Yesterday I looked at some of the pressure on couples during the Christmas season and a couple of suggestions for easing the tension. Here are some other suggestions you might want to consider implementing.
Don’t go overboard with gifts. Some people are generous by nature and love to give gifts. I admit I’m a person who loves to buy presents for those I love, so this is something I have to watch. But it can backfire and have a negative effect.
The problem with going overboard is twofold. Firstly, it is not helpful if you spend more than you can afford. That is a sure fire way to add pressure to your marriage over the Christmas period, if you’re then wondering how to pay for it all. You don’t want it to become a major stress just trying then to make the credit card repayments.
Secondly, it can put others under pressure. The last thing you want is to put pressure on other family members or friends, who may not have as much income as you do but then feel under pressure to have to respond in a similar fashion and spend more than they can afford. For this reason many families opt for a secret Santa idea where each person’s name in the family is put in a hat. Then like a lucky dip each person draws out one person’s name to buy for. In this way instead of buying presents for everyone within the family you are just buying for one person. Some families even put a money limit on spending so it does not turn into a competition of one person trying to outdo the other. Others might decide to still buy for the children as per normal but use the secret Santa idea for adults. The problem with this is deciding at what age is the cut off point between child and adult.
Join me next time for more tips for a less stressful Christmas for your marriage.
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