EMBRACE THE INSANITY

Deck the halls with gum leaves, hang pine cones from the rafters. Take away the stress, bring back loads of laughter!

Dear readers it is almost that time of the year again. Christmas is on our doorstep.

And while I am an advocate of the silly season, it also looms for many of us on the horizon as a time of high stress and anxiety.

First of all, it’s usually a lot of people under one roof. Who are not normally under said roof all together.

That’s an instant recipe to test our nerves, tolerance and dispositions.

Why does your uncle chew that loudly? Do your sister’s children have to shoot water guns in the hallway? Did there really have to be three versions of the same salad in a fridge already short on space?

It’s a testing time to say the least. But when you stop to think about it, it’s actually a privilege to be driven mad by your loved ones.

And it’s a privilege we may not always be lucky enough to have.

So, this Christmas I challenge you to find your zen.

Spike the punch, go for a walk around the block every hour, play your favourite song in the car before you walk through the front door into all that madness…. do whatever you have to do to make sure you yourself are great company.

Because, at the end of the day, Christmas is all about cramming all the people we love into one fabulous pressure cooker of chaos, food, stories, love and drama.

Happy Christmas everyone.

This will be my last column for Style

Magazine, and it’s been a real pleasure writing for you over the past year.

Have a fantastic break and enjoy the many future editions of Style Magazine to come!

My best, Lisa.