Our Holiday Prep.

Just wanted to add a little holidays update while I have the chance.

All parents find it hard to squeeze in everything they want to do during the holidays while juggling work, home, Christmas parties and shopping. And I think for most single parents it must be even more overwhelming to try to get the kids out for fun family time without that ever-important second pair of hands. Plus sometimes it can be pretty lonely to see all the other families when you're alone with your child, but Babe and I have been having a really great time making the most of Christmas activities this year.

I gotta say thank heavens I nannied for so long because it really helped me with the planning and implementation of family activities as a single parent so we don't end up overwhelmed, crazy-rushed or having a major meltdown halfway through.

Like most parents I've been trying to start holiday traditions with Babe, mainly because I want her to enjoy the same things I loved as a kid but also because I want to emphasize the activities and family fun of the holidays and downplay the gift mania of Christmas morning.

Of course, Babe's grandmother will thwart my attempts to reign in the volume of gifts she gets despite my ongoing protestations and tantrums (urgh, story for another day). But I think in order to keep the storage of toys to a manageable level I'm going to start following what I have heard a lot of other parents say they do and have Babe donate one of her old toys for each new toy she brings home. That sounds like a great way to give back and keep her room from looking like the children's section of Walmart on a December shopping weekend.

Also last year and this year I was/will be away from Babe on the actual day of Christmas so I'm trying to maximize all the other holiday fun we can have.

So last year my tradition attempts were interrupted because we had moved to Smithers and then we didn't stay long enough to have multiple Christmases there so we didn't establish anything we liked doing. I did make the effort to ensure we still donated to the local food bank and stuff but that was about it for Babe.

Now that we're back in the city we have picked up where we left off and this is the first year that Babe (now three years old) is really "getting" the whole deal.

SANTA VISITS:

So far Babe has met Santa three times this year. I didn't really plan it that way but there it is anyway. Our new apartment complex has a Christmas party every year and Santa showed up on the roof of the building and then came down to hand out candy canes. They also hosted a big bonfire and free hot drinks and a choir. It was really nice to have that sense of community within the complex.

Then I took Babe to Bright Nights Christmas Train at Stanley Park and Santa was there as well.

But because the other two Santa encounters were unexpected I still wanted her to have her dress-up photo taken with Santa so we had to make a special trip to the mall just for that.

Annnd...I believe she is going to see him again with her preschool class.

That's a lot of Santa.

However despite all these opportunities Babe has only barely managed to squeak out the word 'Barbie' one time because she gets completely star struck when she sees Santa. She can't wait to see him, she has tons of stuff she wants to tell him, she promises me this time she'll be her usual talkative self and let it all out but nope. Every time she just stands there with a big grin on her face, nodding like an idiot. It's actually pretty cute. And secretly I'm pleased because I'm hoping to really downplay the desire for a Barbie and if I have Santa promising her one every time they meet it's going to make my life more difficult.


CHRISTMAS LIGHTS:

I love them. Babe loves them.

As I mentioned above I took her last Friday night to the Christmas Train at Stanley Park. Of course it was me and every other family in the Lower Mainland. I had wanted to take her during the week when it would be less crowded but the weather didn't co-operate. So we went on the first dry day we got which happened to be a Friday evening and it was bussssy.

But the place is amazing. Everyone does an incredible job with the lights and I thought this year the displays inside the train grounds were the best ever. Of course we missed last year. But I've been going for years with kids I nannied or my little cousins and this year really did seem extra amazing.

Of course because it was a spur of the moment weather-induced decision I didn't pre-buy tickets (which I highly recommend). So when I arrived at 7pm with my three-year-old in tow we had to wait until 9:30 pm to actually ride the train. But we passed the time easily with that second visit to Santa, seeing all the lights, snacking on hot chocolate and popcorn and getting Babe's face painted (her most favorite thing).

In case this is your first year going be prepared, it's expensive, I think just Babe and my tickets for the train was almost $20 and with food, firefighter donations and her Santa photo it rounded the evening up to probably $40 for just the two of us. But it's mostly for charity and the kids love it.

I also took Babe to Canyon Lights at the Suspension Bridge. Another fantastic light display. We got in for free because we live right nearby in the same postal code but I think it's a pretty pricey deal otherwise.

I thought Babe would be terrified of the actual bridge but she loved it and we had to cross it again and again. It was a touching moment for me because I have a photo of my mom and I standing on the same bridge when I was teeny tiny.

Babe was a little fussy the evening we went but she did love walking through the treetop (Ewok-village-style) adventure and they had a live band playing Christmas music which Babe must've danced to for half an hour.

We also found a snail which was probably the highlight for Babe.

This week I'm hoping to take her for a drive to see some of the private home displays around the area.

DONATIONS:

Every year when I was growing up my mom would take my brother and I to the toy store to pick out a toy each to donate to the toy drive. And I've been doing it ever since. Sometimes I would take the kids I was nannying at the time and other years I just did it with a boyfriend or on my own.

So it is really important to me that I do it with Babe.

When it was just me I would usually try to pick out a teenager gift because they seem to be the least donated items at toy drives. But this year I know Babe will relate more to a toy and will likely get more out of choosing something she really wants for herself and then giving it away to someone else.


So we haven't actually done it yet this year because I've been mulling over the present-age thing, but hopefully we will check that job off the list this week.

But we talk about it lots and I've been trying to get her thinking about what she would like to give and preparing her for the concept of not getting to keep the toy she picks out. I'll let you know if any of my preparations manage to stave off a meltdown when it comes time to drop off the gift.

Another family tradition is stuffing stocking for the homeless. Again we missed last year because we were in Smithers but I shopped for a bunch of stuff for the stockings last week on my lunch breaks and on the weekend Babe and I met everyone else who was donating/helping and together our little group of family and friends stuffed 120/60 pairs of wooly socks with everything from toiletries and snacks to gift cards and warm toques. It's definitely my favorite part of the holidays and hopefully will be Babe's as she grows up. Although it's probably overly optimistic to expect her to like it more than getting gifts on Christmas Day. At least until she is a teenager.

And of course Babe has been completely into other little holiday things like her advent calendar, decorating the tree, mailing her letter to Santa and stringing lights up on the balcony. Doing all this stuff with her is a lot more fun now that she is old enough to start to understand it all but little enough to still find so much magic in it.

In the past I have done holiday baking with my mom and given out treats to family and friends but that completely stalled once Babe was born. I have the utmost respect for all the parents who manage to pull that off with kids running around. So far I haven't even considered trying.