If you’re struggling to stay calm because of how much you’re juggling, take a moment to create a priorities list. This should help you to feel more in control of everything that’s going on and stop you from having extra responsibilities piled on your plate at the last minute.

“If you are someone who gets overwhelmed or easily stressed, making a list is a good idea,” Thomas says. “Try to break each task down and get other family members to help if they can, rather than taking on all the responsibility yourself. This should help you to feel more in control of all the demands and overwhelm of the festive period.”

A good priorities list doesn’t need to be complicated – it just needs to give you clarity over the main tasks you’re responsible for and the ones that need to get done. For example, having enough food to cater for friends and family might be essential, but popping out to get that special bottle of wine your aunt loves probably isn’t. If you’ve got time, you can do those non-essential things, but a priorities list will give you more breathing space to start with.

Writing it down on a piece of paper as opposed to keeping it in your head will also help you to sort through everything that’s going on upstairs.

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