As we enter this holiday season, it’s no surprise that we may experience more stress and an increased amount of tantrums from our toddlers. Multiply this stress and tantrums by the number of kids you have, and you may or may not be looking forward to this time of year 😂.
With candy, costumes, and special events being a significant factor, the holidays can be full of toddlers expressing their right to independence.
This year was my first Halloween with two little ones, and while it may have looked like the picture-perfect Halloween, let me tell you, it was not a walk in the park!
Even though Jeremiah seemed to love learning about Halloween and trick-or-treating, trying to get him in his costume, take a picture, and leave the house was a task. To the point that we ended up canceling our plans for Friday. I had a lot of mom guilt after canceling, but he didn’t seem to care. It also didn’t make sense to force him to get dressed up and celebrate if he didn’t want to.
Saturday and Sunday ended up working out much better. Once he finally experienced trick-or-treating and candy, it’s safe to say I don’t think he’ll ever refuse to celebrate Halloween again, lol.
From my experience navigating Halloween with a toddler and an infant, it’s best to be prepared and have a plan to stay sane.
Below are my top tips that will help you survive the holidays this year.
Prep your kids for what’s to come
First things first: get them prepared, especially if you have a younger child. As with anything we do with the younger ones, it’s best to talk to them about what’s to come and prepare them for the transition. It’s the reason why we try to stick to a bedtime routine or warn them that they only have a few minutes left until it’s time to clean up their toys.
We spent at least two weeks talking to Jeremiah about the process of dressing up in our costumes, going door-to-door to get candy, and going home to eat it. We also had a fitting with our costumes. This helped to make sure they fit and ensured we wouldn’t experience any wardrobe malfunctions on the day of. However, this also helps them understand the process of putting on their costume and taking it off when it’s time.
Holiday-themed activities
As I said before, Jeremiah has always shown interest in Halloween, so I knew I wanted us to do different activities to further prepare him and keep him engaged.
I found a bunch of wooden sculptures at Dollar Tree that we used for arts crafts. He enjoyed painting them, but you can experiment with different art supplies like crayons, markers, stickers, Pom poms, or glue shape cut-outs.
Dollar Tree had so many options for Halloween and Fall crafts. Some even came in a complete kit that included all the tools you needed for the activity. I also found an endless amount of crafts on Google and Pinterest that I can’t wait to do with the kids!
Fun meals and snacks
We all know the way to a toddler’s heart is through snacks! Not only did I utilize snacks to fill my little one’s belly, but I also made preparing these foods a fun activity he could do with me!
We started by making our favorite pumpkin bread. I’ve made this bread every year since before Jeremiah was born, so I think it’s already considered a tradition in our family. I literally start to crave it once temperatures begin to drop. It’s so moist and tasty! We ate it for breakfast, a snack, or honestly just grazing in passing 🤷🏾♀️.
Another food we had fun making was pizza quesadillas shaped like jack-o-lanterns. I saw them on the explore page on Instagram and just knew J would love them (he’s a little obsessed with pumpkins like his Mama).
I first cut two tortillas in the shape of a pumpkin, added cheese, marinara sauce (pepperoni optional) to one slice, then closed it and cooked it as I would a regular quesadilla. Once it finished, I cut out the eyes and mouth from the top tortilla and violà!
The last snack I have to feature is this pumpkin dip. Yes, I know you may be pumpkin-ed out now, but for me, Fall is all about the colorful leaves and pumpkin everything! You’re lucky I didn’t bore you with a pumpkin-spice latte recipe!
For the dip, I combined 8 ounces of whipped topping (I used light whipped), 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree, and a dash of cinnamon. It was SO good! I served it with graham crackers, but they would be good with apples, on a muffin, or with your favorite cookie. Honestly, the possibilities are endless.
The holiday season is the best time to make fun recipes like these with your kiddos. They’ll have so much fun helping you in the kitchen and just as much fun eating them.
I shared a lot of neat charcuterie boards and lunchbox ideas in my Instagram stories. Follow me there for ideas for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ll also be sharing some here on the blog soon!
Plan events around the kids’ schedules
One thing I learned the hard way was the importance of planning activities around the kids’ schedules. How festive can we expect them to be if they’re tired, hungry, or just burnt out? That wouldn’t even be fun for us adults. To save you the tantrums or defiance while trying to take pictures or out in public, wait until after nap time or after your child has had a substantial meal. Or make sure to include it in your event.
Also, if you have younger kids, try to spread out the events and not have them all jam-packed into one day or weekend. For example, since we planned events around our kids’ naptimes, I knew we would only have enough time and energy for one event in the morning and possibly one in the afternoon, and that was about it! If there are still more activities you were looking forward to, plan it for another time. Even kids need to recharge sometimes.
Call on your support system
It takes a village, especially around the holidays. Team up with your significant other, a family member, or a friend to get help with the kids or other events this season.
One thing that always helps Chris and I is splitting the responsibilities for each kid. When we have somewhere to be, he’ll get Jeremiah ready, and I’ll get Adele. This is also helpful for our bedtime routine.
Form your team and assign duties! Whether it’s getting the kids dressed, packing the car, making the meals, or just keeping the kids entertained while the other person works on something else. Don’t try to take on everything yourself! You’ll drive yourself mad!
Lower your expectations!
You may think I’m joking when I say this, but I’m not, lol. Toddlers and babies can be unpredictable. We can have this idea of the perfect holiday in our minds, but sometimes it doesn’t turn out how we pictured it. Sometimes we expect way too much from our kids without even realizing it. Most of them have very short attention spans. They get bored easily or simply check out if they’re not interested. So, if you only get one picture of them in their outfit before they no longer want to participate, don’t force them! What’s that quote we say to our kids? “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset”. Well, this phrase is for you this time, Mama! 😂
Before planning a weekend full of activities, really think about what your little ones can handle. If you know there’s a chance they might not be interested, they’ll get bored or tired quickly, or it may just be an event for you and hubby on a separate occasion, then prepare yourself for this reality and don’t let it bum you out.
The main points I want you to take from this post are:
- Try to remember that they’re kids, and these are their memories just as much as they are yours.
- Don’t feel like you’re in this by yourself because you will get overwhelmed.
- Lean on those around you!
- Make a plan and keep those little ones engaged for as long as they allow.
Stay tuned for more tips and activities for the holidays. Also, be sure to check my Instagram stories for tons of ideas I share from our fellow Mamas!
