Life & Style

Your Christmas Survival Pack

Try our handy do-not-forget list for getting thorugh Christmas day

Don't let the season get you down. Photograph: Thinkstock

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Kevin Courtney
Wed Dec 17 2014 - 13:40

As the big day looms, you may be starting to feel the pressure. Getting through Christmas is like a military operation – a gruelling slog between parties, shopping centres and relatives’ houses. Your goal is to reach that K2-like peak known as Christmas Day - one slip, though, and you’re a goner. What you need is a Seasonal Survival Pack to help you navigate the tricky terrain ahead.

1. Lip balm No one wants to be kissing a pair of dry, chapped lips under the mistletoe. Have a good lip balm handy for those moments when your partner/colleague/complete stranger grabs you for a Christmas snog. Oh, and you might as well throw in some Zovirax for the cold sores that will inevitably follow.

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2. Knee and elbow pads When that final shopping day arrives on Christmas Eve, and you are jostling through the shop rails in search of something, anything, for the missus, you're going to need full use of your elbows and knees to shove your rival shoppers aside.

3. Jar of Cranberry Sauce The turkey dinner's on the table, everyone's ready to tuck in, and then someone pipes up, "Did anyone remember to buy cranberry sauce?" When that moment comes, you can whip a jar out of your kitbag and singlehandedly save Christmas.

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4. Pack of Lifeline Hangover Defence Soldiers in war carried cyanide capsules in case they got taken prisoner and tortured. These days we carry Lifeline capsules so we don't wake up in the morning feeling like a tank has just rolled over our heads. Take two Lifeline capsules with your first drink of the night and you'll be ready to fight another day. Made in Ireland and available in pharmacies and supermarkets, Lifeline contains activated charcoal, Aquamin (a mineral derived from seaweed harvested in the west of Ireland) and an army of natural ingredients to combat the nutrient-depleting effects of alcohol.

5. A 24-pack of AA batteries Santa has a habit of forgetting to include batteries in his gifts, so you need to be armed with enough batteries to power a fleet of toys if you want to avoid tears and tantrums on Christmas Day. Also handy for powering grown-up gifts, but do take note: if you're considering a sex toy as a stocking-filler, it might need extra-large D batteries.