The Christmas holiday can be a very stressful time for kids. Often there is great anxiety over family get-togethers, gift giving and the need for everything to be just perfect. Many times we, as parents, spend a lot of time stressing, and this stress can very easily carry over to our children. Knowing how to find the right balance between accomplishing our goals for the holiday and learning to relax is the key to teaching our children how to truly enjoy Christmas.

Here are some tips for helping your children to enjoy the Christmas holiday for what it really is:

1. Try not to disrupt your daily routines too much prior to Christmas day. While there is going to be some abnormalities due to parties, shopping, and decorating, try to keep the disruptions to a minimum. Try to do your shopping throughout the year to reduce the amount of time you must spend fighting the holiday crowds… Combine the parties when possible. Instead of going to Aunt Susie’s, and then to Grandma’s, and then to your sister’s house, you might consider inviting everyone to your house for one big get-together. If you have company coming in from out of town and you can afford to, spring for a hotel room for them so that your household is not in a constant uproar.
2. Stick to the home-cooked meals that your children are accustomed to the rest of the year. Many of us find that, with the busy-ness that comes with the holidays, we tend to grab a fast-food meal here and there. This will not only become expensive at some point, but it is also not healthy and the lack of family time around the dinner table may have some very negative effects on your child at some point.
3. Don’t force your children to participate in pageants or holiday performances unless they really want to. Instead of making them practice and practice and feel pressure to be perfect, allow them to enjoy the magic that the Christmas holiday is supposed to hold for a child.
4. Set aside some time to do the old-fashioned things. Go caroling in your neighborhood. Spend a whole day just baking cookies. A day spent making cutout cookies and decorating them is one that your child will not forget down the road. It is a memory that they will treasure, even when they are older and have children of their own.
5. Spend a little time each evening adding to the Christmas holiday décor around your home and listening to Christmas music. Get out the hot cocoa and put out some homemade cookies each evening for a snack. Involve your children in the present wrapping process. Do everything you can to make the holiday a special and magical one that your child will look forward to each year as December approaches.
6. Teach your children the joy of giving. Take them to a homeless shelter and let them spend the day with you, serving a meal to those who are less fortunate. Allow them to donate a favorite toy to a children’s home. So often nowadays, children will make their wish list and are not taught how much pleasure can be had from giving to someone else.

Christmas has, unfortunately, become a very commercialized holiday and along the road of commercialization, our society has lost sight of how to relax and enjoy the spirit of the holiday. This does affect our children and it is imperative that we, as parents, take the necessary steps now, to teach them to enjoy Christmas for the wonderful holiday that it really is.

Tags: anxiety, child, Child Christmas, Christmas, christmas day, Christmas for Our Children, Christmas holiday, family time, food meal, grandma, holiday crowds, holiday performances, home cooked meals, pageants