No stress at the (Christmas) dinner table
December is a busy month. Especially with younger kids, you run from one school event to the other. And Christmas has yet to begin. How do you survive this cozy but also stressful period? By avoiding the stress! But how?
Give attention
You are so busy buying Christmas presents, preparing dinners and more, that the kids don’t get enough attention. The result: ruddy and crying kids. It is better to focus on your child(ren). That’s much more relaxing than running around to buy them a present. The best present is giving attention to it.
Give guidance
Give the kids a calendar so they understand when it will be Christmas and New Years’ day and so on. Mostly they are restless because they have no clue what is gonna happen. This will give them guidance.
Start in the morning
If you give Christmas presents, start by giving them a present in the morning. The kids will be less tensed. And they don’t need ten presents. Two or three will be enough.
You can take the kids to another country where it is nice and warm
Fresh air
Take some time to go out with them during the day. Take a good walk, go to the playground or see a movie. A day has for a child a huge amount of hours. Waiting until the family arrives or dinner starts are boring and annoying. And it will also be good for yourself, the fresh air!
Enjoy dinner
Once you sit at the dinner table, give the children things to eat they like. Give them a good place at the table or put them on another table than the adults. It will give them some space and also a place to play. They can’t sit at the table for hours. Don’t try! It will only be frustrating. If you want to have a relaxed Christmas dinner, anticipate to that. (you can also give them something to play or start a nice movie on a tablet or television). And enjoy your dinner and glass of wine from a good bottle out of the wine cooler (translated to Dutch: wijnbewaarkast).
Go on a holiday
Yes, go on holiday with the kids to a villa Costa del Sol. This will relax both the children and you. Take your Ted Baker tas, burkely tas and go out for a long weekend or maybe a week. Tip: go to a country where the temperature is nice. For example Andalusie in the Southern part of Spain. It is a great environment with lots to see and of course, there are the beaches and the sea. If you are lucky you can even go out in shorts!
