Are you full of the festive spirit, gayly singing carols, wrapping prezzies and bestowing joy to all and sundry? Or are you sick to death of Christmas already and it hasn’t even come yet? Are you stressed out by all the demands on your pocket and time? Are you counting the days till normality returns and you can wipe that silly smile off your face?

Christmas and all it’s almost enforced jollity affects us all in different ways. I used to be such a huge fan of Christmas and got right into every aspect, crafting away and creating the perfect festive look, taste and experience for all around me. Hell I even wrote a book on the subject, So Easy Christmas. But it can be a difficult time and I will admit here and now that I struggle at this time of year on a number of fronts. In recent years I have lost both of my parents in November/December, I have an ongoing battle with depression that gets worse in the dark winter months due to S.A.D. and when you add those to the everyday stresses of modern life it can make for an unhealthy and unpalatable cocktail that you’d really rather toss out that have to drink on a day to day basis.

There are SO many reasons for people to feel stressed or unhappy at this time of year and it does not help that at the slightest sign of a wobble or drop in the smile everyone treats you as if you had personally lifted an axe and threatened to kill Santa.

I asked my blogging friends for some good hints, tips and ideas for Coping With Christmas, everything from serious articles on dealing with infertility at this time of year when everything is so child orientated, providing food for friends with food allergies to dealing with over excited kids. We have great ideas for recipes that are quick and easy too and hints for gifting and decorating and all things in between. All in all if you add up all the separate lists for top tens and 50 recipes etc we have over 100 hints and tips here for you.

Read on and drift around the blogosphere gathering all the information you need to help you cope with Christmas this year.

Stresses And Strains

10 Tips For Surviving Christmas from Larder Love

Here is Authentic Parenting on dealing with infertility at Christmas

Hybrid Rasta Mama on helping children appreciate the season and cope with it all

Authentic Parenting on how to deal with family conflict during the holidays

Making meaningful holiday traditions from Simple Clean Living

Keeping stress at bay from Authentic Parenting

Home And Health

Hybrid Rasta Mama with a gemstone cure

Natural hangover cures from Real Food Whole Health

Tummy tamer spritzer from Jar O’Honey

Christmas crisis kit for home and health by Larder Love

Getting Crafty

Tin can mini lantern ornaments from Larder Love

Natural glitzy Christmas orange ornaments from Larder Love

Making paper snowballs by Larder Love

Frosted fruit from Larder Love

Gifting And Giving

The Mother Tribe on gift giving

Wrapping and packaging food gifts from Gnowfglins

Easy storecupboard beauty gift ideas from Larder Love

Fabulously festively Food

Sage rubbed turkey from A Happy Healthnut

Christmas cranberry curd by Larder Love

A fabulous healthy breakfast idea from Wholefoods On A Budget

Last minute Christmas cake from Larder Love

From Simple Clean Living are chocolate drizzled coconut macaroons

Peppermint Christmas Chocolates from Real Food Outlaws

Paleo hot chocolate from My Heart Beets

Gingerbread husbands by Larder Love

From Gourmand In The Kitchen we have 50 gluten free and grain free desserts and sweets

Clementines in brandy from Larder Love

Hot chocolate jars from Ever Growning Farm

Paleo eggnog recipe from My Heart Beets

Very merry mincemeat from Larder Love

Creating a romantic indoor picnic with pecan pesto spread from Black Fox Homestead

How to make Merry Kiss-Mouse sugar mice from Larder Love

I hope you will cope with Christmas this year. That the prezzies that you make or buy will be much appreciated. That your Christmas cooking will go without hitch and taste just as good as you hope it will. That you will be with those you love and feel love in your heart, and most of all that wherever you are and whatever you are doing you are just being YOU and enjoying Christmas as you want and not as you feel everyone else thinks you should.

Merry Christmas!

love

Karon x

PS HUGE thanks to all the amazing bloggers who have made this post possible.