Daddy's Guide to Surviving the Lead Up To Christmas With The Kids !!!
A Stay-at-Home Dad prepares you for when Daddy has to take the charge!
Ahh! Christmas really is the most magical time of year isn’t it? There is nothing better than on Christmas morning being woken up at some ungodly hour by your kids to be asked if Santa has been yet. This may sound sarcastic, but I really do not mean it to be. One of the best parts about being a dad for me is Christmas I love it.
With that being said Christmas day is just a small part of the Christmas experience. As much as I love the actual day of Christmas there is no denying the fact that the lead up to Christmas can be a royal pain in the backside. Sometimes the school holidays for whatever reason will result in the kids getting off school up to a week before Christmas day. That is a lot of time for kids to drive you crazy. Of course the whole week leading up to it they are crazily excited.
So how do I take care of the kids at Christmas?
And stop them driving me crazy and me then in turn having to lock them up in the garage? Well its not easy! I would be lying is I said it would be.
For me the best way to approach the lead up to Christmas day is to think of it like you are in the armed forces and this is a tour of duty.
Hey I know this may sound a little extreme, but its the best thing I compare it to. You need to have every little detail planned. If you give the kids a spare hour then prepare to be driven mad. To be fair its not as much a chore as I am making out as you can actually do some really fun stuff with the kids leading up to the big day.
Playing Outside
You may think that I am crazy here suggesting playing outside in December, but hear me out. If its snowing then you have it made as there is no end to what you can do. We have a great time making snow men or having snow fights. The best part about snow fights is building a snow fort.
If your family is anything like mine however, snow fights are great until someone takes it too far and it ends up with someone getting hurt.
On Certain Days…
Another thing we like to do and it may just be us being crazy is to play mud tackle football. We do this on years when we do not have much snow, but a bunch of rain.
Now my wife hates mud football, but we love it. I mean there is the downside of catching your death from cold and getting covered in mud, but these are just a small price to pay for some exciting mud football action. Now guys trust me when I tell you this. You wife or significant other will not appreciate you coming in the house after mud football.
Movie Days
Another thing that is great for keeping the kids occupied is movie days. We will either get a bunch of Christmas movies or we will take a trip to the cinema. I know you are thinking that these may sound like expensive activities, but they do not have to be. Most movie rental stores offer great deals where you can get like five movies for fives days for very cheap. And at the cinema I know my local ones during the holidays have a matinee showing of a older movie for only $2 per person including adults.
Little girls love to watch ballet and theater during Christmas and there is sure to be one in your city too. If too much snow if a problem, have her friends over and play one of their fairytale Christmas movies. Popped corn is the simplest thing to make and they are going to love it!
And lastly, it is fun to help mommy sometimes! Lead the gang into the kitchen to help cut out the cookies or take up a cleaning task somewhere (the kids own rooms would be the biggest help). Mommy definitely wouldn’t mind!
Overall the way I see it – the best way to survive the lead up to Christmas with your kids is actually quite simple. Have fun with them. I know that they can drive you crazy, but that is only because they are so excited for Christmas day. So channel that excitement in fun activities for you to do together.
