Celebrating the holidays with kids is a beautiful experience- as long as your kids not the one who cries whenever they see Santa.
If your like me you probably have this picture-perfect image of what Christmas will be like with your little ones.
And like me you are going to be shocked to find out Christmas does NOT look like a Norman Rockwell painting ( most likely it will look more like a Freddy Krueger dream).
Yes, kids make the holidays, but they can also bring them screeching to a halt because nothing says the party's over like a 1-year old throwing food and screaming at the same decibels as the speed of sound. .
As much as we want them to babies do not perform on command (sighhhhh) so if they are cranky/teething/ having stranger anxiety or anything else chances are they are not going to be smiling for family pictures.
As frustrating as it may be, it's important to remember they ARE babies (husbands are a whole other story, they are not always gong to act right and will ALWAYS act up when you need them not to.
So what can you do if your baby is being a Scrooge at Christmas? Here are some tips:
- Socialize your child. If your kids are never around large groups of people you should try to have a few gatherings before the big event. This will get him used to seeing people and hearing lots of noise.
- If it's possible have the holidays at your house so they are in familiar surroundings (and so your not scrambling to find their favorite to- which of course you left at home).
- If you are gong to be at someone elses house try to visit beforehand so your baby feels comfortable. You should also make sure there is a place for baby to lay down if he or she needs to sleep while your there.
- Go see Santa because lets face it, Santa can be creepy(would you normally let a strange man give your kids gifts?)
Above all else REMEMBER that making the holidays "perfect" is not what makes them special- celebrating with your loved ones is what makes Christmas magical (well, that and a LOT of heavily laced egg-nog).
If your like me you probably have this picture-perfect image of what Christmas will be like with your little ones.
And like me you are going to be shocked to find out Christmas does NOT look like a Norman Rockwell painting ( most likely it will look more like a Freddy Krueger dream).
Yes, kids make the holidays, but they can also bring them screeching to a halt because nothing says the party's over like a 1-year old throwing food and screaming at the same decibels as the speed of sound. .
As much as we want them to babies do not perform on command (sighhhhh) so if they are cranky/teething/ having stranger anxiety or anything else chances are they are not going to be smiling for family pictures.
As frustrating as it may be, it's important to remember they ARE babies (husbands are a whole other story, they are not always gong to act right and will ALWAYS act up when you need them not to.
So what can you do if your baby is being a Scrooge at Christmas? Here are some tips:
- Socialize your child. If your kids are never around large groups of people you should try to have a few gatherings before the big event. This will get him used to seeing people and hearing lots of noise.
- If it's possible have the holidays at your house so they are in familiar surroundings (and so your not scrambling to find their favorite to- which of course you left at home).
- If you are gong to be at someone elses house try to visit beforehand so your baby feels comfortable. You should also make sure there is a place for baby to lay down if he or she needs to sleep while your there.
- Go see Santa because lets face it, Santa can be creepy(would you normally let a strange man give your kids gifts?)
Above all else REMEMBER that making the holidays "perfect" is not what makes them special- celebrating with your loved ones is what makes Christmas magical (well, that and a LOT of heavily laced egg-nog).
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