Holidays Round the Corner

With the holiday seasons beginning to loom large in the mirror, the angst and dread of the preparation start to form like a small knot in the pit of my stomach. I am rearranging bedrooms with military precision, as family visits have never been the most joyous occasion.

To save your sanity and mine, I am here to help with a few suggestions.

Pass the turkey duties

A behemoth-sized turkey waltzes its way into your kitchen. The man struggling with its weight seems to know that it is you who has the knowledge to turn this bald, plucked foul into gorgeous food. Alas, "Mr. Man of The House," the turkey has been passed to your incapable hands this year. Fry it, brine it, baste it, or burn it; your family will soon know you prepared it.

Many hands make light work

Vegetables are the next thing on the list. This is the time of year to remind your visitors that you do still, in fact, suffer from restless legs syndrome (RLS) – let's count how many times "What's that?" gets asked by ignorant individuals.

Remember how everybody congregates in the kitchen during a party? Little David wanted to know why Mummy was buying a gross of peelers from the kitchen store. As soon as an adult who can use a kitchen implement properly enters the room, pass them a peeler and some veggies.

Putting young guests to work

So, start the tick list: Turkey ✔️, vegetables ✔️. Ah ha! Time to keep the kiddies amused. Roll out the plain sugar biscuits bought from the store with a little set of icing tubes for each small child. Pop on a reversed shirt bought from the thrift store, and they will be amused for at least 30 minutes.

Share the to-do list

Now is the winter of our discontent. Actually, now is the time that going and having a nap is compulsory, or you will not be anywhere near functioning for the evening ahead. RLS robs us of not only our sleep, but also our mental acuity.

Ensure that you have a list as long as the toilet paper roll with accurate times for family members to continue to prepare the dinner whilst you are asleep. It may be your house, but they are perfectly capable of helping to prepare a meal.

More ways to stay ahead of the holiday game

If necessary, write a little "information" card when you officially invite them to dinner. Make a point of it being official so there should be no "drop-offs" or uninvited plus-ones. Remind them that you suffer from a condition that can affect the day with little or no prior warning.

RLS means you need to be organised. You know you will be running on practically no sleep from the night before, possibly even battling creepy legs from the off. Not the best start to the day, I know. The plus side is that they might not attend!

Prior preparation can be helpful, too. When you are awake at night, if you have distance between the kitchen and the rest of the house, then you can chop vegetables, make individual mini pumpkin pies to freeze, and bake off on the day.