted than anyone else.

It just means it’s a day that you got off work to eat lots of food.

Pressure is a killer, don’t let it be.

Love from, Kate