How to Make Christmas More Fun For Your Kids AND For You
How can you make Christmas more fun for you, your kids and your family?
Here's my list of what you can proactively do:
- Schedule moments of connection with your children each day
It's easy to get caught up in the busyness of this time of year. You've got so much on your plate to do & organise, so it can be really easy to stop & give your children what they need.
So plan to give your children Special Time each day. Even if it's for 5 - 10 mins. It's going help your days run so much smoother. - Watch out for the signs that your children are starting to go off-track & move in early.
Don't think your child is magically going to start behaving better without your help. And don't let things escalate.
Move in with some form of connection - a quick game or a loving limit - and you will prevent the situation from escalating and then be able to get back to doing what you need to do. - Expect your child to get upset at some point.
Christmas is a really intense time - there's generally lots of people around, lots of sugar and lots of busyness. So it's completely understandable that your child is going to find to things overwhelming. It's also understandable that your child may feel disappointed that they haven't received what they wanted.
Don't worry that they're being a 'spoiled brat' and being ungrateful. They just need to offload their upset feelings with you and then they'll be able to feel a sense of appreciation again and be able to better manage this full-on time. - Schedule mini-breaks for you too.
You need to give yourself the opportunity recharge yourself too. Plan in 5 minutes for a cup of tea, some quiet time to breathe, a mini meditation - anything to resource yourself to be able to do everything you need to do and to be able to help your children too. - Reach out for support
You need an outlet too! Whether you have a formal Listening Partner, or a friend who is happy to be a sounding board, or you'd like to join my Christmas Parenting Group
And if you'd like more help with bedtimes, then sign up for my simple, quick 4 Days to Better Bedtimes course!
If bedtimes take f o r e v e r.... and you want some help, then sign up to receive 4 days of simple, practical, respectful and HIGHLY EFFECTIVE strategies.
They're all designed to help strengthen your connection with your child and to help them with their emotions.
The more you do this, the better they will sleep.
"First full night's sleep last night in years!" (Karri)