If there were such a thing as a reservoir of grace, many of us would be repeatedly lowering buckets into it over Christmas months. One bucket to steady ourselves for lunch with difficult relatives, colleagues and random ring-ins. A dozen more to steel ourselves against a sense of isolation, financial constraint or the sadness that can descend on the imperfect days where Instagram tells us perfect families frolic on the beach and sit happily around tables groaning with food.
Thanks to my carol-singing, angel-loving and ever-calm mother, I’ve always loved Christmas – the sparkle and kitsch, the carols and candles, the board games, the giving and the joy. But it’s also a time of reckoning, and exhaustion.
According to Relationships Australia, Christmas is considered to be one of the most stressful life events, along with divorce, moving house and changing
