Welcome to the silly season…

It’s the first of December and the craziness is about to begin. I’ve got list upon list of things I need to do – jobs for school…jobs for kindy…Christmas shopping…jobs for the business…Christmas concerts….work do…parade prep….a 2 day market to get ready for….people to buy presents for…it all gets a bit overwhelming! I can safely guess that most people have similar lists.

This time of year is just nuts. I often think that we’ve got it completely topsy-turvy down here in the Southern Hemisphere. There is something a bit rushed about our summer holidays – having Christmas and New Years in the midst means that there’s only about a month of the holidays left once that is all out of the way, and it all seems to go too fast. To have a big summer break in the middle of the year, and a smaller break for Christmas and New Years (not to mention a white Christmas) just seems a much less pressured way to do things. All the ‘end of the school year’ stuff gets muddled with all the ‘Christmas prep’ stuff and time is WAY too limited to get it all done. I feel busy at the best of times…December just about does me in.

I put the pressure on myself though – I could say no to half the jobs I agree to. I could probably get the Christmas shopping done in half the time if I didn’t work to find the ‘perfect’ gift for everyone (although there’s usually at least one person who I find impossible to buy for and end up getting gift desperation and buying the most strange, random gift possible – gnomes and books on cooking fish spring to mind). I absolutely love Christmas, and I adore the summer holidays – it’s just a shame that by the time they come around, I’m exhausted!

So – what are your tips to keep sane at this time of the year?