While I love Christmas, I can totally accept that not everyone gets as excited as I do.
When you don't feel festive, there is nothing worse than being in the company of someone who is, however, when you do feel festive and are enjoying the activities that Christmas brings, there is nothing worse than someone who is not enjoying it being determined to ensure that no one else does either.
It's totally fine not to feel Christmas spirited, but that doesn't make it okay to be mean spirited.
Almost everyone is familiar with A Christmas Carol, there have been so many versions of it...my favourites are Muppet Christmas Carol and Catherine Tate's 'Nan's Christmas Carol'
It follows the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, a grumpy unpleasant man with no time for Christmas or kindness and a disdain for those who don't think like him.
He's visited by three ghosts, each one focusing on a different time in his life, the past, the present and the future and what could become of him if he doesn't learn to thaw the icy feelings he has towards Christmas and towards others.
It's easy to refer to someone as a Scrooge at Christmas when they aren't as chipper as we feel they ought to be,with Scrooge though, it just so happened that it all came to a head at Christmas....that was his demeanor all year round.
Here are my top tips for dealing with a Scrooge - at Christmas...and beyond.
Let it go over your head
It's easier said than done, particularly if, like me, you have a low tolerance for crap. Put it into perspective - will this person's actions or words have a direct impact on me? Is this really worth space in my head?
I recently reviewed 'The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F***' by Sarah Knight which highlights this process of deciding whether or not its important enough to merit a place in your thoughts.
Bite your tongue
I'm not great at this one, but where possible, if you can avoid retaliating during a particularly difficult moment, such as when rudeness occurs, you will find it much easier to be calm. 0
If you are faced with rudeness, bring your your manners in full force and show them how this being a decent human being lark is done.
Have a safe face
We've all got that person....that one human we can turn to at any given moment and exchange nothing but a glance and instantly know what the other is thinking.
A safe face can be great for being able to release so much of what you want to say without having to actually lose your temper or retaliate.
Speak your mind
This contradicts from the first two...I know.
There are times where you do just have to say something, particularly when faced with rudeness.
The key is to do so without succumbing to rudeness in return and lead by example.
The words and actions of someone else do not have to make you less.
As you can see in today's photo - I'm officially getting closer to putting my tree up....its still in the box but it made it into my room! Yay!
