WHERE TO BEGIN: YOUR CHRISTMAS PREPARATION

Christmas isn’t all excitement and happiness to begin with, though. We can’t forget the Christmas rush and flurry… It’s so much hype for just one day! And the best thing about Christmas isn’t the food (although delicious glazed ham is a nice second-best!) or the presents… It’s the presence. Having all of your loved ones together, and spending time together… Call me cheesy, but that is what really makes Christmas special.

Until we reach these happy moments, however, it is important to note that there is a lot of stuff to sort out beforehand, and this is often coupled with a bit of stress. And we don’t really like to talk about the stressful bits, right? But sometimes it’s good to look at how we can make the weeks pre-Christmas easier on ourselves, and give ourselves a bit of love in this time as well.

So, just in case you needed a reminder before you begin your Christmas shopping; slow down, take a big breath, prepare to be prepared, and remind yourself what the true meaning of Christmas really is. How important are the little things?

The first step to feeling less stressed is by planning some time out to get organised! Set aside a morning for you, treat yourself to a large coffee or sweet smoothie, get a budget-friendly cute notebook or shopping list, and get your worries out of your head and onto the page. Lists are a crucial component to any easy, less-stressed festive season. If you enjoy having nice stationery, these lists are bound to boost your mood and your accessories game!

1. Noted Marble shopping list from Whitcoulls | 2. Noted Marble To Do list from Whitcoulls | 3. Strawberry lush smoothie from Tank

We’ll let you in on a little secret – our quietest times to visit at this time of year! It’s no secret that shopping centres are busy places at this time of the year, so we have some wisdom to impart about ours. Grab that list, your new mindset and pop in on Monday or Tuesday morning between 9am – 10am, or on our late nights for the quietest time to visit. We’ll also have a gift wrapping booth in our centre, where you can get your gifts wrapped for a gold coin donation to charity, saving you time to buy giftwrap and so you don’t have to do it yourself at home! We’ll have more information on the times and dates of the wrapping station next week. More preparation = more accomplishments, and less people = less stress!

We’ll have a gift wrapping station for you soon!

Don’t leave your food shopping trips to the last minute! Sharing a meal with our loved ones is a key element of what makes Christmas special, but nothing is more stressful than forgetting a key element, like the cranberry sauce, for example! Know how many people you’re preparing food for and know exactly what you need to get with Countdown’s easy Christmas meal ideas (pick up a flyer in-store or online). You can even pre-order your turkey and ham for easy pick up on your chosen shopping day!

If you’re organised on the gift ideas front, it’s great to have on hand a list of items for those people that have everything, those you mightn’t know so well, or those that are generally hard to buy for. We reckon the BEST present is the gift of choice – one of our gift cards! You can load one of our gift cards from $10 – $1000, and these can be easily purchased from our customer service desk. Or, Countdown has the goods once again, because who doesn’t love a good bottle of something bubbly!

And don’t forget to top off the gifts! Grab a multipack of Christmas cards which you can use for every gift that pops up, saving yourself time and money.

1. Kiwi Property Christmas gift card | 2. Moet & Chandon from Countdown | 3. Joy gift card multipack labels from Whitcoulls

Remember also we have an amazing customer service team who’re here to help you! Feel free to call us with any queries, otherwise you can get in touch with us on our Facebook page!

Step back, take a breath and start getting excited about Christmas!