When you have a young family, Christmas is a brilliant time of year, but it does come with some stressful moments.
With a young family, some parents may find it hard to get time for themselves and others may struggle to get out and see friends.
There is the added pressure of family events and when you attend them with young kids, you’ll hope that they behave or at least don’t cause a scene with crying or deciding that they must have a certain toy – which is perfectly normal behaviours for young kids. Here are some tips on how to enjoy the festive period with a young family:
Enjoy the madness.
Kids are testing and at Christmas, you may find they are more wired than usual with their energy levels testing your patience! Try and channel their energy to other places with fun days out, chasing fairies in the forest or going to the park.
Take the good with the bad and if you do want to see friends for a coffee, try and run off the kid’s energy first and then sit in a coffee shop with the kids for that festive coffee you have been yearning for.
Go to family occasions and be as organised as possible.
If you go to family occasions with young kids be as organised as possible with toys, games and rested/or tired kids! Try and plan times for when your baby may need a nap and ask your family (who are hosting the event) if there is a quiet area where your baby can sleep without disruption.
For more energetic toddlers, they will need to have things to keep them busy like colouring books, games and cartoons!
If you can have the cartoons they love on DVD or on Netflix that’d be great, bring new colouring books and games (from a euro shop) so they can feel like they have something new to play with. It will at least give you a little bit of time to chat to family.
Ask for help.
There is nothing wrong with asking for help with things and if you are going out for an occasion or a day out, ask family or friends to come along if you need the extra pair of hands.
If you can meet up with other families then it will take the pressure off and let you take turns with playing with the kids, doing toilet runs and managing the eating/drinks etc.
Have time for yourself too.
There can’t be Christmas without getting out for a night out so you can relax. While Christmas is a time for kiddies, you need to be able to switch off and enjoy yourself too.
Book a nice dinner with your loved one and head out if you can arrange care for your kiddies. If that proves too difficult, make a meal at home (or get a takeaway) and sit back for a nice evening when the kids are in bed.
Most importantly, enjoy it. While the kids may be harder work when they are young, the time will fly by and there is nothing like Christmas morning with happy kids!
