If you have ever had an infant at Christmastime, you may know what it is like to make plans, change them, cancel them and make new plans all over again. Perhaps daily! Holiday traditions can get interesting with very little ones. Naptimes, feedings, sudden need for diaper changes… all part of having a beautiful little baby and also sometimes a halt on the best-laid plans! Babies always make things more interesting, don’t they?
Family traditions help people to feel a sense of solidarity, kinship, and continuity. Children, especially, crave the sameness of the holiday tradition. We also associate the positive feelings of the event with the holiday itself.
How do you maintain or begin holiday traditions for your family when you have an infant? Well, this depends. If you have a first child or only child infant, it may be easier to wait to start some traditions until your child is older. However, it can be done! When we had older children and a small baby, we just took the baby along everywhere. Some Christmas activities were harder than others and I learned some lessons. Traditions we had luck with when we had an infant included: Driving and looking at lights, watching Christmas movies, sitting by the fireplace near the tree and reading Christmas stories, and Christmas dinner with grandparents. Oh, and napping. Plenty of napping!
While Christmas traditions are easier and arguably more fun with children once they are no longer babies/toddlers, you can ease into this with plenty of fun activities this holiday with the new baby. When things do not go smoothly, remember… there will be many more Christmases to come. After all, letting the pressure off can make it more fun too!