2 Under 2- 5 Christmas Hacks for Young Families – Mommy Blogger

11/29/2017

Hello! My name is Julia Dawn and I am a singer-songwriter, blogger, hula hooper, worship leader, and full-time Mom. My little girl was born May 2016 and has turned our lives into a beautiful chaotic whirlwind.  I live for her giggles, make it through the day with re-heated coffee and unwind with beautiful stationary and a nice fountain pen in my hands. Oh, how I love my stationary. My goal is to be real, raw and honest about Mom life, marriage, friendships and living life with passion.

For more of Julie’s articles check out www.warrior117.wordpress.com!

I recently gave birth to my 2nd beautiful daughter and am now a proud Mama of 2 under 2. They are 18 months apart, almost to the day, and although I am no expert in this chaos (I’m only a few weeks into the adventure) I thought I would share my Christmas Hacks (are these hacks? Maybe they are just tips…who really knows…) with you, fellow Moms, who may need a simplified Christmas season this year. So let’s dig right in!

#1 FREEZE THAT BAKING.

This is pretty common knowledge, but let me remind you that all of that yummy christmas baking does not need to be made the day before the party. Heck, you don’t even have to be the one to make it! Go to the farmers market, get into a group swap (or create one with your friends – if there are 4 of you, everyone makes 4 dozen of anything, and everyone walks away with a dozen of 4 different treats), call your mom! Freeze those goodies until you need them so you can be as stress free as possible!

#2 Have a Felt-Made Christmas!

This year I went to Fabricland and bought myself a LOT of felt. The easiest material to work with ever. I grabbed a bunch of dark green, and then fabric sheets (I think they sell 8×8 sheets) in all different colors. It took me less than an hour to cut out a beautiful christmas tree and make fun ornaments of all colors and shapes to stick on the tree, and of course one giant star for the top. My toddler can now arrange all the ornaments she wants, drop them on the floor, lose them in the toy bin or stick it in the toilet and I DO NOT CARE. Have fun my child! CREATE! The best thing about felt is that it sticks to itself and for these types of projects, you don’t even know have to sew. Make a snowman. A wreath for the kids doors. A Tree. A nativity scene (if you are feeling overly ambitious).  It gives the kids something new and fun to play with while you feed your youngest or sweep the floor for the hundredth time that day.

#3 Buy Less Presents! Make More Memories!

When your kids are so young, they have no expectations. Don’t set yourself up for failure in the future by overdoing it now (making them expect or making yourself expect to go crazy every year). Go crazy some year when they are old enough to enjoy it and it’s a one time thing! This year why not take your family to see the lights at the Forestry Farm, the Festival Of Trees at the WDM, take them out for a play day in the park or their first christmas movie day? Have fun with your young family, take lots of pictures, and spend less money. In our house we plan on doing “One gift they want, one gift they need, something to wear and something to read”. This keeps it simple for my Mom Brain to buy a few things, not overspend, but have a few gifts to open, and then we still have money to do something fun as a family. Those barbie dolls and toy trucks will only last so long.

#4 Shop Together For The Perfect Gift!

Why not drop the kids at Grandma and Grandpa’s and look together. Sometimes there is so much pressure to find the perfect gift that we forget why we are even buying in the first place. Do you love your S.O? Do you want to make them happy? Drop the kids off, grab a coffee and go to a store you both love and shop together. Pick a spending limit and be free! You could each buy something you’ve been wanting for awhile, you could pick out a new outfit for each other for a future date night, you could just walk and hold hands and find nothing… spending some quality time alone might just be gift enough. There is often so much chaos around Christmas, don’t lose time for the important stuff. Remember to put each other first and take time for each other.

#5 Say No to the 100th Christmas party.

Last but not least, learn to say No. Your family is young. Don’t let the season rush by without taking time for just yourselves. It is okay to say no to friends AND family. This year our littlest will be 6 weeks old Christmas week, and we’ve had to tell our out of town parents that they can come 1x before Christmas to meet baby and celebrate the season. It is different for everyone and maybe this sounds harsh to some of you, but we have 2 sets of divorced parents making 4 sets of grandparents that visit. There is just NO TIME for everyone to visit 2x in this season. So we’ve had to set some boundaries. Between their visits, christmas gatherings, work parties, seeing old friends that come home for the holidays and church celebrations, trying to fit in our own family traditions and making time for ourselves, the days are packed. So my dear friends, learn to say no every once in awhile, stay in with a cup of hot chocolate, give your kid a candy cane and watch the movie elf. I strongly believe relaxing needs to be part of the season if you want to make it through.

Let’s not over-complicate Christmas. Let’s all just have some fun, make some memories, enjoy those giggles and  relax this year. Doesn’t that sound like a holiday well spent?