I know that in the doom and gloom of January, harking back to the festivity and frivolity of Christmas isn’t exactly a popular move.
But I hope you’ll forgive me for doing exactly that today – there is a good reason!
The Christmas Day just gone was the best one I’ve had for decades, despite returning from Thailand cursing the weather and feeling very “bah humbug” about the whole thing in the run-up to it.
So, why was it the best?
- I explained to Frances, Christopher and the team that I was struggling to come up with inspired presents for them. They responded with much more detailed present lists than in previous years.
- I set clear limits on the meals I would be providing as family events (Christmas lunch and Boxing Day breakfast), with the children free to come and go as they pleased the rest of the time. As a result, I bought far less food (still too much!).
- I explained what my ideal, low stress Christmas Day would be (less TV, more board games). We all agreed the basic outline before the day itself.
- Everyone helped to cook the meals and wash up – we’re all adults with opposable thumbs and able to make an equal contribution to the culinary and cleaning activities
- I was honest about feeling absolutely stuffed, and asked whether a Christmas pudding was really necessary, rather than making everyone sit and eat everything in order to keep tradition.
The result? A great Christmas, that’s stood me in good stead to hit the ground running in January.
There are plenty of transferable learns here – discuss the project, gather the requirements, agree the job roles, assign responsibility and have regular, honest check-ins.
So while the tree is definitely down now (12th night and all that), it’s the Christmas that keeps giving!
