Keep Your Kids Busy Throughout the Holiday

‘Tis the season to be merry—or stressed out, depending on how you pace yourself during the upcoming weeks. While partying until the wee hours of the morning and dragging yourself into the office the next morning was probably no big deal back in your pre-baby days, you may find that you want to limit the number of social engagements you say yes to at this already crazy time of year. After all, your parenting responsibilities don’t disappear just because it’s rum and eggnog season: you’re still as likely as ever to get a 3:00 a.m. visit from a hungry baby or night-waking toddler. Here's how to up the fun factor and keep your stress level under control during the holiday season.

-Don't buy into the myth that says you're depriving your children of a happy childhood if you’re not able to squeeze a million different memory-making experiences into a single holiday season. Yes, it’s wonderful to take your kids on a sleigh-ride, decorate a gingerbread house together, go skating on a pond, and whip up a batch of positively mouthwatering homemade cookies—but trying to accomplish all this in a single day is a recipe for burnout. And besides, just how wonderful are those memories going to be if you’re so exhausted by the end of the day that you end up shouting at your kids? My advice? Ditch the mommy martyr act and go for a more down-to-earth and less crazy-making family holiday instead.

-Zero in on the things that really matter. While your child is likely to be disappointed if you break your promise to make his favourite cookies, he probably couldn’t care less if the fruitcake that you serve is store-bought or homemade (unless, of course, he's a fruitcake connoisseur). So rather than trying to make everything from scratch, invest your culinary energies in those areas that are likely to yield the greatest payoff, based on the likes and dislikes of your nearest and dearest.

-Accept the fact that visiting other people is likely to be stressful if you’ve got a baby or toddler in tow, and limit the length of your visits accordingly. While you might be up to a one-hour visit at Great Aunt Mildred’s, an entire afternoon of trying to keep her coffee-table level Royal Doulton figurines away from your crawling baby or fast-footed toddler might be more than you want to deal with during an already stressful time of year.

-Don’t expect your child to abandon his picky eating patterns in honour of the holiday season. If the only thing he’s willing to eat for lunch these days is shredded cheese and sliced apple, don’t expect him to whoop with joy when whatever relative you’re visiting plunks some mystery casserole down in front of him. You can avoid an intergenerational crisis by toting along a mini-cooler stocked with his favourite foods. That way, if your toddler balks at the idea of eating whatever Grandma’s dishing up, you can quickly move to Plan B. Of course, Grandma will then be convinced that you’re mercilessly spoiling the child, but that’s a whole other issue.

-Remember that children need to be active. A toddler who is confined to the car for a three hour drive to Grandma's house can't be expected to walk in the door and sit quietly at the dinner table for the next hour. Either break up the car trip with a stopover at a park or arrive early enough at Grandma's to go for a walk around the block before it's time to sit down for dinner.