Keeping it simple and 5 other life-changing hacks to ease the mental load of Christmas.

Okay, I know it’s dorky, but I’m just going to be straight with you: I’m a Christmas person.  

I get it from my dad. His family’s from Canada, and they mean business when it comes to Christmas day. I’m talking the whole nine yards – deep fried turkeys, six different desserts and a mountain of presents for the kiddos. 

To me, Christmas has always had such a magical quality, seamlessly moving from gift-opening to backyard cricket, to course after course of scrumptious food (at least it looked like magic when I wasn’t the one in charge of it all). 

Now that I’m a bona fide grown-up, capable of hosting my very own Christmas, I’ve picked up a trick or two to make sure I don’t crumble under the pressure like a poorly constructed gingerbread house. I’ve found that with a bit of planning, you can have your Christmas cake and eat it too! 

So here are my top tips for keeping the day merry and bright.

Keep it simple.

The great thing about Christmas is that the magic is kind of built into the day. The joy is in being together, sharing the highs and lows of the last year and, lucky for us in Australia, enjoying a long (hopefully) warm day filled with that ineffable delight of summer. 

So don’t overthink it. Pick one or two simple activities like backyard cricket, a visit to the beach, a simple board game or a Finska tournament and set them up for when people feel like having a play. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy a beautiful meal in the sun with the ones you love. 

Work smarter, not harder.

Got a cousin who fancies himself an amateur DJ? Perfect! Lock him in as the Christmas day vibe coordinator.

The right playlist just brings everything up a notch, so assign someone with great music taste the task of creating the perfect Christmas playlist and let the good times roll. 

Keep the Christ-mess to a minimum.

This is all about going in prepared. Know you’re going to need them, and then have the cleaning supplies on hand. 

Maybe leave some spot cleaner near the couch for when uncle Bob’s boisterous chuckle causes his red wine to take a dive overboard and leave a pack of wet wipes in a few strategic corners.

For the big stuff, Godfreys has a pretty standout product range to keep you on top of the pre and post festive season to-do list.

My favourites? The Tineco PURE ONE X Stick Vacuum and the Hoover Dual Steam Plus Steam Mop. Both convert into handheld versions of themselves which makes them super easy to use. The nifty Ecovacs DEEBOT X1 Plus Robot Vacuum & Mop, which doubles as two products in one, is another fave. All three are super handy devices to have on hand to get yourself (and your house) ready for Christmas and if you don't have them, I'll wait here while you add it to your Christmas list.

When it comes to lunch, everyone pitches in. 

When family asks “what can I bring?”, don’t just tell them their presence is present enough. People understand that it’s a big ask catering for a group of people, and they appreciate you taking the hosting duties off their hands.

Let each couple or family bring a simple element to contribute to the meal and watch your workload reduce, and your table fill up with an eclectic mix of delicacies. Make it a self-serve buffet so everyone can have a taste of each thing, and if you’re lucky enough to have a group of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, ask everyone to bring something they love to eat from home and start some new traditions.

Image: Supplied

For the elements you’re in charge of, try to choose things you can cook in the days leading up so that you’re simply throwing it all together on the day. Easy peasy. 

Stock up on essentials. 

This one might sound unimportant, but warm beers at an Aussie Christmas simply will not fly. Pop your drinks on ice at least four hours before guests arrive, and make sure you’ve got somebody who can do a second ice-run half-way through the day. 

A good way to do it is to ask anyone who is coming late from another celebration to bring a bag with them.

Embrace the Christmas chaos.

Generally speaking, there’s very little that can wobble my abiding love for Christmas day. Rain predicted? We’ll sip cocktails on the balcony and watch the summer storm roll in. Extended fam can’t make it? We’ll video call them and just make our smaller family Christmas extra special!

But all the excitement can be swiftly stamped out by the anticipation of my house being turned upside down by Christmas cheer, and less thrillingly, Christmas mess. 

Image: Supplied

The best way I’ve found to combat the boxing day blues is to do a big house and garden clean-up in the days leading up to Christmas. If you start off with a super clean house, the most you’ll have to do in the aftermath is a big tidy up, and multiple trips to try and stash your overflow recycling into your neighbours’ wheely bins.

Get your Christmas to-do list sorted by shopping Godfreys extensive range of cleaning appliances. 

Feature Image: Supplied.