How to handle Christmas stress like your favourite celebs

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but can also be one of the most stressful: we’re talking about Christmas.

Between the pressures to buy everyone on your list the perfect gift, more parties than you can physically fit in and all those family members to deal with on the day itself, Christmas can trigger stress in even the calmest of humans.

Need a helping hand managing your festive fear? Check out this stress management advice from nine of your favourite celebs.

In a pickle because those trainers you were meant to buy your brother are sold out everywhere? Taylor Swift has the answer.

“These days, I've been trying to classify my thoughts into two categories: ‘Things I can change,’ and ‘Things I can't’,” TayTay told New Orleans Living magazine in 2011. “It seems to help me sort through what to really stress about.”

You can’t magic those kicks back into stock, so don’t sweat; just give your bro a hug for Christmas instead.

Speaking of siblings, there might be cons to having to hang out with them during the festivities, but there are also definite pros.

If anyone should know, it’s Kendall Jenner, who finds her eldest sister the most helpful when it comes to managing stress. “My way to de-stress is either listening to music or talking to my sister, Kourtney [Kardashian],” she told Huffpost Teen in 2013.

Let’s face it, if anyone knows how full-on your parents can be at Christmas, it’s your siblings.

It might be hard to find a quiet spot in your house over Christmas (may we recommend the bathroom?), but a little meditation can go a long way in maintaining that jolly demeanour, as anxiety sufferer Zoella knows.

"I use a lot of relaxation, meditation and calming apps,” the vlogging superstar told Seventeen in 2015. “I have a whole folder… If you're feeling stressed or anxious or you're having a bad time you put in your headphones and this man tells you to stretch and relax your muscles. Then there are ones that just have calming sounds… I like to listen to the sea.”

Being creative and concentrating on something fun can be therapeutic - just ask David Beckham. He revealed that those popular interlocking, colourful bricks are the key to his stress management.

“The last big thing I made was Tower Bridge,” Becks told the Sunday Times in 2014. “It had about 1,000 pieces. I think Lego sometimes helps to calm me down.”

Sure sounds more therapeutic than the annual family Monopoly game.

Whether it’s your Christmas shopping budget or your schedule over the holiday season, it’s all too easy to end up overstretching yourself at this time of year, as Demi Lovato knows.

“The next time you are worrying about something, try to remember that you aren’t always in control,” she wrote in her book, Staying Strong: 365 Days A Year. “Instead, do practical things like make a budget or create a schedule. Be proactive and let go of the stress. After all, it won’t change a thing.”

Time to start using that diary you bought 11 months ago and haven’t written in since.

It’s a time for eating leftovers and watching everything in the Radio Times TV guide, but a little gentle exercise could be just the thing to help you cope over Christmas, Lena Dunham-style.

"When [running] became something that actually gave me pleasure, I was shocked,” the actress and Girls creator told espnW in 2015. “Also, endorphins are real. You run with someone for an hour, you feel pretty good. Running for an hour does not make you feel worse."

Headphones and trainers on, stress be gone.

You might be over All I Want For Christmas Is You by the time the big day rolls around, but belting it out at the top of your lungs wouldn’t be the worst idea, according to Gigi Hadid.

“I love to sing Broadway show tunes at home, which makes me the worst neighbour but is a good stress reliever,” the supermodel told Harper’s Bazaar. “I love Popular from Wicked. That’s the only one I’ll tell you because I know at some point, someone’s going to ask me to do this and that’s the only one I’m willing to do publicly. My boyfriend gets into it too.”

Zayn Malik sings along to Wicked songs to relieve stress? Count. Us. In.

Your brain might be going into overdrive thinking about shopping, wrapping, travelling home, cooking and seeing every single person you know for a catch-up, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

“I’ve felt my best at the moments that I’ve been able to pull that plug and say, ‘Chris … shhh… shhh’,” actor/superhero Chris Evans told online series Becoming in 2012. “And it’s not quitting, it’s not giving up, it’s not washing your hands of the thought, it’s rising above it. All the time I’ve spent suffering as a result of brain noise, hours of my life wasted.”

Time to hit the mute button on your brain and let the good times roll.

Sure, someone slagging off your cooking skills might not be as traumatic as having magazines scrutinise your every move, but Jennifer Lawrence’s advice still rings true for the festive season.

Speaking to The New York Times in 2015, J-Law explained, “I just try to acknowledge that the scrutiny is stressful, and that anyone would find it stressful. So I've got to try to let it go, and try to be myself, and focus on important things, like picking up dog poop."

So there you have it. If all else fails, take the dog for a walk; just don’t forget the pooper scooper.