Take the stress out of Christmas book your Polar Express tickets nice and early!

Here are some top tips for surviving the Christmas season. Be sure to get your Polar Express tickets nice and early!

Pre Christmas Day

Start planning early – Christmas events and activities are going on sale earlier each year. For example, tickets for Wensleydale’s Polar Express train ride will be available late spring or early summer for 2020’s trips. Sign up for pre-sales and mailing lists to find out when Polar Express tickets go on sale and make sure you can secure dates you want, particularly if you are planning on attending closer to Christmas. 

Be prepared – if your children are after this year’s must-have Christmas gift, shops are more likely to have stock pre-October and children are less likely to be poking every arriving parcel – preparation is your friend. If you do leave it later, let your local independent shop know what you’re looking for – they may be able to order it in for you, whereas bigger shops get what they are sent. 

Arrange with a friend or family to store presents in advance – this way, if your children decide to peek in your normal present-hiding spots, they won’t run the risk of spoiling their own surprises this includes your Polar Express Tickets.

Make sure your family take a share of responsibility for preparation, cooking etc. – why not put the children on bin bag duties to try and avoid wrapping paper overload? The easiest way to dispose of wrapping paper is in your paper recycling – buying non-foiled or glittery paper and taking the tape off ensures you can fill your paper bin not the landfill. Plus tasking the children with tape removal will delay the cries of “I’m hungry!” 

Take time for yourself – Christmas is a holiday for you too, not just everyone else. Too many of us forget this in the panic and stress. Make plans so that even if you usually cook Christmas dinner yourself, others have responsibility for cleaning up and entertaining the little ones while you wind down. 

Don’t try and do the ‘perfect’ day or compare to other people. Smiling faces are the most important part of Christmas Day, and you’ll have them no matter what! 

Give yourself time off from planning. Try not to rush into the next big event, whether that’s half term or a holiday – use the few days after Christmas to eat lots of cheese and spend some relaxing time together. 

Listen to your children’s reactions and try to figure out what their favourite parts actually were – sometimes this will surprise you. Then next year you know where to focus more effort into! 

January sales are a good way to get presents for those unexpected Christmas Eve visitors. If you have any Christmas budget left, a stockpile of a few generic gifts is never a bad thing and will help you feel more prepared. 

Don’t forget your Polar Express tickets for next year too! Why not sign up to our newsletter for advanced notification!