How to prepare now for a less stressful Christmas

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Adding some dates you’d like or need to get things done by will create some clear order and priorities.” Organise your kitchen The kitchen is the heart of the home at Christmas, and organising it ahead of time will save your future self a lot of stress. “By separating items like cans, dried food and treats only to be eaten on special festive days, you’ll create a system that will make it much easier to food prep and host.” Share out the labour “Christmas is a time for family and close friends so the key is to get everyone involved,” advises Liz Taylor, event planner and founder of Taylor Lynn Corporation Limited. “And, if you’re hosting, you do the turkey, get someone else to do the starter, another to do the dessert and someone else to come up with a creative Christmas cocktail.” Freeze some dishes in advance “You can freeze almost anything,” says chef Dominique Woolf, author of The Asian Pantry and founder of The Woolf’s Kitchen. “You’ll help your future self if you have some go-to strategies for what to do when these inevitably come up and if you can start to normalise some of these feelings in the run up.” The emotions coach also recommends working out now how you’ll share the emotional wellbeing role with your partner and family during the Christmas period.