I LOVE Christmas. It is full of joy and laughter….

But what I especially love about the festive season is that it is the one time you get to break all the parenting rules and blame it on Christmas.

Mince pies before dinner tonight? Why not, it’s Christmas!

Sherry in the afternoon? Don’t mind if I do! It’s Christmas!

CBeebies for two hours while I recover from that afternoon sherry drinking session, you say? Sod it, it’s Christmas!

Bedtime half an hour late tonight? Oh, go on then – it’s Christmas!

For one week of the year I get to become the happily imperfect mum I wish I could always be.

As parents we spend most of our lives trying to be the perfect mum or dad. We read the books, we consult the forums, we ask Google and compare ourselves to every other parent we meet. And as we all know, ‘every other parent we meet’ seems to be bloody perfect.

Day in, day out, we follow the rules. You know the ones I mean. The Rules we set for ourselves to ensure our children have a chance of turning into half decent human beings and not obese sociopaths.

So I don’t know about anyone else but by the time December comes along I am tired. Tired of the routines, the schedules, the bed times, dinner times, bath times and of everything having a set ‘time’.

I am exhausted by the guilt. I feel guilty when I let the baby sleep in my bed, I feel guilty when I don’t.

I feel bad for bribing the toddler with chocolate to get dressed for pre-school but I feel bad when I don’t and we miss pre-school altogether.

Let’s face it. Trying to get everything perfect is bloody tiring. Which is why at Christmas I give myself a break. I do not want a perfect Christmas. I want a lazy, messy, disorganised, rule-breaking, guilt-free Christmas.

Here is my guide to a perfectly imperfect Christmas:

1) BE ROUTINELY INCONSISTENT

On a normal evening most of us have a bedtime routine that we stick to NO MATTER WHAT. Whether we are exhausted or sick, we do the children’s dinner, bath and bed at the same time every single day. After all, we all know about the IMPORTANCE OF A CONSISTENT ROUTINE and if we dare to stray from the system who knows what might happen? We could turn our children into psychopaths, criminals or worse…so best not to risk it.

Except at Christmas.

To achieve maximum imperfection ensure you occasionally come home late, skip the odd bath time or let the children stay up an extra hour.

2) BUY EXTRA BISCUITS

So you have presents to wrap, cards to write or simply really need to sit down for five minutes and have a cup of tea; then bring out the biscuits!

Admittedly, I am guilty of Biscuit Parenting all year round. Biscuit bribery is one of the most valuable tools I have as a mother and I use it on a daily basis. But over Christmas, at least I don’t have to feel guilty about it…

3) USE THE TELEVISION TO BABYSIT

On a good day I have Television Rules. Thomas the Tank Engine serves as a Really Useful babysitter while I have a shower, make dinner, drink coffee, etc, but I usually limit the television viewing when possible.

But nothing says Imperfect Christmas like watching trashy seasonal TV in your pyjamas for an entire morning! Or why not go mad and leave it on all day!

? The children will probably be bored of it by 11am but switch on the subtitles and see point (4).

4) IGNORE THE CHILDREN

Ok, not totally but for a truly inadequate Christmas let them entertain themselves for once. Do not bother heading out for a brisk walk around the village in festive knitwear to ensure the children have their fresh air for the day. Forget turning off the TV in order to do something more mentally stimulating with the little ones. They have shit loads of new toys, a selection box full of chocolates and an imagination – so they will probably survive one week without you constantly making them ‘do stuff’.

5) BE AN IMPERFECT PARENT

The Imperfect Christmas is the ideal time not to beat ourselves up for every little thing we do that doesn’t involve tending to a child. Checking Facebook, taking too long in the bath, texting a friend or having the odd hangover are all perfectly acceptable during this holiday!

So I wish you all a perfectly imperfect Christmas! Have a break from the worrying and the routines, and try to enjoy some guilt-free family time.

Do you break any of the parenting rules over Christmas? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below or join us on Facebook or Twitter!

If the baby has woken up in the time you have been reading this, you may need a few useless tips on how to survive tomorrow. Or, if they surprise you by sleeping through them you may want to read this!

Thanks for reading and have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.