Serendipity Mommy

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How to Get Your Kids Involved This Holiday Season

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The holidays are a time for family bonding and traditions. But sometimes your kids may be a little resistant to spending so much time with their parents. While this is natural (especially for those rocky teenage years), you can find some easy ways to get your kids involved in the holiday season. Consider some of the following activities that are great for kids of any age:

Decorate the House

There’s nothing to get you in the Christmas spirit like decorating your home. If your kids love adventure, have them get up on the roof with you to hang Christmas lights. Pick out the perfect Christmas tree that fills up your living room and get everyone together to hang ornaments and string up lights. If you’re extra bold, opt for a white tree that guarantees you a white Christmas, no matter where you live. If your kids have an eye for interior decorating, ask for their opinion on where to put your Christmas village or where to hang the stockings. You don’t have to spend hours and hours forcing your kids to decorate with you, but it’s an easy way to get them involved and create some family traditions.

Shop for Presents

Presents are one of the most fun parts about the holidays, especially for kids. Have your younger kids write out a list for Santa and put it in the mail together. Discuss what everyone wants for Christmas and brainstorm ideas with your kids about what to buy your spouse, the grandparents and their siblings. You can all go shopping together as a family, or take each kid out for a shopping date to buy all of their Christmas presents. It may be fun for everyone to explore stores together, but if it’s too overwhelming in the crowds, opt for some one-on-one bonding.

On Christmas morning, open all of your presents together. Take turns opening one present at a time so everyone can see what everyone received and be excited about their reactions.

Bake Cookies

When you think of Christmas when you were a kid, can you smell cinnamon and sugar in the kitchen? Does your mouth start salivating at the thought of licking the beaters clean of cookie dough? Pass down this Christmas tradition to your kids by baking cookies in preparation for the holiday. Teach them how to make your family recipes or try some new ones each year. Get your kids involved by having them pick out their favorite types of cookies and helping to make the batter and decorate them when they’re still gooey from the oven. While you may make them wait to have dessert until after dinner every other day, enjoy a few cookies together when they’re still warm.

Go Caroling

Make the holiday season musical for everyone in your family and neighborhood. If you have little kids, teach them a few of the shorter songs before you go caroling, or have your older kids lead the way. Spend a night going door to door to spread some Christmas cheer with your favorite holiday songs. If you’re too shy to go with just your family, look for groups of carolers at your church or in your neighborhood. You also can spend the night singing carols along with the radio at home. This is the perfect time to eat some of those delicious Christmas cookies and drink hot chocolate between songs.

3 Great Ways to Relax as a Parent

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Parenting is a rewarding a beautiful thing. It’s also hard work, time consuming and at times, very stressful. Caring for another human being who is completely dependent on you for their needs, development, and for love is a very difficult thing to do. You aren’t taught how to take care of children. You aren’t taught what to expect. You aren’t taught anything, but you learn from your parents and community, and make it up as you go along. In order to be the best parent you can be, however, you need to unwind and relax (without the kids present). Here are 5 great ideas on how to take a break from your kids:


  1. Have an Oasis

It is so important to have an oasis for yourself. This could be a small office in your home that children are not allowed to go in to, or it could be your favorite café downtown. Wherever your oasis is, make sure your children are not present. Taking a break from your kids is not cruel or mean: it’s simply taking some time to yourself. Everyone would agree that having some alone time, and saying yes once in a while to going out with friends is a good thing. If your children are taken care of, you are more than allowed to steal away for an hour or two. Your child doesn’t want you hovering over them all day, anyway.


  1. Make Unhealthy Habits, Healthier

A lot of adults smoke. It’s a relaxing pastime that works wonders for stress, but by making your unhealthy habits healthier, it is a great way to enjoy your guilty pleasure while reducing the impact on your kids. E-cigarettes produce pleasant-smelling vapor that dissipates quickly and leaves no trace in the air. You can enjoy a cheap vape with many flavors to choose from outside without having to worry about your children.


  1. Have a Life Outside of Your Children

Just because you are a parent doesn’t mean you aren’t still an individual. You were someone else before you were “Mom” or “Dad”. Make time to hang out with your friends, get out of the house, and do something new. There are so many ways that you can enjoy life while still being a great parent. The key to having a functional balance is to have a routine. Meet up with your friends at the same time each week. Take a weekly class. Spend an hour every morning jogging – whatever you do, the more scheduled, the better. Young children especially can learn and understand that you won’t be around every Friday at a set time, because they are used to it.

It’s easy to get caught up in your child’s life. The problem with this, however, is that one day they will grow up and move out. You need to keep your own life active and fulfilling outside of your children to relax, be happier, and nurture every relationship in your life.

Keeping Your Baby Cool When The Weather Is Scorching

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I have lived in Tucson for a few years now and one of the biggest challenges that I have found so far in Arizona is how to stay cool when the summer sun is blazing down. I moved here with a friend of mine Michael Thomas Eckhardt, we both have young babies of around the same age and you be surprised how much of our time we spend discussing ways and means of keeping the babies cool when the heat becomes unbearable.

I often read about babies who have had to be taken to hospital because of dehydration or overheating and I refuse to be a father who could be accused of not doing enough to prevent death in this blistering Tucson heat. If you are taking a vacation this year to somewhere hot, here is how to keep your baby nice and cool.

Bathing or Paddling Pools

Giving your baby a splash in a bath filled with lukewarm or cool water, or even letting them have a play in a paddling pool a couple of times per day is a great way to cool down their body temperature and when it gets hot, you need to be doing this each day.

Avoiding the Sun

Avoiding direct sunlight is crucial for your baby and you need to make every effort that you are keeping them in doors when the sun is blazing down. Aside from the risk to their skin from the sunlight, a baby’s temperature will absolutely soar once you have placed them in direct sunlight and you should avoid this entirely. If you must go out, make sure that their stroller has a good quality shade that will block the sun’s rays from reaching your baby.

Bedroom

In order to keep the baby’s bedroom as cool as possible, you should have black out blinds which are closed all of the time, this can help to keep the heat out. Using a fan is a great idea to circulate and cool the air but you should avoid using air con as the water particles in the air can cause problems for the baby when they are breathing. If it is extremely hot, then by all means put the air con on for a short time and then use a fan for when the baby is in their bedroom.

Clothing

It goes without saying that you should be keeping your baby in light and breathable clothing which will keep them cool. On an evening there is nothing wring with just keeping your baby in their nappy and nothing else, this will also help you to avoid the baby kicking their clothes off.

Thermometer

It’s really important that you know how hot it is inside the house and inside the baby’s room and the best way to do this is to place a couple of thermometers inside the house. Adults feel the heat differently to babies and the best way to stay on top of their temperature is to know just how hot it is.

Who Is Calling? Teaching your Kids How to Answer the Phone

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As you know, a cell phone or a landline telephone can be a very useful communication tool. In fact, most of us can’t make it through the day without answering the phone at least once. Does it matter how you answer the phone? Actually, it does. And if you haven’t taught your kids the basics of 21st-century telephone etiquette, now is the right time to do so.

Manners matter

Kids haven’t a clue what’s appropriate or not until you teach them. For this and other good reasons, be sure your children understand basic phone etiquette from a young age. Educate them in marvelous manners when you teach by example. When you answer the phone, do so with a pleasant hello. Adding your surname to the greeting is optional. Some parents teach their little ones to answer the phone by saying something like “Smith residence, this is Junior speaking.” Whatever opening line you prefer, ask grandparents and friends to make a few practice calls to be sure your kids commit the greeting to memory before allowing them to answer phone calls, advise parenting pros at The Bump magazine.

Play it safe

Before letting youngsters pick up a ringing phone, make sure they are clear about a few basic safety guidelines. Instruct kids to never tell any caller that their parents are not at home. Instead, teach kids to say mom or dad is busy but they’d be happy to take a message. Very young children have no business answering the phone, unless you are right there, see the caller ID, and give them permission to pick up.

The small charge accrued by monthly caller ID subscriptions can pay for itself over and over. Instruct your children to not answer unidentified calls from unknown phone numbers. If a particular unrecognized number continues to call, find out who it is via ReversePhoneLookup.org. Unsolicited sales calls can be blocked, and it’s a great idea to do so.

Phone tips for teens

If your adolescent has access to their own phone line, set reasonable boundaries and enforce them. For example, place a block on outgoing 900 number calls and paid long distance calls. Instead, decide on a number and buy a calling card with that amount of minutes to help your teen avoid racking up substantial charges, says Dummies.

Don’t eavesdrop, but if you become aware that your teen is using their phone to harass anyone, have a talk with them about appropriate phone behavior. If they continue to use the phone wrongly, take the phone away for a while and watch how their act improves. Most teens are terribly attached to their phones and will do almost anything to keep connected.

Phones are good to have, and they provide a valuable service that keeps people in touch. Explain to your kids what you want as far as phone etiquette goes, teach by example, and enjoy the wide wonderful world of telephone communication.

15 Camping Activities Your Children Will Love

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Summertime provides the family with a perfect opportunity to explore the great outdoors with a camping trip. However, before you set-off on your adventure, it would be wise to plan some camping activities to keep the children entertained throughout the experience. Check out these fifteen camping activities your child will love.


  1. Make Delicious S’mores

Nothing tastes sweeter than a scrumptious s’more around a campfire. Tell scary ghost stories that your children will love as you melt together marshmallows and chocolate onto a cracker or another s’more recipe. You can guarantee the taste of the treat will linger on their tongue all evening long, providing the perfect end to a fantastic day of camping.


  1. An Animal Checklist

If you are camping in a state or national park, we recommend finding out about the animals who live there in advance. You can then create a fun checklist for your children, so they can tick an animal off their list as soon as they spot one. You can guarantee they will love looking for squirrels, deer and ducks.


  1. Cook Over a Campfire

Allow your children to help you create delicious camp cooking recipes for all the family over a campfire. It’s a great way to get your children involved in the camping experience, while teaching them how to cook, which are skills they can use later in life.


  1. Flashlight Tag

There are a million and one ways to entertain your little ones on a camping trip. For a game that will have them laughing out loud, play flashlight tag as a family. The goal is for a player to shine a light on another family member’s clothing, who will have to dodge out of the way to avoid the light shining on them. However, ensure you play in an uncluttered space that’s away from the campfire!


  1. Sing Songs Around a Campfire

There’s no better time to enjoy a family sing-a-long than when you’re sitting around the campfire. It’s the perfect time to let your vocal talents shine or to get a little silly, using different voices and singing different songs. You could even make a campfire song up as a family that you can sing on every trip.


  1. Create Shadow Puppets

Capture your child’s imagination by making fun shadow puppets when the sun goes down. You can create images of animals and characters using your hands or by using cardboard images. They’ll love it so much they will probably try to create their own, so it’s a great way to encourage your little one’s creativity.


  1. Play Board Games

While many campers will pray for the sunshine, it does not always come out as hoped. Ensure the children will have fun whatever the weather by taking along some board games. From Pop Up Pirate to Monopoly, there is a game to suit the whole family. It will stop your children from feeling bored so that they will embrace the experience from start to finish.


  1. Teach Your Child the Constellations

Encourage your children to fall in love with astronomy by teaching them about constellations during a camping trip. If possible, point out constellations such as Ursa Major or Ursa Minor, plus more. You could even develop their interest by giving them a children’s astronomy book before your camping trip or by telling them facts about the solar system, star formation or the milky way.


  1. An Explorer Journal

Buy your little one a journal that allows them to write about the many different sights, sounds and smells around a campsite. They can use the journal to write a diary or stories, or they can even draw pictures of animals, bugs or their favorite memories from the vacation.


  1. Charades

A game of charades can provide plenty of family fun before bedtime. The whole camp will be laughing their layers off as you try to figure out a word. It’s a great way for your children to unleash their creativity and enjoy some fun away from a smartphone or tablet.


  1. Glow in the Dark Ring Toss

One inexpensive game that’s ideal for an evening around the campfire is the glow in the dark ring toss game. All you need is a small pole and some glow in the dark bracelets to get started. Each member of the family should pick one glow stick color and whoever lands the most rings around the pole wins the game.


  1. A Scavenger Hunt

Give your children a bag to enjoy a scavenger hunt around the campsite. Ensure you follow them as they run around to find different objects to put in a bag. You could even place items you want them to find in different locations to make the game more memorable for your little one. Once the game is over, empty their bag to see what treasures they have found and tick objects off your scavenger hunt list.


  1. Play Catch

Every child likes to play catch, even when they’re enjoying camping. If your son or daughter becomes a little restless, it’s a great way to entertain them and tire them out at the same time.  Add an element of danger to the game by playing with a water balloon, if the weather is good enough of course. They will be laughing about the game all day long and will sleep peacefully in their sleeping bags throughout the night.


  1. Go on a Hike

Most campsites are located near different hiking trails for different skill levels. Opt for a family-friendly trail that will allow your children to explore nature without having to walk too far. You could even ask them to find a good walking stick along the way.


  1. Rent a Canoe

Take your children on a trip across a lake in a canoe. They’ll love nothing more than absorbing their surroundings, staring into the lake or attempting to row the canoe across the water. Don’t be scared to show your son or daughter how to hold a canoe paddle and allow them to put the paddle in the water.  It’s a great family activity your children will remember long after the camping trip is over.

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