Oh Christmas time… a time of beauty, and peace. A time to reflect and to show love. . . and, if you have toddlers, a time of total and complete chaos. Christmas rarely turns out the way I had pictured it in my mind with my kids. There’s a lot more screaming (kids) and a lot less moments of peaceful reflection (for me).
Don’t get me wrong, I love it, and it’s a precious time. But it’s not silent, quiet or remotely restful. Here are a few Christmas truths about life with toddlers. PLEASE share yours in the comments! Let’s all laugh together!
Christmas truth #1 – Those adorable photos of kiddos in their matching Christmas PJs. Yep, not happening. This is what you get…two kids crawling on top of each other, spinning in circles, grimacing, climbing over the back of the couch and screaming. Not the cute little cherubs with rosy cheeks grinning up with excited anticipation of Christmases to come.
Christmas truth #2 – There will be meltdowns. Many of them. Holidays are great and cheery and all that, sure. But they are also sugar-filled days that greatly mess up sleep patterns. This means lots of tantrums and more than a few meltdowns. Just get ready.
Christmas truth #3 – Extended family might feel the need to comment on said meltdowns or tantrums. This is pretty much enevitable. It’s best for every one if you just take the screaming child out of the room and deal with it away from inquisitive eyes, who want to tell you their superior methods that are sure to work for disciplining your child.
Christmas truth #4 – The wrapping paper is oftentimes more enthralling than the gift itself. (Thanks, Nicola for this one!)
Christmas truth #5 – Children’s toys are ridiculously hard to remove from their packaging. Seriously. It amazes me every time we get a new toy, how difficult it is just to maneauver the new doll or truck from it’s little cardboard box. Or perhaps, it’s just that time seems to slow down when you have a child hopping up and down next to you saying “open it pleeeeease!!! I wanna play with it!!!! Is it open yet???”
Christmas truth #6 – You may have to resort to bribery if you want to get a decent “family photo” in front of the tree. We may or may not have convinced our son to get off his new bike and join us for the picture by telling him he’d get some chocolate if he let daddy hold him for a minute AND if he smiled.
Christmas truth #7 – There’s a very good chance some of the brand new toys or books will be destroyed or at least badly damaged before the day is done. (Thanks to Kay from A Ranch Mom for this truth!)
Christmas truth #8 – You might not make it through the entirety of Luke chapter 2 in one sitting. Or even at all. My kiddos aren’t the best at sitting still yet, so we take what we can get. 30 seconds here, a full minute there, and we do our best to teach our kids the true “meaning for the season” whenever we can. Even if it’s when we’re driving down the street, or putting ornaments on the tree. It’s less “family gathered around the tree looking precious while we read from the Bible” and more “This is the chaos of our life, but we still try to keep it centered on Jesus”. And, while it wouldn’t be as cute on a postcard, it’s how my kids learn right now, so it works!
What are some of your Chaotic Christmas truths? I’d love to hear them! You can join in the conversation on Facebook to read even more of the hilarious Christmas truths from other readers and bloggers! Really funny stories and photos there, I’m sad I didn’t have room for all of them!!!
Kathryn says
Haha love this and love the pajamas pictures! I have to say that also the boxes that the toys come in and the tube that’s at the end of the wrapping paper are also more fun than the actual toys lol.
Erica - Let Why Lead says
All of these pictures are adorable, Paula! I especially love your family picture! (Much better than the one we managed!) It was totally worth the bribe. :)
My kids’ Santa gifts were both broken or lost before we returned home from our trip. Haha. Oh well, they were small, inexpensive, and worth the memories—even if they only lasted a few days!
Tiffany says
Haha so true! It also only takes a few minutes preceded by hours of setup and hours of clean up! I’m a big crafter and rarely does it turnout as joyful as I picture- Christmas carols playing as we make beautiful things together. Took me a while before I just let go and focused on relaxing and having fun in the moment rather than the result. It really helped this year instead of having all three kids in the kitchen at once to make and decorate cookies, I called them one at a time for about 5 minutes each at each part of the process. Made for a much smaller mess and better quality one on one time ( and cuter cookies)!
Alessandra Ferguson says
Love this! I learned this is true even with a 6 month old! Holidays definitely change!