Although it only comes around for one day a year, there’s so much more to Christmas than giving presents on December 25^th, and preparations need to start well in advance if you’re to make sure you’re fully prepared for the festive season.

This means getting the kids’ presents sorted as early as possible (unless you actually like the idea of a Jingle All The Way-style Christmas Eve), as well as making sure the turkey’s been ordered, the tree is in hand, and the cards have been popped in the post with plenty of time to spare. In between all that, you somehow need to make sure you’re all set for the party season too.

If you’re going to be entertaining at home this festive period, you also need to make sure your house is in order. And, as there’s no time like the present, just follow these simple steps to help prepare your home for Christmas.

Have a clear out

Christmas brings clutter – from decorations to presents to wine bottles, your house accumulates more stuff over Christmas than at any other time of the year, so it makes sense to have a clear out before the festivities begin.

Take a walk around the house and work out which items you can pack away and which ones you can throw away. And try not to be too sentimental, if there are things in cupboards that haven’t seen the light of day for months or even years, don’t be afraid to throw them out.

If you could do with a new vacuum cleaner to help with the cleaning, the Shark Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner offers unparalleled cord-free cleaning on carpets and hard floors. If you don’t want to spend the time vacuuming, the Coredy Robot Vacuum Cleaner can do all the hard work for you – it even lets you schedule and customize cleaning preferences from its remote control, with vacuum and wet/dry mop combo options for a brilliant cleaning.

Organise your kitchen

If you’re entertaining at home, you’ll no doubt be doing a lot of cooking, which means you’ll need your kitchen to be spick and span and make essential kitchen tools, utensils, and cookware are thoroughly clean and within easy reach.

If your kitchen cupboards are a bit of a mess, try and clear things up with an Icoco adjustable and extendable shelf organising storage tidy, and keep the sink area organised with an Oriware utensil holder and draining pan.

Then check the oven, stove, microwave, food processor, and dishwasher are all working properly, and repair or replace them where necessary. If you need an extra hand with the cooking, an Andrew James Halogen Oven is perfect for cooking meat, especially chicken, and could free up the main oven for the turkey, if you’re cooking more than one type of meat.

It’s also worth having a clear out of the fridge and freezer, to make room for the extra food and drink you’ll be getting in for Christmas.

Arrange the celebration space

Every house has its preferred spot for the tree and presents, but if you’re going to be entertaining this Christmas, you might want to shift things around for a larger celebration space. Work out which is the best room in the house for guests to socialise in, and make that the centre-point of your Christmas celebrations. And don’t be afraid to rearrange, replace, or remove furniture, either temporarily or permanently, this can all be part of your pre-Christmas clear-out. If you love the idea of a real Christmas tree, but don’t fancy the falling pine needles or the post-Christmas disposal, why not buy and artificial pine tree, then blitz it with a spritz of Aroma Mist Christmas Tree room spray?

Then complete the ambience with a couple of Yankee Candle Classic Perfect Tree jars and a set of Ollny LED Window Curtain String Lights Icicle Fairy Decorative Lights.

Then sit back, relax and enjoy everything the festive season has to offer.

How much over-indulging have you got planned for Christmas this year? Even if last year’s festivities provided a massive ‘never again’ moment, the same temptations will be there this year and lead to the same guilt-laden New Year health kick.

So, why not get your health kick going before the party season gets into full swing?

Why you should start your health kick now

Christmas is famously known as ‘the most wonderful time of the year’, but it’s also one of the most stressful, especially for women – an Ipsos MORI poll reveals that over a quarter (27%) of women feel stressed about Christmas preparations, compared to just over one-in-ten (14%) men.

Getting all your Christmas preparation done early is an obvious way to cut your festive stress levels, but getting all the presents and food in before the real rush begins is easier said than done, not least because of the cost involved.

So it could be time to turn to physical activity – exercise produce endorphins, chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers and stress relief, and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress.

If you get into a regular exercising routine now, this can help you switch off from the work and social stresses of Christmas, and help to dramatically cut your stress levels.

If you’re planning on leaving your health until the New Year, you’re basically giving yourself a free pass to overindulge in December, but being in an active routine when the party season starts should help give you the extra will power to turn down that extra mince pie, or and cut down you alcohol intake (at least swapping that glass of wine for a slim line G&T).

So, with that in mind, here’s how to start your New Year health kick before Christmas…

Top tips to get your New Year health kick started early

If you want to help cut your Christmas stress levels, as well as feel good and look fabulous for the Christmas party season, check out our top tips…

Find your motivation

Motivation is arguably the toughest part of any exercise regime, but nailing down your motivation from the start will help keep you going when physical activity is the last thing you want to do. Your motivation could be anything, from better mental health, to a better feeling of physical well-being or a better body image – it’s your motivation, so use whatever keeps you going.

If you struggle with motivation, it could be time to turn to tech to help you along – a fitness tracker is a great way to keep tabs on your basic daily activities and the effectiveness of your workouts. If you’re on a budget, you can pick up a Lintelek Fitness Tracker for just £25 on Amazon, or if you want to go all-in, the Fitbit Charge 3 Advanced Health & Fitness Tracker is available for £129.99 and can track calorie burn, optimise workouts and uncover health trends that inspire you to make moves on your health and fitness goals.

Don’t make excuses

The easiest way to fall out the habit is to make an excuse why you can’t exercise on a particular day – and days soon turn into weeks, and before you know it, it’s New Year and you feel terrible again.  So, try to avoid these common excuses…

• I can’t get to the gym – Exercise at home instead. There are loads of apps available that offer exercises you can do at home with no specialist equipment, or you could even bring exercise equipment into the home. An exercise bike offers an ideal cardiovascular workout, and you can pick one up for less than the price of a few months’ gym membership. The LIFE CARVER BTM Indoor Cycling Exercise Bike can be picked up on Amazon for £135, or the Sportstech TEST WINNER* Exercise Bike ESX500, which comes with smartphone app control and Google Street View, can be ordered for £249. If money is no object, the JTX Cyclo-5: Upright Gym Exercise Bike is a feature-Packed Bike with Advanced BLUETOOTH Computer and FREE Polar Heart Rate Chest Strap. Buy it on Amazon for £650. Check out a full range of exercise bikes in our buyers guide to the best exercise bikes.

Set realistic goals

Goal-setting is vitally important to starting and sticking to an exercise regime, but they have to be realistic – setting unrealistic targets will quickly de-motivate you. Make them SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely – and aim to do at least three, 45 minute workouts each week. This consistency will generate results quicker than doing a week of seven days straight in the gym then having a week off, and bear in mind that the effectiveness of an exercise session begins to diminish after an hour – so unless you’re going for all-out cardio fitness, it’s best to keep each one less than an hour.

Stay hydrated

Water is vital to keeping yourself in tip-top condition, and staying hydrated is necessary for basic metabolic functions. And if you’re going to be partying hard, staying hydrated is essential to help avoid horrific headaches and hangovers the morning after.

Cut back on alcohol

You may find it difficult, but it’s definitely worth cutting back on the alcohol over Christmas. Non-alcoholic beers pack fewer calories than alcoholic beer, and can help reduce your calorie intake as part of a healthy diet. Not only that, but over-consumption of alcohol can cause hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), which can lead to light-headedness and make you tempted by high-calorie, fatty food after drinking. Drinking low-alcohol or ‘alcohol-free’ beer means you’re less likely to have a hangover, so you’ll be more motivated to exercise the day after.

Keep eating

Your body needs fuel to function, so make sure you eat regularly – this doesn’t mean filling your face with Christmas pudding, crisps, cheese and crackers at every opportunity, so make sure you keep yourself refuelled with the right stuff, including plenty of fruit, veg, fish, eggs, white meat and any other sources of protein.

Be patient

No matter when you start your health kick, you won’t see the benefits overnight, so bear in mind you’ll have to be patient, stick with it, and the results will follow. And getting started now instead of after Christmas means you’ll have a good head start.

Black Friday is on the way, so now could be a good time to get yourself some fitness equipment in – check out What to buy on Black Friday to see what other discounts you could bag yourself.

And if you want to get a head start on the kids Christmas presents, the Top 5 Toys for Christmas 2018.

Halloween has been and gone, which means Christmas party season is around the corner – so, if you simply have to look your best for every occasion, whether a family gathering or the office party, here are some invaluable tips to prepare for this year’s festive get-togethers.

Get plenty of sleep

There’s a good chance you’ll have to function on very little sleep at certain points over the holiday season, which could be down to excessive partying, lots of late night shopping, having to work all hours to make sure everything is completed before the Christmas shut-down, the kids getting up at all hours on Christmas morning, or a combination of all of the above.

But, if you want to look your best, it helps to get your eight hours a night whenever possible.

If the stresses of Christmas mean you have trouble switching off at night, try the following trick to help improve your shut-eye:

• Cut out caffeine completely from mid-afternoon
• Switch off your screens an hour before you go to sleep
• Read a book for half an hour before bed

Taking regular exercise can also help with sleep, and has the added benefit of helping you look and feel your best.

Stay hydrated

We’re all well aware we should drink more water, but how many of us top ourselves up as regularly as we should do? A study by SodaStream  found that almost one-in-ten of don’t even drink one glass of water a day – and that lack of hydration can effect everything from the state of your skin to how well your brain functions.

If you’re not getting enough water during the day, it could be worth investing in a HydrateM8 water bottle, which has measurements on it to encourage you to drink a certain amount of water by a specific time each day – expect plenty of trips to the loo while you get used to gulping the extra water.

Get the right grooming products

Now you’ve got a few nights’ rest under your belt, and you’ve been keeping yourself well-hydrated, it’s time to consider how you’re going to get yourself ready before each gathering.

Facial hair is still very much in for the fellas, but if you’re more Grizzly Adams than Andre Gomes, it could be time to cut back the beard with a beard trimmer. If you’re on a tight budget, the Philips Series 3000 7-in-1 Multi Grooming Kit for Beard and Hair with Nose Trimmer Attachment – MG3720/33 is a great option at around £20. If you can afford to spend a bit more on your beard trimmer, the Panasonic ER-GB80 Beard, Hair and Body Trimmer Wet and Dry will set you back the best part of £60, but can cut your facial hair to any one of 40 lengths.

For a complete run down of the best beard-trimmers money can buy, check out our Which to Buy guide to beard trimmers.

If the men think they have it tough, hair removal can feel like an eternal struggle for the ladies, who have to keep on top of on top of legs, underarms and bikini line – not to mention anywhere else they might need to rid themselves of hair.

Thankfully, our Which to Buy guide to the best lady shavers in 2018 has your perfect pruning partner, from the budget Lady Shaver Women Facial Hair Remover Bikini Trimmer 5 in 1 USB Rechargeable Epilator for Face Nose Eyebrow Body Arms Legs Armpit, which retails at £14.99, to the Philips SatinShave Prestige Wet & Dry Electric Lady Shaver with 5 Accessories – BRL170/00, which is priced at £70, but is currently available on Amazon for half price at just £35.

How you do your hair can really make or break your party look. If you don’t fancy spending the day in rollers, check out our Which to Buy guide to heated rollers. And if you want to get that voluminous, bouncy, just-stepped-out-of-the-salon look, our Which to Buy guide to the best hot air stylers is the place to look.

And now you’re looking and feeling your absolute best, resist the temptation to spoil it all by stepping out in the most garish Christmas jumper you can find!

Shop ‘til you drop!

If that’s got you in the mood for some serious shopping, check out The Top 5 Toys for Christmas 2018 and What to buy on Black Friday.