101 Ways To De-Stress Your Christmas
Practical Inspiration For A Happier Festive Season
by Clare Josa
- Do you suffer from Christmas stress?
- Does the holiday season send you into a spin?
- Would you like some Christmas stress tips, to help you cope more easily this year – and perhaps even enjoy the festive season?
Then 101 Ways To De-Stress Your Christmas could be just what you’re looking for.
Written by an expert in psychology and common-sense stress reduction techniques, 101 Ways To De-Stress Your Christmas does what it says on the tin:
Whatever kind of Christmas Stress you’re suffering from, this book brings you the tips, techniques and strategies you need, to help you cut your stress levels fast.
The 101 bite-sized, highly practical ideas are based on sound psychological principles, bucket loads of common sense and a dollop of humour.
You could treat this book as your Christmas stress first aid kit.
The stress-reducing strategies are specially designed to be quick to flick through, so you won’t have to add to your Christmas stress by wading through a book full of theories and waffle.
Most of the techniques can be applied in just a few minutes. Yet they’re substantial enough to make a real difference to your Christmas stress levels.
This book won’t do much for you unless you actually use the stuff that’s in it! Apply the strategies, play with the exercises, enjoy the questions. Keep the book with you, throughout the festive season, so you can dip into it whenever you need it.
The great thing is that most of these stress-reducing strategies aren’t just for Christmas – you can use them all year round.
By reading this book, you will:
- Figure out your Christmas stress type – an essential start point for de-stressing your Christmas
- Clearly identify your Christmas stress triggers, to help you create a tailored, practical action plan
- Discover the “magic question” that can instantly shift you from stress to solutions
- Learn 14 ways to create more time, so you can feel less stressed about Christmas (and the rest of the year!)
- Pick your favourites from 28 strategies for staying sane over the festive season
- Find out how to get everything done, without having to be superhuman
- Pick up insider secrets on how to turn things around, even if it all goes wrong on the big day!
… and much, much more.
Are you ready to get started on cutting your Christmas stress levels?
101 Ways To De-Stress Your Christmas is available through Amazon – both as a paperback edition and, for those of you who want to de-stress right away, as a Kindle edition.
Get your copy now – or read a free sample from the book – excerpts below (or on your Kindle – get the first chapter).
Excerpts from 101 Ways To De-Stress Your Christmas
Message From The Author
Dear Reader,
Having witnessed – and been part of – so much Christmas stress over the decades, it was clear to me that few of us have enough time to read heavyweight ‘de-stress your life’ books at this time of year. That can wait till January.
What we need are short-and-sweet, but highly effective solutions: the kind of strategies that fit in with our hectic Christmas preparations and are easy to apply.
So I’d like to thank my family, friends and mentoring clients for inspiring the creation of 101 Ways To De-Stress Your Christmas.
My aim is to provide you with bite-sized inspiration, to help you feel less stressed and have a happier Christmas.Far from being lightweight, the techniques in this book are based on sound psychological principles.
However, they are presented in a way that I hope is much more digestible than Grannie’s mushy sprouts and I’d love them to leave you more enthusiastic about enjoying Christmas than unwrapping yet another of Aunt Mabel’s reindeer jumpers.
This book is not intended to be a permanent fix for all the stress sources and habits in your life. It’s Christmas and you’re busy. Permanent fixes can wait till the New Year! You won’t have to wade through chapter upon chapter of research theories and case studies to uncover the precious stress-reducing nuggets you’re looking for. The strategies presented in this book are designed to form a highly practical Christmas stress first aid kit, to see you through the festive season.Some of the 101 techniques and ideas may be familiar to you. But there will also be many that offer solutions to your current Christmas stresses.
I hope you will try them out and find them useful.
Remember: those that work best for you can help you throughout the coming year.
“De-stressing is for life, not just for Christmas.”
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a very happy year to come.
Clare Josa
How To Get The Most Out Of This Book
Whatever kind Christmas Stress you’re suffering from, this book brings you the tips, techniques and strategies you need, to help you reduce your stress levels this.
They are based on sound psychological principles, bucket loads of common sense and simple, yet effective, strategies I’ve discovered over the years of surviving yet another family Christmas, usually with a dollop of humour!
So whatever your Christmas stresses, there will be plenty here to help you out. Some strategies and tips are short-and-sweet. Others go into more detail, with specially designed exercises, to help you dump your Christmas stress.How To Use This Book
We’re all different. And our minds all work in different ways. That’s why this book has been specially designed for you to use in the way that best suits your needs.
There are 3 main ways you can work with this book:1. Start to finish
Read it cover to cover, applying the techniques that resonate for you, as you go along. Don’t worry if the occasional tip or strategy doesn’t seem to fit for you; that’s fine, just skip to the next one.2. Just Jump In
Skim the contents page. Which section is calling out to you?
Or you can read the full list of strategies at the end of the book. Pick the techniques that jump out at you and start with those.3. Feeling Lucky?
Take a moment to quieten your mind. Then ask yourself, “What do I most need right now?” Before your conscious mind gives you an answer, open the book at a random page. Chances are you’ll have picked the perfect strategy for your needs.
However you choose to make the most of the rest of this book, it’s a good idea to work through the strategies part one first, as they form the foundation for the rest of the book. Check it out and all will become clear!
Treat it as your Christmas Stress First Aid kit!
This book won’t do much for you unless you actually use the stuff that’s in it! Apply the strategies, play with the exercises, enjoy the questions. Keep the book with you, throughout the festive season, so you can dip into it whenever you need it.“Psssst! The great thing is that most of these strategies aren’t just for Christmas – you can use them all year round.”
And Next Year?
How about keeping a journal of the “lightbulb” moments you encounter, as you de-stress your Christmas? Make a note of the decisions, choices and strategies that really work for you. Otherwise you’re likely to forget them over the coming year and it would be a pity to have to reinvent the wheel!
Part One: How Do You Do Christmas Stress?
Strategies 1 – 10
Whether you’re getting in the car or making changes in your life, there are two critical things you need to figure out, before you start.
• Where do you want to go
• Where are you starting from?We take this for granted when we’re driving. But, believe it or not, most of us forget to do either of these things, before we make changes in our life.
Without figuring out where we are and having a clear idea of where we want to end up, the likelihood of finishing at our dream destination is zero!
So before you start looking at how to de-stress your Christmas, it’s really useful to understand how you actually ‘do’ getting stressed.What is “Christmas stress” in your world?
They say that the best way to learn how to do something is to teach it.
Imagine you had to teach a Martian how to “do” your version of Christmas stress, which steps would they need to go through?
Figuring this out gives you a massive head start on dealing with your stress triggers and having a happier, calmer Christmas.
It helps you focus and make practical changes that will really shift things for you.
So here are 10 simple strategies to help you avoid falling into the “destination nowhere” trap. Once you know what your “Christmas stress habits” are, you can start doing something about them!
Part Two: Finding The Time For Christmas
Strategies 11-24
While I was researching this book, I did a survey, asking people what was stressing them about getting ready for Christmas. The unanimous answer was “Not having enough time to get everything done”.
Of course, there were plenty of other stress sources. But credit crunch or no, most people were stressed about not having enough time.It’s obvious, when you think about it.
No longer is it enough just to give gifts and spend time with those we love.
• Nowadays our Christmas experience is made “easier” by 24/7 internet shopping.
• Our previously-cherished Christmas dinners have been rendered inadequate by a torrent of celebrity chefs who rustle up a 5 course meal for an entire city, without breaking a bead of sweat.
• Add a generous helping of TV programmes and books, reminding us that “artisan-style-home-made gifts” are the only appropriate option for our nearest and dearest and it’s no wonder that we’re feeling time-poor.
The we throw in the usual mix of late nights at Christmas parties and working extra hours, to make up for the Christmas break, and it’s no wonder we’re stressed and exhausted!
The great news is that there are ways to claw back your time – and even make some extra – to reduce your Christmas stress levels.
So this section includes 14 different ways you can juggle life and find more time to fit everything in. Enjoy!
Part Three: Strategies For Staying Sane
Strategies 25 – 50
Christmas has a way of creating stress and drama that few other times of year can manage.
It sends us into super-stress faster than you could wink at a flying bat and keeps us there until long into the New Year.
Sometimes, when we’re stressed, it can be hard to think straight. Even simple tasks can feel as though they’re insurmountable.
So I thought it might be useful to share with you a whopping 28 strategies for staying sane this Christmas.
They are a mixture of physical exercises and simple breathing techniques that you can do in less than five minutes, to help you shift that stress.
And most of them are really quick fixes.
With that many to choose from, there’s bound to be one that’s perfect for you!
Part Four: Presents, Cards & Decorating
Strategies 51 – 63
And now we’re moving into whistle-stop tour mode.
Christmas is nearly upon us and there’s plenty still left to do.
Whether you’re someone who does it all in advance or leaves it all until Christmas Eve, sorting out the practical side of Christmas can be stressful.
So here are 13 fast and effective ways to dump the Christmas stress when it comes to presents, cards and decorating.
Part Five: Christmas Entertaining
Strategies 64 – 73
So your Christmas festivities are here and whether you’re the host or a guest, it can be a stressful time.From how to beat the last-minute supermarket food rush through to how to avoid ‘eating yourself miserable’, these 9 tips provide inspiration to help you keep your cool about Christmas Entertaining.
Part Six: The Big Day
Strategies 74 – 101
It’s the big day and, whether you’re the host or being entertained, there are some great things you can do to make sure the only “bang” in your Christmas festivities comes from the crackers.
These 28 strategies will help you keep your cool, even if family war breaks out in your front room or the roast potatoes turn to cinders.
Practical Inspiration For A Happier Festive Season
Whatever kind of Christmas Stress you’re suffering from, this book brings you the tips, techniques and strategies you need, to help you cut your stress levels fast.
The 101 bite-sized, highly practical ideas are based on sound psychological principles, bucket loads of common sense and a dollop of humour.
You could treat this book as your Christmas stress first aid kit.
Read a free sample or buy your copy now.
About The Author
Clare Josa has been leading seminars and mentoring on the topic of de-stressing your life for over a decade. She is an internationally renowned NLP Trainer, a meditation teacher, a personal mentor, and an energy therapist.
She walks her talk, applying the techniques she teaches on a daily basis, juggling writing, working and being a mum to three wonderful young boys.
Available Formats:
- Paperback – ISBN 978-1-908854-03-2
- Kindle book – ISBN 978-1-908854-00-1