Christmas need not be a mammoth production

We use those words because the festive season can deliver more than meditation, presents, good cheer and loving company.

As emergency service crews, hospitals and crisis workers know, things can go pear-shaped on our roads, our beaches and in our homes – despite our best intentions.

Families already under stress feel the pinch harder at this time of year – and cracks can become gaping chasms under the pressure of trying to be perfect.

People rush on the roads, get stressed in car parks, lose their keys, their wallets and their equanimity. 

They spend too much, drink too much, eat too much – and tempers get frayed.

For families who have lost a loved one or whom are already experiencing family breakdown, Christmas can be a painful reminder of happier days.

So, let’s take the pressure off the preparation and our feet off the pedal.

Give yourself permission to spend less.

How about not cooking at all?

Instead of “perfection”, let’s aim for the more prosaic, but far more achievable “pleasant”.

Instead of so much focus on “presents”, let’s aim for “present” – as in “here and now”. Being genuinely present for each other, rather than being the blur desperately trying to cook up a storm.

That said, if a smartphone does happen to show up in the stocking of a teenager you know, direct them our way.

Kids who use a smartphone to track frogs in the Eurobodalla this festive season are in the running to win family passes to Mammoths – Giants of the Ice Age at the Australian Museum.

Now, that is a present worth leaping at, as the Batemans Bay High School students on our front page can attest to.

Hopping in is easy:

1. download the Frog I.D. app.

2. Visit https://www.frogid.net.au/

3. Create account or log in.

4. JOIN Bay Post/Moruya Examiner Frog ID group or Narooma News Frog ID group.

5. Send contact details to community.eurobodalla@fairfaxmedia.com.au. 

6. Record frog calls up to December 31.​ The child or teenager who records the most verified species before January 1 will win a family pass.