Christmas is a tough time for most people, both financially and in terms of health. Too much expense, too much booze, too much food, too many late nights … you have to wonder why we still bother. I’m sure it all use to be fun.

I’ve long thought the people who jet off to a nice beach somewhere have the right idea - avoid the whole thing. But for those of us without a ticket to paradise, there’s still plenty you can do to avoid spending the next couple of weeks hungover and starting the new year with a few extra pounds.

1. Drink Smart!

Between office christmas parties and glass after glass of mulled wine, port, sherry, champagne, you’ll be lucky to avoid some nasty hangovers and awkward moments in the following weeks. You can avoid over-doing it with just a few simple tricks.

First, drink a soft drink to start the evening. Most people are thirsty when they first arrive at a party and so their first drink vanishes quickly. That one will go to your head faster than the others too (which just sets you up for an over-the-top evening). Quench your genuine thirst first, before you start on the alcohol.

Next, alternate your drinks. You’ll still have plenty of alcoholic drinks in the space of a night but you’ll end up keeping yourself better hydrated (alcohol dehydrates you), and drinking slower.

Finally, when you do drink, aim for lower alcohol and/or volume where possible. Drink bottles of beer instead of pints. Half-fill each glass of wine (there’s plenty more).

Chances are that with just those few changes (most of which you’ll barely notice during the evening) you’ll end up drinking a third of the quantity of alcohol you otherwise would. You can still embarrass yourself if you like, but you’ll at least avoid the hangover and so the following day won’t be wasted.

2. Make Time For Yourself

With all of the rushing around, travelling, cooking and last-minute shopping, it’s very easy to forget to take a few minutes to relax. Don’t fill every day up. Most people take time off work around now, so make sure you spend at least a little bit of that on you. Your family will still be there, and still be happy to see you, in January. You don’t have to see everyone in a week!

3. Avoid Financial Stress: Spend Within Your Limits

Nothing will make christmas worse than stress, especially if it’s caused by money worries. If you spend too much, you might well end up worrying about money for the whole of christmas instead of enjoying it and relaxing. Quality time with family is never quality time if your mind is on your finances and you’re stressed because you don’t know how you’ll cope.

There are plenty of ways to spend less on presents, from making them yourself to shopping around for a bargain. Even charity shops can be a help if needed. Spreading the cost out can help, but putting presents on credit cards is disastrous. There are people out there still paying for presents they bought last year. If you need to put it on a credit card, you can’t afford it - buy something else (or nothing at all - friends and family are understanding people).

4. Eat Slowly

You’ll spend a lot of time in the next few weeks with mountains of food in front of you. Plates piled to the ceiling. Enough gravy to swim in. Eat everything put in front of you and you’ll put on a lot of weight in a very short space of time. That’s not too hard to avoid though. Drink a glass of water before you start eating, and talk to the people around you. Chances are your brain will realise you’re full before you finish eating.

If that’s not working, or too much trouble, don’t fall into the trap of trying to undo the damage by making a new year’s resolution to do more exercise. They never work. Instead, look at ways to make sustainable changes to your lifestyle. Those few extra pounds you add in december will go, in time, and you don’t need to do much to make that happen.

5. Get Some Sleep

Between getting up at 5am to cook turkey and going to sleep at 5am after a christmas party, your body takes quite a battering over christmas. You’ll be more active than usual, do more travelling than usual, and eat and drink more than usual. You will most certainly have more late nights and early starts than usual. Make a point of getting a good night’s sleep, every night. If you can’t, then a powernap once in a while will help you avoid feeling lethargic and tired.

Bonus: 6. Pig Out (and Watch TV)

That might sound counter-productive, but as bad as worrying about money over christmas is worrying about your health, counting ever calorie, measuring every drink. It’s a chance to relax, unwind and enjoy yourself, not to put so many limits on yourself you can’t have a good time. Eat, drink and be merry, just try to be smart about it!