The Holidays have arrived!
Pre-kids, this was one of my favorite times of the year.
Work gets lax. Email traffic slows down. Lots of time-off and unused vacation days.
For me, it used to be all about getting cozy on the couch and overindulging a bit – on shows, snacks, naps – perhaps some pricy red wine (tis the season).
Post-kids, however. This time of year has changed a bit.
Post-kids, this time of year has actually changed completely.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still one of my favorite times of the year – the magic is certainly still there, but in a different way.
The holiday joy has now become an experience for my children, much more so than for me. An experience that I need to work for (and, pay for).
It’s more of a ‘mommy magic’ adventure that must be created….by me.
Wait, created by me?
Lights. Camera. Action
Yes. New babies and toddlers starting to understand the allure of Christmas are oh so adorable to witness, but it all comes at a price.
Perhaps a price to my sanity… as well as a price to our family savings account (can we take out a loan for all this stuff?).
A holiday dance of sorts, that seems to take years off my life while I struggle to come up with some type of system to help calm my holiday panic.
“The kids are home from school–hooray!”
Wait, the kids are home from school? Like, all week, they’re just gonna be home from school?
Who’s going to watch them?
What day is their Christmas concert?
What gifts are we getting for them?
Did you order the Christmas cards?
Do we have wrapping paper? Well, do you think these gifts are just gonna wrap themselves?
Do we need lights to decorate the house?
Who’s going to shovel the driveway?
How do you cut a turkey?
Where do you get a Christmas tree?
How are we going to pay for all of this?
My mind begins to race – it’s all starting to happen, and quickly.
Tensions start rising. My head starts spinning. There’s no longer time for thinking, only doing.
Doing whatever next holiday task is put in front of me.
The steady flow of schedules, routines, and expectations suddenly goes dark right around the week of Thanksgiving.
The old world is gone and a new world is here – a world full of snow, cookies, and errands.
In the place of my sacred routines, from now until about New Years, it’s just Christmas pandemonium. A steady stream of go-go-go.
A month-long sprint of sugar, curveballs, last-second preparations, and stressed out parenting.
Secret Santa
So, what’s my secret for survival?
I don’t have one.
How do you slow it all down?
I’ve learned, you don’t.
The holidays with young kids becomes a time to embrace the chaos a bit. Understand that parenting isn’t about being perfect, but about making memories.
It’s about having grace with your children (and your spouse), because all the hustle and bustle can at times lead to short tempers.
As a new, growing family with babies, the holidays are about creating your own traditions.
It means leaning into new holiday rituals with your children.
For us, that meant leaning into faith. Our family has tried to introduce Jesus to our kids, and at Christmastime we lead with the reason for the season.
Church services and Christmas concerts are top of the docket. Books or movies that retell the story of Mary and Joseph are things I actively search out.
Shephard’s Dinner
Our family does a ‘Shepards Dinner’ on Christmas Eve. I forget where I got the idea (doomscrolling I’m sure), but it certainly didn’t originate with me.
No utensils.
No lights.
The candles get lit, and we sit at our dinner table eating fingerfoods. Cheese, crackers, peanuts – a nice loaf of bread, some beef jerky.
This might have been what life was like for shepherds in the time of Jesus (they did have red wine, right?)
We read the story of Jesus’ birth from the bible. We ask our kids how much they understand (typically nothing to very little) about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.
Did the kids love it at first? No. I don’t think they knew what the heck was going on.
But they laugh. They enjoy the experience. Year by year they start to understand, and it starts becoming tradition.
Now, our oldest girl expects it, and it’s one of her favorites.
Our prayer is that something sticks in that little noggin, and she can look back on the holidays with the notion that Christ is truly the reason for the season.
The Holiday Toddler Survival Gear
So, maybe not necessarily survival gear, but items that have helped us do more as a family over Christmas time.
Stroller Wagons
A good stroller wagon helps us get out with the children, even in inclement weather.
The zoo and other events have some charming Christmas light exhibits – cozy blankets to keep warm and cupholders to hold hot cocoa.
We like cutting our own Christmas tree. The right stroller wagon can even help haul a fresh pine around the tree farm.
I’ve found the wagon becomes our homebase on wheels, especially during the holidays when my hands are full.
If you’re in the market for a stroller wagon, we break them all down in our Best Stroller Wagon Guide.
TLDR you can’t beat a Veer Cruiser.
Travel Cribs
Load up the car, we’re headed to Grandmas!
There’s always some type of traveling involved around the holiday season.
If we’re not going to my parents house for a few nights at some point in December, then that means we’re probably hosting family at our place – or inevitably both.
Either way, I need space and I need a place for these babies to sleep.
A solid, portable travel crib can be your best friend in times like these. Break it out, set it up – you can use it as a safe play place for infants and they are great for contained-toddler sleeping.
Check out our best travel crib list. Our favorite is the Guava Family.
And if you are driving this holiday season, check out our guide to long car rides with kids.
Veer Valet
Speaking of traveling, Veer has a new concierge service that is taking the parenting world by storm.
Say goodbye to lugging three kids and 5 bulky bags through an airport, just let Veer Valet hand deliver your stuff right to your holiday destination doorstep.
You buy a bag, you get a token – you pack the bag, you ship the goodies (up to 75lbs worth).
This was the coolest thing we saw at this year’s ABC Expo in Las Vegas. It’s like Shipstix but for families on the move.
Believe me, sending the gear (or presents) early and traveling hands-free will make you feel like the smartest parent on earth (because, you kinda are).
For tips on airport survival, check out our how to fly with kids guide.
Christmas Closing In
So how do I land this plane?
Am I looking to vent? Maybe.
Am I looking for some other parent, as stressed out and on-tilt as me to commiserate with? Perhaps.
Maybe I just needed to say it out loud, to help my system prepare for what we’re about to embark on here. This is my last breath before my brain goes into a tizzy and the checkbook bounces.
One final sigh as we gear up for another year of complete madness that is the holidays with young kids.
So here it is. Hold on tight, because they don’t stay this young forever (or it seems, everyone keeps telling me they don’t). Raise your glasses high, and kiss your routines goodbye – here’s to Christmas 2025.
May yours be merry and bright.
From Amy and the team at AmyBaby 🙂 Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.
