I went to the supermarket this morning and yes, the madness of the week before Christmas is well and truly underway! Queues to enter the carpark, kids on holidays, repetitive Christmas carols playing overhead. OK that last one was a little bah humbuggy. To get you through the worst of the silly season, here are some survival tips for staying organised and in control.

Remember Perfection is Unrealistic    

If you're enjoying time with your family and friends, relaxing and making the most of the festive season then a perfect, neat and tidy home is completely unrealistic. Which would you rather? If you're stressed out and nagging every time someone leaves something out, then noone is going to have any fun, least of all you.

The 10 minute tidy up

This is a great habit to create at any time of the year, spend 10 minutes each morning and/or evening doing a speedy tidy up and put everything away where it should go. It's important to not go over the 10 minutes so that the next day you're not tempted to skip it. If you know it's not going to take a chunk out of your day, only 10 minutes, you're more likely to stick to that routine. It's amazing what you can achieve in that space of time, especially if you make a game of it to see how much you can get done. Get the whole family to play!  

Making a List, and Checking it Twice

This is an oldie but a goodie. You may already have a list of Christmas cards sent, and gifts to buy, but don't forget to make a list of everything you want to get done, especially in this last week. It doesn't matter if it's in a fancy app on your smartphone, in a paper diary or the back of an envelope. It takes away the confusion, it's all there in front of you and then you can even try to get a bit done each day so that you're not rushing around at the last minute super stressed.

Enjoy!

Hopefully you're lucky enough to get at least a few days off work over this holiday period. And yes there may be some crazy days in the lead up but just try to remember why we do it. So that on Christmas Day we can all sit down and eat good food, give each other gifts to show we care and reflect on the year just gone and what might be ahead in 2013. Boxing Day is one of my favourite days, because noone has anywhere they have to be, everyone is happy to eat leftovers from the day before and there's usually a game of beach cricket and a swim involved with my family all still around me. 

So Enjoy! Because it only happens once a year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU, from Nerin