Getting ready to handle the utter mayhem that is Christmas with our kids is something we look forward to and somewhat dread in equal measure. Will the parents be able to handle the over exuberance and the overeating, or will we just wish the festive season to be over as soon as it began? We know your pain!
Here are four tips to help parents with kids running around cope with the festive season and survive through to the other side.
1. Plan Activities to Do
The school holidays are long. Depending on how old and independent your children have grown up to become, they may or may not get bored easily. Even the preteens often welcome parental supervision or going out on small trips for shopping, to play in the park, skate at an ice-skating rink, or some other local activity.
With teenagers, they’re probably better left to their own devices other than when you need help with larger tasks, such as picking out and decorating a Christmas tree and helping carry the shopping. Getting them involved in some way helps keep their Christmas spirits up.
For the younger kids, make a list of some activities and games they could play. Some they can be shown how to play and then left to play alone, while others will require ongoing supervision. You can also have a look online for some Christmas craft activities that are bound to keep them busy for hours. Just make sure you have plenty of craft materials to hand.
2. Declutter & Clean Thoroughly
While you may think that you keep your home pretty clutter-free and clean, you might want to take a second look. With family paying a visit and other neighbours and friends no doubt coming over at some point, there will be plenty of people noticing the little details. It’s inevitable that if you don’t pay attention to it now, when you suddenly hear that they’re coming, it will see you scuttling around last-minute trying to clean up and declutter in a jiffy. We all know that doesn’t work very well!
Before Christmas is fully upon us, with Santa Claus soon to come down the chimney, inspect each room and the hallways too. Look at your home like a person seeing it for the first time. Any furniture should be moved to clean up debris, dust and everything else that’s hiding under there. Give everywhere a once-a-year deep cleaning until it shines or has some of its original lustre back.
Once the place is cleaner, look at the furniture in each room. What is needed, and what could be temporarily removed into the garage or a spare bedroom for the time being to create more floor space for guests to move around and the kids to play?
3. Do You Need New Furniture?
When you’ve looked at what you have in your home, it’s possible that you discover a need for more chairs, a longer dining table or extra storage in the guest bedroom. All year, you have probably been too busy to notice, but now it’s obvious.
When you want to know how to get your home ready for Christmas, Fishpools have some excellent ideas. They are furniture and décor specialists that have excellent furnishing and decorating ideas to add some sparkle and newness to your home at this festive time of year. They have some lovely throw blankets to warm up your sofa and soft cushions to create a luxurious but festive look.
4. Kitchen Preparations
Change the layout of your kitchen tops to remove many of the scattered appliances that are barely used and won’t be missed. What you want is a larger preparation area to organize little nibbles and substantial meals around the Christmas period without feeling cramped. Add more shelving if you think that will help too.
Check that you have enough plates, bowls, cutlery, drinking glasses and wine glasses. Count up how many guests are expected and see if you’ll have enough. And if the dishwasher has been playing up, make an appointment to get it fixed before it’s really needed.
When you’re organized ahead of time, Christmas tends to be a lot smoother. It’s the disorganized parent(s) that have the most difficulty. They end up rushing down to the shops on several occasions to buy whatever they have forgotten because they neglected to make a thorough shopping list before the holidays became hectic.
You will also want to pay attention to the little things, like knowing how to reset a fuse if the fuse box gets tripped, or having bills paid automatically so nothing important gets forgotten during the busy period. It all helps towards making the festive season run as smoothly as possible.
