Planning a perfectly imperfect Christmas

Ah Christmas, that magical time of the year! Time to eat belt-snapping amounts of turkey, mince pies, Roses and the rest, while lounging around with Baileys coffees and mid-afternoon G&Ts... oh wait, I'm  a mother.

 

Take 2: we'll have a magical Christmas eve, wrapping presents in bright shiny paper and arranging them beautifully under the tree. Getting up a little earlier than normal on Christmas Day to see what the big fella brought, and then passing around the gifts to squeals of delight as the children enjoy their much anticipated gifts. We'll play a few board games together, head out for a lovely family walk, home again for hot chocolate and...oh wait, I don't live in the world of Disney.

 

Ok, the Real Christmas: your children start asking to go downstairs from 4.30am and when you finally give in, they make a mad scrummage for presents, with tree, decorations, hair and spit flying while you look bleary-eyed for your phone to record the magic moments. By the time you get your first cup of tea, you’re ready for bed, but you have to prepare the 'Nigellaesque' dinner. The turkey burns, dinner is late andyour partner has become the most annoying person ever, who for some reason can't read your mind or predict what you want him to do!

 

Feeling the fear yet? Here is my personal strategy for enjoying Christmas Day, which I have developed over the past few family Christmasses.

 

Presents

Whoever designed the packaging of children‘s toys surely won the security contract for Fort Knox. And it does not get easier with the repeated 'Is it ready yet?' from your hyper children. Where possible, take toys out of their packaging and insert batteries before wrapping them!

 

Food

Prepared veg and frozen roast potatoes are absolutely fine. Children eat a lot of junk over Christmas, so give them very small portions. Just because a big roast dinner is traditional fare at Christmas, it doesn’t mean your picky eater will follow the fold. Have pizza, cocktail sausages or something easy on hand just in case. Encourage a little fruit too at some stage along with all the goodies!

 

Divide and conquer
we don't have to spend the entire day together. Encourage your children to take their toys into a different room or upstairs, to give you all a necessary breather.

 

Watch your stress levels

By the time Christmas Day arrives, children are over-excited and inevitably turn into spoiled brats - don't worry, this is temporary.

 

Increase your tolerence levels and turn a blind eye to behaviour that would normally have you shouting at the top of your voice. During the day, give your children little jobs to ground them – they can peel some vegetables (if they’re old enough), lay out the crackers, tidy up the dishes or recycle the wrapping.

 

Give yourself a breather

A family walk (or two) is an invaluable way to break the stagnation and tension of a happy family Christmas day! A walk alone is not unheard of here either.

 

Let go of expectations

Expect the unexpected and relax the rules. Remember that Christmas is about giving and receiving and not everything goes according to plan, so give yourself a break and let the day unfold how it will.

 

Happy Christmas!

 

Aisling Lyons, is a mum-of-three, from Co. Wicklow, Ireland, with over 20 years experience in the childcare sector. She runs the lovely blog, Babysteps, where she aims to help parents struggling with the little and large problems that parenting young children can bring!

 

Image via Pinterest