If you had your first baby this year, you should be prepared that your Christmas will be completely different than before. You have a new member in the family now, who will decide what you do and when you do it. If you are in the habit of getting gifts at the last moment, stop! A baby needs peace and quiet, plenty of sleep, and a daily routine. If you give them that, they’ll reward you with a merry Christmas dinner.
Christmas without stress
If you’re planning to spend Christmas in a resort or at your parents’ or friends’ house, you won’t have as much stress with preparing your Christmas dinner. If you’re alone, however, planning it right is the key. Try to divide the tasks between you and your partner, so that neither of you has too much on their hands.
Remember that Christmas should be a holiday of peace and happiness. Babies sense what adults feel and if you’re stressed out, your baby will be stressed too.
If you have a small baby, forget about the chaos before Christmas. Order your presents online or give your partner the task to get them. You should definitely avoid taking your baby into crowded shopping centers. It’s a bad environment for them.
Plan your schedule in a way that would allow you to do Christmas baking over the weekend when your partner or parents can look after the baby for you. If you don’t have time to bake anything, don’t worry. You can always just order some cakes and you’re stress-free.
What food should you serve?
You should take some time in advance to think about what food you’ll give your baby for their Christmas dinner. This isn’t the time to experiment. Don’t try to give them new flavors or exotic fruit which they didn’t eat before. Give them something they like and have tested already, in order to avoid a Christmas full of protests and allergic reactions.
If your little one likes porridge, you can try to give them a bit of potato, broccoli or sweet potato. You can also use a cookie cutter to shape the porridge meal into whatever you like and add that extra Christmas touch to the meal. Maybe a potato fish or a broccoli Christmas tree?
If you’re still breastfeeding, remember that whatever you eat will get to your baby eventually. Don’t eat heavy foods that cause gas. Try to avoid cabbage soup, legumes, mayonnaise salad and fried foods. Limit your menu a little and prepare some baked fish with veggies and some potatoes. You’ll have a good healthy meal and your baby won’t suffer a tummy ache later on.
Christmas decorations
You should try to pick suitable Christmas decorations depending on what your child can do. If your baby is still small, you can safely use your favorite decorations. If your baby is at the stage where they crawl around and want to explore, touch and taste everything around, you might want to keep those glass Christmas balls hidden away and replace them with wooden or unbreakable decorations.
Be careful when placing live decorations – mistletoe, poinsettia, holly. The liquid that escapes when the leaves of a poinsettia plant are damaged can cause allergic reactions, while mistletoe and holly plants contain toxins which are dangerous to humans in large doses.
Christmas time is usually stressful for us adults. We chase after the perfect gifts and decorations. Never forget that your baby isn’t an adult. Your baby will appreciate when you take some time to rest during Christmas and give your time, love, and attention to them instead of running around in a shopping center.
Merry Christmas!
