Here we are in the midst of the holiday season and I’m feeling ok about it all.
The holiday season can be such a stressful (and also fun) time without a baby so adding a baby to the mix was always going to be an interesting experience.
We were asked about our Christmas day plans in JUNE (!) and decided that we weren’t going to make any plans until the baby arrived. As the year was drawing to a close we started to feel pressure from some family members to make plans. I’m not 100% sure how it happened (I was definitely in a newborn haze) but it was decided that Christmas would be at our place to make it ‘easier’ for us.
I foolishly agreed and as the time got closer we both regretted the decision!
Don’t get me wrong we had a lovely day. A late lunch at our place with family and it was fairly low key as I made a Christmas platter rather than a full roast meal. We had a water slide out the back and it was so cool to see Parkers cousins doting on him. So it was a nice day – Family if you are reading this we did have a lovely time.
BUT, hosting six extra adults and two extra kids, no matter how low key is a lot of extra work.
Reflecting upon everything it would have been nice to just show up at someone’s place with a dish of food and be able to leave when we needed to.
Here are my top five tips for surviving Christmas day with a baby.
If you are asked to host…don’t agree! It’s much easier to travel somewhere else. You can show up late if you need to (everyone understands) and leave early when the baby has had enough!
2. Prepare a simple meal or dish. We opted for a Christmas Platter and it was so super easy. I shopped online the week before and just stored everything in the fridge ready to set out on the day.
3. Ask for help if you need it and accept help when offered. I hate asking for help, and even for people to bring things to functions. My sister in law was amazing and offered to bring so much. They even made name tags for the table which was awesome!
4. It is ok to say no. Remember that this is your first Christmas with a baby. If you just want to stay home that’s fine. If you don’t want to go
somewhere you don’t have to. Yes some people may get offended but remember that’s their problem!
5.Make time for your own little family to spend some quality time together. Christmas can be such a busy day that it’s nice to have a little break with just the three of you. Organize some time to reset, to chill out and to enjoy each other’s company.
The rest of the holiday season has been pretty cruisy. New Years Eve was very low key this year compared to other years!
We decided to not really make many plans and just hang at the beach with our friends…which has been the basis of our holiday so far.
Some tips and tricks that have helped us to have a relaxing holiday so far have been:
Packing a sistima container with pamol, teething powder, gripe water, syringes and a thermometer to take away with us. I haven’t needed to use any of these but its nice to know we have them on hand.
Stocking up on nappies, wipes and formula before we went away. It was good knowing we weren’t going to need to go to the supermarket while we were away. If you head to a small town like we did the supermarket is crazy busy, so not having to go was such a bonus.
I carry sunscreen in the nappy bag and also have an extra one in the beach bag, that way we are never caught out if he does need some.
Having a paddling pool that we can fit in too was super helpful for the days that Parker needed to cool down. We could jump in with him to help him sit up (without having to lean over the edge all the time). We also put him in his baby bath in the middle of the day if we noticed him getting hot.
Baby baths are also easy to take to the beach if you are going for the whole day! Fill it up when you get there and let it sit in the sun to warm up…that way they can play in the water in the shade later on.
I froze boobie milk in ice cube trays and put it into one of those little food sucker things for a little treat and to help with teething. Parker enjoyed a boobie milk iceblock in the high chair while we ate Christmas lunch!
The best thing we did was not stress out. We knew his sleeping wouldn’t be the same as it was at home. He was in a completely different environment so we didn’t enforce a routine or be strict in any way. We knew he would sleep and eat and do all the things a baby does in his own time so we were just very relaxed about it all which made for a nice holiday.
It has been really nice to not do a lot after such a busy year and just hang out as a family together.
We are certainly feeling rested and recharged and ready to tackle the year ahead!