me time How to enjoy Christmas Its easy to be overwhelmed by all the festivities and coming and goings at Christmas, so check out our guide to enjoying the season the stress-free way words: JulIette WIllS hosting at your house Despite three chronic conditions, Ive (rather foolishly) hosted Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Eve dinners for my family, three years in a row. Not only that, but I would rustle up three-course MasterChef-worthy dinners with everything made from scratch. ByJanuary, I would crash and burn witha fierce flareup of my arthritis. So check out these tips if its your turn to host this year. try a mocKtaIl Ask your guests to bring a dish to complement your menu Whether its bringing homemade coleslaw for Boxing Day, cranberry sauce and Christmas pudding for Christmas dinner, or a ready-cooked joint of ham, just ask. Relatives may also help with preparation, such as chopping and peeling vegetables, if they arrive early enough. Invest in an electric jar opener and a mandolin perfect for slicing veg with minimal effort. Lots of things can be made in advance and frozen, such as cranberry sauce, bread sauce, biscuits and mince pies. I make and then freeze cinnamon cookie mix in long rolls. If someone is coming over, I whip out the roll, then slice and bake my cookies with minimum effort. Order everything online and plan, plan, plan! Who wants to go to the supermarket just before Christmas? No thanks! Book an online shopping slot for your groceries as early as possible, and gradually add to your order. Clear out the fridge and get a friend round on delivery day to help you put it all away. Write out your menus and a timing plan, and make sure you have allocated jobs and factored in time to rest between each task. And buy a couple of back-up dishes and freeze them in case you dont feel well enough to make something. if youre visiting relatives This can sometimes mean excited children running around, so ask in advance if you can take a 30-minute nap during the afternoon, if youre going to be there for a while. Your host should be able to quieten the children while you recharge your batteries. If youre going for Christmas dinner and you know youll be sitting at the table for a long time, dont be afraid to ask if your hosts chairs have padded seats and, if not, borrow a couple of cushions to make yourself more comfortable. Its often easier to ask this in advance just to set your mind at rest. I often joke about going out with a cushion taped to my bottom to make things easier! if youre going to a restaurant... Restaurant chairs are a real gamble. Theyre usually unpadded, and just 10 minutes on one is enough to cause back pain in some people with arthritis. Phone ahead and tell the restaurant that you have arthritis, and ask if there is a section of seating that is more comfortable than another, such as a bench seat or booth, and reserve that. If not, ask if the chairs are padded, and bring a cushion along with you. I usually walk in waving my cushion aloft and saying: Im the cushion lady! to make a joke out of it. Youll usually find that the manager will be keen to do anything that makes your time there more enjoyable, so just go with it. If you have any dietary requirements, call or email the restaurant well in advance. It might be tricky to arrange meal substitutes for a set Christmas menu, but its worth a try. But if theres something you really cant eat, dont stress about it. Just enjoy what you can and make a mental note to have a snack when you get home. Unless youre allergic to or intolerant of an ingredient, Id advise just going with the flow rather than making things awkward for yourself just because you would usually avoid something. Remember, its only one day normal service can be resumed on the other 364. make Christmas shopping easy You can buy nearly everything online these days, from food to electrical gadgets, so why traipse the streets with painful joints when you can make yourself a cup of tea and order presents for all your friends and family from your living room? Better still, choose the gift-wrapping option at the checkout stage and have the gift sent direct to the recipient, as that saves you carrying it to them or trekking to the post office. And dont forget to drop them a line to let them know a parcel is on its way. Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) provides a gift-wrapping service. Etsy (www. etsy.com/uk) is also a good place to find handmade presents, and they always come beautifully wrapped. If you do have to wrap presents yourself, rather than fight with sticky tape and rolls of paper when your hands hurt, look on eBay or in craft shops for cotton or muslin bags and tie a pretty, festive ribbon around the top to secure it or get someone to tie it for you. You can also buy peel-off stickers, along with self-seal wrapping paper. Another good tip is to buy some pretty, second-hand chiffon or cotton scarves from a charity shop and wrap your presents in those. Fancy a cocktail but without the alcohol? then try this! chaI FIzz 100g sugar 110ml fresh lime juice 285ml sparkling water 4 whole star anise pods 4 lemon zest twists 2 chai tea bags combine the tea bags and a cup of boiling water in a small bowl; cover and leave for 8-10 minutes. add the sugar and stir to dissolve. discard tea bags and let cool. stir chai syrup and lime juice in a pitcher to combine. divide among four glasses filled with ice and add 2-3 fl oz club soda to each. Finish it off by garnishing with anise pods and lemon twists.