Christmas like the Duchess

For all you Americans, Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas season begins – for us in the UK, all of the shops seem think Christmas began three months ago, I digress however – and I feel that now it’s just a two days until December, we can now all allow ourselves to get that little bit more Christmassy and have it be acceptable.

With the Christmas season comes parties, drinks, and work dinners with colleagues, and you’ve probably heard a few stories in your time of people embarrassing themselves whilst behaving in a slightly less professional way than they would in the office environment. I’ve no idea whether this is solely a British thing but office parties frequently go a little but further than first thought. Of course, depending on your fellow colleagues this could be an excellent time to bond and create a proper team, but if your team isn’t so welcoming of such behaviour, you could find yourself with a few stern looks the following Monday.

When going out, make sure you’re wearing an outfit which you feel completely comfortable in – you’ll carry it off with a lot more confidence and you’ll look comfortable & open. One of the most important things I think about Christmas do’s is knowing your (alcohol) limits. Having a few drinks is fine and will help you get comfortable in your surroundings, but I’d advise not taking it so far that you end up in a compromising situation – see previous paragraph.

Wear some great underwear. You’ll feel amazing.

The Christmas season in general can be a stressful time, what with present-buying, outfit planning, meal-deciding etc, and then you have people around you, maybe even yourself, stressing over their figure with the amount of pounds that they may or may not (probably won’t) put on over the period.

I see Kate as being a very organised person, not in a controlling way, but somebody who quietly knows what should be happening and what needs doing. How about at the beginning of December you make a list of everybody you need to buy things for and ask these people what they want – it’s much easier to go shopping with a plan, and make sure you allow time for online orders to come through – you don’t want to be sat waiting on the 24th December and panicking! Next is planning – if you’ve volunteered (or been delegated) to take charge of the food at some point during the day, then make sure you know what you’re doing. If somebody offers to help wash up and chop up some vegetables, let them take some weight and pressure off your shoulders. Make time for a cup of tea – this falls into the relaxation zone and it’s important. Taking ten or twenty minutes to gather your thoughts and reorganise your brain for a moment will calm you down.

Most importantly, remember the spirit of Christmas and what it’s about. It shouldn’t cause you to get so stressed that all you want to do is let the ground swallow you up. You should be having fun and enjoying the festive season, taking it all in your stride as if you’ve been doing it this way for years.