Feeling more flustered than festive? In this light-hearted yet practical guide, Rebecca Cunliffe shares her tried-and-true advice for navigating the chaotic holiday season in schools while keeping your sanity intact
Have the time-old traditions started yet? Planning for Christmas Concerts that no one tells you about until they need 400 tickets, and they need to sell them all by the end of tomorrow! Have we ordered presents for all the pupils? They need these ordering, delivering and wrapping ready for Father Christmas to visit next week. Who is Father Christmas? SBM, can you sort all this? (Internal screaming) We love it don’t we? Oh no we don’t (panto reference, sorry too soon).
Planning, Planning, Planning
You know it’s going to happen; you know nobody else thinks logistically like we do, so do not let it happen to you again this year. Ask the questions: Who? When? Why? What? And then decide how much you are going to get involved and how much YOU are going to delegate this year (and try and prevent getting flu the day after we finish)!
Do you know there is going to be a concert, and parents are coming to watch? Take control and go see the Music Leader to discuss the dates, tickets (if any), cost of the tickets, refreshments and who is serving them, opening and locking up. Give them the list of things that need sorting and ask them to come back to you if you can help with anything. Don’t allow them to assume you are sorting it all – you are not. You will support where you can, but it is not your event. It’s liberating, give it a try!
Special Days
Unless you are married to Father Christmas like me (yes this is true and I hire him out every year) this can become a dreadful task, finding someone the children don’t know, who has a DBS, who is available at short notice, who is good with children etc. Ask now has anyone sorted this? When is it happening? Who is organising it? Say, ‘I need to know these things so I know who to contact when he arrives’ Take away the assumption that all these things will be organised by you and your team. I know this isn’t easy for Superheroes but remember, Superheroes all have sidekicks and need help and support, you deserve this too.
If this is not possible for you then pace yourself, plan where you can, ask lots of questions to avoid surprises and keep lists so that on the odd occasion someone asks if they can do anything you can delegate and tick it off your to-do list.
Don’t Overstretch
You are no good to anyone if you have overstretched yourself and have volunteered to organise everything and star in the staff panto, so don’t.
You still have work to get through, bills still need paying and resources still need ordering so make sure you and your health and wellbeing are a priority. Glitter and Fairy Dust are all well and good but if you end up in bed with Night Nurse over Christmas it is you and your friends and family missing out.
You’ve got this! Stay in control, delegate where you can, say no if you cannot manage something and look after yourself.
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