And that?s just for the first day. Ah yes, a sure recipe for exhaustion, disappointment and a nervous breakdown ? especially when you factor in the Christmas madness that leaves you shell-shocked after a shopping trip and ready to commit suicide after a visit from ?the family?.

What most of us don?t realise is that cramming a year?s worth of odd jobs and socialising into a mere 14 days can be pretty stressful and tiring. It seems a little paradoxical, but sometimes you need to take active steps to make sure that you are relaxing.

If you are making a ?to do? list ? and they can be very helpful if they are reasonable and achievable ? make sure that you include some ?restful? activities, such as reading a book, taking a yoga class, watching a movie, going for a walk in the mountain or getting pampered.

Obviously, the term ?restful activity? is a relative one, so do whatever it is that you find relaxing, whether it is lazing on the beach or going for a 20 kilometre run. But remember that it is not only your mind that needs to relax ? your body might need a time-out too.

But what happens if you start feeling stressed-out in a busy shopping centre or only have ten minutes between your shopping trip and the arrival of a bunch of guests? Here are a few intensive relaxing exercises that you can try.

Stopping shopping

Sometimes you just need to stick your head above the throngs of bargain hunters and take a breath of fresh air, and then you can dive back in again and resume your shopping with vigour.

Find a bench, sit down, take a few deep breaths and just listen to all the sounds around you. Become aware of your body and relax any tense and aching muscles. Then gather up your parcels again and walk into the next shop.

If you are uncomfortable doing this in public or find all the noise and people too distracting, go to the toilets ? sitting in a cubicle can give you the space and quiet you need. Otherwise, pop into a quiet little coffee shop, do the exercise and then have a nice relaxing cuppa.

If you are in a big rush or feel yourself getting stressed-out again at a later stage, you can try the quick ?pause?. Basically, this is a contracted form of the exercise. You can do it standing up ? just stand still, take a few deep breaths, become aware of your surroundings and try to still your mind.

This little exercise works in pretty much any situation (although I wouldn?t advise that you do it while driving or operating dangerous machinery) and can even be done while you are not feeling particularly stressed to foster a more relaxed and stress-free approach to life.

Feel the burn?and relax

If you were to stop right now and consciously try to relax all your muscles, you would probably find that you were tensing muscles you didn?t even know existed. Hunching up your shoulders or frowning will just increase the amount of stress that you?re feeling, not to mention giving you backache and a splitting headache.

If you have ten minutes to spare (and chances are you actually do) this is a fantastic exercise for relaxing those tense muscles and leaving you calm and invigorated.

Lie down on your back on the floor ? preferably on a carpet ? or on your bed. Beginning with your toes and feet, systematically tense up all the muscles in your body. Scrunch up you toes and hold as tightly as you can for about five seconds. Then relax them for about five seconds and feel the tension melt away.

Once you are done with your feet, move on to your calves. If you like, you can continue to tense up the muscles you have already done as you move up the body, but remember to relax them all each time. Move up your legs, through your torso, back, shoulders, arms and finally, end by tensing all the muscles in your face (imagine eating a lemon).

Once you have completed the exercise, you can continue lying on the ground for a few minutes, just enjoying the relaxed state of your body.

Sometimes it helps to play soothing music while you are doing this exercise and to do it with your eyes shut. When you are finished, you can also try visualisation, which involves imagining that you are in a place that you find particularly restful ? imagine the sounds, the tastes, the tactile stimulations and the smells.

If you practice these simple exercises on a daily basis, you will probably find yourself whizzing through your list, feeling calm and collected and emerging on the other side of your vacation in one piece. And if not, hey, at least you?ll enjoy the holiday!