Strange as it may seem, Christmas can be one of the most stressful times of the year. People who spend the rest of their time successfully juggling the demands of home life, work and play often come a cropper by mid-December. Because while you may be known as a hard-working, no-compromise business manager in the workplace, there's no fooling someone who remembers what you looked like in nappies; even worse, someone who still has the photos to prove it and will bring them out every year to show to all and sundry.

Then there's the hassle of traipsing round the shops looking for 'gifts' (i.e. stuff that nobody in their right minds would ever buy for themselves), while trying to arrange dinner with various different friends and relations over the festive period and yet avoid offending anybody. If you're not careful, this hassle can turn Christmas from a relaxing, pleasant prospect into a nightmare of tantrums and arguments.

There are several possible ways out of this. One of the more extreme is to declare that you've converted to a different religion, but there are at least two problems with this. First, Christmas in Western countries has very little to do with religion anyway; try telling your nephew that you haven't bought him any presents because you believe in a different deity. Second, most religions have holidays at some point in the year, so you'd just be swapping one set of problems for another.

An equally dubious option is to tell one side of the family that you'll be visiting the other side this year. Then tell the other side of the family the same thing. This works nicely until one enterprising member of the family calls another and asks to speak to you. That can be a little embarrassing - I speak from experience.

So, how about some practical tips? Use the Internet. Stick with well-known brand names and you'll be fine; the service is nearly always prompt and efficient and you'll save loads of time and stress by not visiting crowded shops. Buy books from Amazon or a similar service for everyone you can think of. Try to get something unusual that'll stimulate their imagination and get them thinking.

You can also get music, videos and other toys (but probably not the now-legendary Harry Potter vibrating broomstick any more - shame). For the nerd in your life (which may be you yourself), a good dollop of computer equipment can also be bought online from fast, reliable suppliers. If that's not enough, a quick search of the Web will bring up links for wine, food, underwear and pretty much anything else you can imagine. Most of these suppliers will even gift-wrap and deliver your presents for you.

Now for your own pleasures. Take time off between Christmas and New Year - insist on it if your employers object; tell them it will improve your productivity (which it will). Book yourself and your immediate family into a hotel with a gym, sauna, whatever; there are cheap deals to be found on the Web and it will be worth every penny. Then you'll have something to look forward to if the extended family drives you nuts on Christmas day. If you have a lot of far-flung relatives, don't try to visit them all in the space of a few days. Instead, alternate on an annual basis to keep everyone reasonably happy, or see some of them before Christmas.

If you're worried about paying for everything online with your credit card, open a debit-only account and pay with that, transferring only small amounts of money to your debit card at a time. That way you're not likely to lose much even in the unlikely event of fraud (which should be repaid by the bank anyway).

Does all this sound a bit impersonal? Hardly. Leaving aside the religious connotations, Christmas in the UK is all about spending time with friends and relations and generally enjoying yourself and other people's company. You're not likely to do that if you've spent the previous month worrying about presents and juggling obligations. So relax. It's still a bit early, but if you start planning now and make full use of the Internet, you really will have an enjoyable and Merry Christmas.