For many of us Christmas is a time to indulge, eat lots of food and drink more than usual, imbibing lots of Christmas spirit!

However, when, like me, you live with allergies or food intolerance, instead of a time of celebration, Christmas can become a time of anxiety. 

When everyone else is looking forward to visiting family and friends and general get-togethers with people you haven’t seen for an age… People with life-threatening allergies or anaphylaxis are probably hating making excuses not to attend, because the thought of being near food that can be a life-threatening danger is scary.  

Or you could be like me, and you could hate feeling that you’ll be seen as a ‘pain’ or ‘fussy’ or be subject to humiliating stares or comments. 

Often people prepare buffets at Christmas too, which is one of the riskiest options when you have allergies because the chance of food cross contamination is so much higher.

So, what can you do? Hide away and not engage. The one thing I’ve learned as a person with severe allergies is that ‘not living’ is no way to live. You have to adapt, help others to adapt and join in. Most people don’t mind being flexible if you give them the right tools and support to work with you. 

Here are some ideas to help you plan safe eating at Christmas-time.

1. When eating at friends’ houses, kindly give them a list of the foods you can and can’t eat, and talk to them about food preparation, in terms of contamination. 

2. If they are to serve a buffet, ask for you to be able to be served first, to avoid other foods mixing with yours perhaps you could have your own ‘tray’? Make this a feature, not a pain for everyone. 

3. Take some colourful paper cups with your name written on to use for drinks, so no one else drinks from it. People get confused after a couple of glasses, and often pick up the wrong glass. The last thing you need is for someone else to drink from your glass when they have just eaten nuts!

4. Be aware of drinks too, because many of the seasonal drinks are flavoured or spiced and can include pine nuts (beers), almonds (some gins), milk in cream liquors and gluten in beers and spirits.

5. If you are really worried – take your own food. Stay for the social interaction and that’s it. However, in my case I’d still have to ask for nuts to be excluded from the party as I’m at risk even from airborne allergens.

6. Finally, let your host know that you have allergies and if you have a MedicAlert ID let them know. This means if you have a reaction or go into anaphylactic shock, both the host and any emergency health professional can access information quickly about your allergies and this could save your life. 

7. If you have allergies and you don’t have a MedicAlert ID – why not consider treating yourself to this as a Christmas present to yourself. It could save your life in an emergency. If you have a loved one with allergies or serious intolerance, why not gift them this life-saving jewellery and help bring some degree of peace of mind to you – and to them.

Have a festive eating-safe Christmas!

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