🎄 Christmas 2022 - It’s got to be better! 🎄

[Christmas2022MustBeTheBest]

Greetings everyone,

Obviously this is a first world problem just to say at the start with everything that is going on around the world!

I basically feel I’ve ruined Christmas 2021 for my baby, DH and myself. I’ve got myself into an anxious spiral of doom for a whole week which has been debilitating, I’m exhausted mentally and physically. I was stressed and tired before last weekend but one more thing upset me and just tipped the balance and I’ve been an emotional wreck all week ever since. This follows a year of the biggest high, the arrival of our lovely baby to some awful lows including bereavement, family illness and my MH battles.

Just sitting down for a few minutes before I tackle wrapping up our baby’s presents. The tree isn’t even out of the box yet and the house is a mess. Luckily it is just us 3 today so it’s not the end of the world, plus our baby won’t remember her mum was in a state (thankfully) I know that much. I just put so much pressure on myself and feel utterly deflated and not remotely Christmassy.

DH has done some things to help this week but the help came too late, it’s a recurring problem. It would be a whole other thread to go into DH issues.

Anyway that’s me. I thought I’d start this thread really to give myself and anyone who feels like joining me a prompt for Christmas 2022.

I want things to be different and better.

I want……

To be organised.

To start buying presents much earlier.

To get the Christmas decs up at the beginning of December (controversial I know for some!)

To enjoy the week before Christmas as much as I can and not feel like this next time around.

Lastly and most importantly to enjoy our little one’s excitement and make next Christmas fun and enjoyable for all of us.

There are bound to be loads more things but brain fog is a real issue right now!

Anyone else?

Merry Christmas one and all

UPDATE! My thread sunk without a trace just like our Christmas! I should think the time I posted didn’t help much!

Last call for anyone who had a crap Christmas for whatever reason to join the ‘let’s make Christmas 2022 much better’ bus and we can hopefully encourage each other as we go. 🙌

Aww bless you. I totally understand how you're feeling as I've felt like that in the past, especially the first year of having a baby.

It's really hard to be so organised when you've got a baby so first of all I hope you can keep this Christmas as a nice memory of a first Christmas and you got through it even if it didn't all the things you thought it would.

I remember last year there was a "things you'd do differently next year" thread which was full of notes and ideas that I noted down myself!

I really struggle with Christmas, it seems to get worse every year. My illness gets our of control around this time as well.
I'm organised in the sense I buy all year around. But everything else I wing. Last few years I keep telling myself I'll buy a new Christmas tree as I hate mine. Never do and that seems to bother me a lot. Next year I'm determined to get everything done.

@WrappedInRed - Thank you for your reply, it does help to know other people have been through similar. The thread you mention sounds great. I hope you’ve had a lovely Christmas this year.

@sunshineandrain82 - Thank you for your reply. I am very sorry to hear your illness gets out of control at this time every year, that in itself must be a huge cause of stress. I am going to definitely get more organised like you and start much earlier with buying presents. That seems like a reasonably straight forward thing I can do to cut down on the December panic, but I also want to wrap them much earlier too. Just like you I am determined to get everything I need to do done in good time.
May I make a suggestion? With regards to your wish for a new tree, if your budget allows could you maybe start searching online for a new tree in the sales? If you find what you are looking for it would be a lovely start to next Christmas knowing you have your new tree ready to put up.
I have heard Balsam Hill sells lovely trees and they have a clearance sale on now, just a thought