Christmas Hiatus

The past few weeks have zoomed by in a blur. The Christmas season with an infant is an entirely different experience. Besides keeping up with the everyday tasks like cooking, cleaning, running errands etc, Christmas adds to those responsibilities: Christmas shopping, gift wrapping, baking (because who can resist a yummy shortbread cookie!?) and all of the other activities associated with Christmas. It was a challenging experience. Here are some of the things I learned this year:

1. You can't do everything, so prioritize. Usually I have the Christmas tree up as soon as December rolls around, this year our tree went up on the 23rd (it was a constant thought in my mind, but not a high priority). I also only put up a few select decorations to minimize set-up and clean up time.

2. Most of the gifts we gave this year came in gift bags - they're just a faster form of wrapping, and more environmentally friendly!

3. If you're inclined to bake, make cookies that require simple ingredients (i.e. butter, flour, eggs) and make as much ahead of time and freeze them. Give cookies in a reusable tin or Christmas container to help minimize the plastic going into landfills.

4. Space out travel time. We wanted to be able to see all of our family over the holidays, but people are spread across the province. So we visited one side of the family the week before Christmas, and one family over the actual holiday.

5. Make time for yourself as a family. Tim and I have never had more than a long weekend at home, we are typically traveling for our holidays to one family's place or another. This year we made a conscious effort to have a good chunk of time as a family, just the three of us, in our own home. It was great. We hung out as a family, cleaned, put away most of the Christmas stuff, and just relaxed. We even were able to host some of our siblings here on the weekend! It was great. :)

6. If you're going to take family Christmas photos, book them early. I called our photo centre of choice (Zehrs!) back in early November and they were almost already completely booked up until Christmas. Yikes!

7. This is your child's first Christmas. If they are under a year old, they may take little or no interest in the Christmas festivities. Enjoy whatever they take interest in, even if it's just staring at the tree lights.

8. Be prepared for anything, especially if you are spending Christmas at someone else's home. Don't forget to bring all of the basics you would need if you were at home (i.e. infant tylenol, a thermometer) because you never know what may come up. Our son was extremely ill for most of the Christmas holidays, in fact we spent 6 hours in the ER on Christmas day. Definitely not what we had envisioned his first Christmas would be like, but definitely a memorable one!

9. Accept that you can't do everything. As I said in #1, you need to prioritize. Some things I wanted to bake didn't get baked, a lot of days I didn't get any formal exercise (other than playing with Sam), I really didn't get to make any entries on this blog, although I often thought of it. We are all human and can't beat ourselves up for what doesn't get done. The beauty of the season is that it borders on a new year, and what a great time for new starts. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful, healthy, safe holiday season.