With all the jovialities of the festive season, we hope that everything goes smoothly and without a hitch for you this year. There are some nightmare situations that can happen over Christmas though (some we even create ourselves!), so here is our essential guide to surviving nightmare Christmas Situations:
Karen Meager
You make a fool of yourself at the Christmas Party
It happens, you've had too much to drink and have made a fool of yourself at the Christmas Party. You wake up the next morning and feel like you can NEVER go to work EVER again. This is a bad situation but it is survivable. First consider did you actually cause any harm to anyone else or just yourself? If you've done something that doesn't really affect other people and just makes you look bad then consider carefully before saying anything about it at all. Often people are so embarrassed about what they've done that they then take up an inordinate amount of airtime telling people about it to make themselves feel better. This just makes it worse because people are more likely to remember (and make judgment). Don't explain or justify it to other people, as that will just flame gossip. Most of all though, learn your lesson and don't let it become a pattern and your reputation can stay in tact.
Uninvited Guests just 'drop in'
We've all had the situation where we've just put our feet up in our PJs and there's a knock at the door. Someone is 'doing the rounds'! Depending on how you feel about your uninvited guests there are a number of ways to respond:
- If you are genuinely delighted to see them then stay in your PJs, pop the kettle on and pull out the plate of cold turkey and some left over Stilton! Real friends don't care and won't feel awkward about it.
- If you want to get rid of people as quickly as possible try to teach them that popping in really a good idea and hopefully they won't do it again! Be polite and friendly but not excited or delighted. Choose you words carefully, don't 'thank them for popping round' but instead you might say 'it's lovely to see you we will have to organise something properly next time'. You should also have some excuses ready at hand- someone's having an early night, we've got an early start in the morning- be as creative as you dare but do think about the consequences for the relationship of refusing to let them in, people can bear grudges on this kind of thing for a lifetime.
Arguments, huffs and strops
It's not always like a scene from Eastenders but arguments are a common feature of families at Christmas. You get a bunch of people together who might not spend a lot of time together normally, in a confined environment, for a prolonged period of time and there are likely to be heated moments. Try not to take sides (even if you want to), as this will only add to the argument. Distracting people when they are getting edgy by suggesting a game or taking one of them off to to the kitchen to 'help' you with something is a great way of removing the stress. You could also work with the most resourceful person in the conflict. Talk to the person who seems to be the most reasonable as they have a better chance of changing their approach, it might not be fair but it is the best solution
Remember that in a big scheme of things, these things are not that important, the real nightmare of Christmas is for people who are lonely, in poverty or terrible living conditions. Most of us have it good so do your best to rise above nightmare situations and see the lighter side this Christmas
About the Author
Karen Meager is a training design guru, the founder of Monkey Puzzle Training and Consultancy, and co author of award winning book 'Real Leaders for the Real World' (£12.99, Panoma Press) Karen has used her business and human psychology expertise to create leading edge training programmes that deliver both the business needs and individual personal development that we all need.
