5 Smart Tips to Stay Sane During the Holidays

Tis the season to be jolly, but what if even the thought of the silly season fills you with dread?

Christmas can be all about holidays and presents and catching up with mates, but it can also be about survival of the fittest. We’ve tallied up the votes for the top 5 perils of the party season, with tips on how to manage even the hardest holiday hiccups!

1. Drunk Parents/In-Laws

It’s inevitable that one of the elders will get unintentionally tipsy. Whether it be your mother-in-law smashing about like a reindeer on crack, with her flashing Christmas earrings and tinsel necklace or poor old Nana stuck in the armchair near the tree and continuously plied with booze to keep her happy or quiet!

The oldies tend to let their hair down at Christmas to celebrate the fact that after years of catering to the masses, they don’t have to do jack-all! Uncle Bob and Poppy Jim usually pop a few too many stubbies to drown out the kids and start impersonating Santa, usually encouraging one of the younger visitors (usually a friend of a 20-something niece) to ‘come sit on their lap’ or, at the other end of the scale, you’re subjected to the disapproving eyes of the straight-laced mother who doesn’t even drink egg-nog and spends the day ‘tsk-tsk-ing’ at everything.

Our advice? Pop another bottle and join the fun!

2. Overindulgence At The Dinner Table

Christmas lunch is the best time for eyes bigger than bellies. Whether you have a hot lunch or a cold buffet, the meat, the prawns, the nibbles, the desserts; they all seem to scream “EAT ME!”

The poor bugger left cooking up a usually stinking hot storm for lunch or dinner is mauled by the hungry hoards filling their plates, only to be left with the dishes and people rolling around their lounge room floor complaining they ate too much!

Tip from the health freaks? Drink a lot of water before you start eating it fills you up and stops you eating too much.

Tip from people who don’t give a crap? Have your cake/roast/turkey/seafood/pavlova and eat it too! Hell, challenge your brother to a quantity contest – just wear elastic waisted pants!

Keep your sanity intact. More tips next page!