Brought to you by Bord Gáis Energy.
Remember the magical Santa visits, delicious Christmas dinners and twinkly festive decorations of your childhood?
Those were the days; an innocent, carefree time when you had absolutely no idea that your mum or dad was working tirelessly behind the scenes to make everything picture perfect.
These days however, there’s been a bit of a switcheroo; suddenly YOU’RE that responsible adult, the parent pulling all the strings… and it’s a little more intense than it used to be back in the good old days.
Whether it’s your first Christmas in the hot seat or you’re firmly in the swing of things after a few years as Managing Director at Santa HQ, here are six feelings you’ll relate to as the big day dawns…
1. Sheer exhaustion
The clock says 4:15am (you only wrapped the last present at 2:15am as you finished off the mulled wine) yet three children wearing Christmas pyjamas and Chesire Cat grins are already bouncing on your bed in the dark screaming “SANTA WAS HERE!”
Resistance is futile. You can distract them by diverting their attention to the stocking full of sugar treats at the end of their beds but this will only buy you an extra ten minutes at most.
2. Acceptance
You were a child once too, therefore you understand; there is no ‘going back to sleep’ on the morning of December 25th. Pull on your cosiest bathrobe and novelty slippers and trundle down the stairs along with the stampede, where litres of lovely hot coffee are waiting. If you can’t beat ’em…
3. Glee
There’s only one thing more exciting than being a kid at Christmas… and that’s being a parent at Christmas. Once you experience it, we guarantee; you wouldn’t swap that feeling for the world. Watching as their little hands decimate metres of colourful wrapping paper to reveal the prize of their dreams underneath is as close as it comes to real magic.
Somehow those reactions make all the expense and Christmas shopping stress completely worth it. Even that time you may or may not have had a minor physical scuffle with another mum over the last Paw Patrol Sea Patroller.
4. Mystery
Once the presents have been unwrapped, there’s the mystery of who ate the carrot left out for Rudolph and who scoffed Santa’s cookies to solve. Watching the sheer disbelief on a small child’s face as they examine a reindeer-nibbled vegetable is nothing short of enchanting.
Extra points for parents who created icing sugar footprints from the chimney to the kitchen…
5. Fear
In some ways, the 4:15am wake-up call was ideal, given the vast amount of Christmas dinner prep to be done. With a trusty list of turkey timings and stuffing recipes stuck to the fridge, all that’s left to do is fire up the oven, pop the kettle on and open up a selection box; trust us, you’ll need the sugar.
6. Acceptance
Sure, expectations are high and the pressure to pull off a perfect five-course gourmet dinner for ten of your nearest and dearest is mounting by the hour, but you’re only one person. Do yourself a favour and accept (early in the day ideally) that your best is good enough.
For instance, calmly place the burnt Brussels sprouts in the garden, pot and all. Return to kitchen and open the Prosecco.
Enlisting the help of your very own band of elves should make the going a little smoother too; have your little team tidy up the wrapping paper and set the table.
And don’t forget to take a break to watch It’s A Wonderful Life.
Switching things up can make a world of difference, especially when it comes to shopping around for your utilities. Bord Gáis Energy have an incredible Christmas offer for new customers.
Switch to them for electricity and you’ll receive 10% off your electricity and €175 cash back. See the website for more details.
