Advent Day 4: The Parties Begin!

The first Christmas party of the season is always a bit of a test, isn't it?

Everyone's excited, the drinks are flowing freely, and there's an unspoken pressure to join in: to be fun, to be festive, to prove you're not boring just because you're being sensible.

“One of us, one of us.”

But go hard on night one, and you could be setting yourself up for a hard time for the rest of the season.

You can absolutely enjoy the party, have brilliant conversations, dance badly to Wham, screech along with Mariah, and wake up tomorrow without regret.

You just need a plan. Not a rigid, joyless set of unwavering rules but a smart, supportive set of guidelines that lets you be present, have fun, and still respect the version of yourself who'll have to be up at 6am tomorrow with the kids.