Fall is a favorite season for many, filled to the brim with wonderful holidays, seasonal treats and lovely weather. For families with young kids, this season can be hectic and tiring, not just fun and magical. Here are ten tips to keep yourself and your family sane during the fall and winter holiday season!
1. Get your flu shots: Nothing can derail a holiday faster than a flu! Protect yourself and your children (older than 6 months) – the shot takes two weeks to kick in!
2. Up your handwashing game: Families with young kids probably already spend a fair amount of time at the sink, but doctors say proper handwashing procedures help cut the risk of contagious illness significantly. Teach your kid to sing “Happy Birthday” twice – that’s about how long it takes to properly wash away germs. Show them how to rub their palms, the backs of their hands, and between their fingers before rinsing away.
3. Get good rest: While the season is hectic, rest is as imperative as anything else. Building in blocks of family refueling time between trips to the apple orchards and grandma’s will ensure you are ready for the next big event. With the time change, it’s a good excuse to train your body clock to tuck into bed a little earlier every night.
4. Get your kids in on scheduling: If you don’t already keep a family calendar, the holidays are a perfect time to introduce your kids to calendar planning. Besides the popular advent calendars, a plain paper calendar can be used to mark and countdown to anticipated events, whether it’s Thanksgiving or a friend’s birthday party.
5. Donate (or sell) outgrown clothing now: Most parents are familiar with the seasonal switch, swapping out the last season’s clothing for more weather-appropriate duds. Save yourself time, stress and space for next year by weeding out any outgrown or worn items that won’t be used next year.
6. Winterize your house to save on energy costs: Re-caulking the windows can save on heating bills for months to come, so get that calendar out and plan out a few things to get your house prepared for the winter. Other ideas include thermal curtains, adjusting your water heater, or wrapping a blanket around the water heater to conserve on energy costs.
7. Learn to say “no.” It’s easy to start feeling overwhelmed during the holiday season. There are family photos to be taken, cards to sent, gifts to buy, parties to attend, decorating to do – if any of this starts to feel too much, learn the fine art of saying no. While the temptation is there to maximize every opportunity, likely your child’s holidays will hold many fond memories for them without you having to go overboard at every step. Choose the activities you participate in wisely, and say ‘no’ to anything that causes more stress than enjoyment. A simple afternoon at home decorating a store-bought gingerbread house might be a better choice than hosting a cookie exchange that causes you to stress for days (or weeks) to pull it all off. In this age when kids are small and underfoot, simplicity is a real blessing.
8. Spread the spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude: Now is a wonderful time to take stock of all the blessings in your life and teach your children to do the same. Practicing mindfulness, or even donating a few canned goods to a local food pantry can give your whole family perspective in a season stocked with excess.
9. Practice food safety: If you’re serving foods, keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. Leftovers that have been sitting out at room temperature are best to be discarded. Leftovers should go into the fridge as quickly as possible, and heated up before consuming. Most prepared food has a shelf-safety life of about 2-3 days when kept at proper temperatures; place any leftovers you don’t plan to consume within this window into the freezer. Most holiday foods will freeze nicely, including desserts! Practice these same commonsense guidelines at others’ homes and celebration to reduce the likelihood of foodborne illness.
10. Relax…and Enjoy! With everything that goes on during Fall and the holiday season, remember to take a breath and enjoy the moment!
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