Taking the stress out Christmas activities

There’s no doubt that December can be a busy time of year. In the run up to Christmas, there’s so many activities to keep on top of for your kids, both in and out of school. There’s Christmas shopping, school Christmas fairs, festive parties and secret Santas – add in the excitement from your children and it can easily feel overwhelming at times.

Here’s our checklist of things to remember to help keep out the stress in the run up to Christmas.

Make an activities advent calendar

This isn’t meant to add to your ‘to do’ list but will help in the long-term. Get your kids to help by taking a big piece of paper and drawing a calendar for December. You just need to make sure there’s enough room to write down all your activities! They can jazz it up with pictures of Christmas trees, reindeer and snowmen to make it fun.

Once it’s finished you just need to add on all your important dates so you can keep track and stick it up on the wall.

School activities

What activities do your kids have on this December? If they’re little ones and are in a school nativity play, you might need to make sure they have a costume made. If you’re a busy parent and struggling for time, why not ask if a grandparent can help with the costume? Or club together with other mums and dads to see what you can manage as a group. They may have costumes from previous years that they can donate and vice versa.

Often schools have a Christmas fair to raise money for school activities and supplies. Have they asked for donations for hampers or raffle prizes? You don’t need to go crazy here – a bottle of wine or some chocolates will often do nicely.

 

Party time

There’s likely to be a school Christmas party or disco for your kids to go to in December. Do they have a special party outfit for the occasion? Schools might also host a carol concert at school or in a local church, so it’s worth checking in to see what’s happening and add it to your calendar.

You may also have your own Christmas parties to attend over December. Do you need to organise a babysitter for an evening?

 

Secret Santa

Secret Santa was probably invented to take the stress out of present buying, but if you pick a name of someone you don’t know well, it can feel super stressful! Your kids might also be taking part in one too, just to double the agony of choosing a gift. Just remember, Secret Santas are just a bit of fun so don’t overly worry about it. Many shops have deals on stocking filler presents for £5 to £10 so you can sort out yours and your kids at the same time.

If your kids want to buy presents for closer friends, they could use some of their pocket money to buy a gift – it might be best to speak with their friends’ parents too to set a spending limit. It’s the thought that counts after all!

 

Uniform stock take

Before they go back to school in January, don’t forget that another school term has gone by and your children might have grown out of or damaged some of their uniform. The school holidays are always a good opportunity to do a school uniform stock take to make sure they have everything they need ahead of the cold months of January and February.