Ideas to make Christmas with a toddler less completely shit?

[Hardbackwriter]

Feeling quite despairing so trying to cheer myself up by finding some nice ideas - please help! I have a 2.5 year old, am 32 weeks pregnant and tbh DH and I are already really struggling to keep him entertained and to feel like life is anything other than drudgery. I was so looking forward to having some days at Christmas where he got to play with beloved family members and I got to sit down in comfort, drink tea and have a chat with an adult. That's now not happening - any ideas for how we can make it not just feel like another day of the same old drudgery? He won't tolerate sitting around and watching Christmassy films etc (and I also think that is very boring). Please don't suggest walks - I have SPD.

I think people may be getting snarky because maybe, (like me), they never get the sit down with cup of tea while toddler plays with beloved family members. I'm of your normal! My normal is your completely shit. But I appreciate, it's all relative, and to have it taken away at the last minute IS shit.

We do walks, disney movies, balance bike, baking. Not a lot of grown up fun sadly. Watching with interest in case anyone comes up with something genius .

@Hardbackwriter. Not sure how to link but have you checked out the 'Trapped Toddler Parents' threads. Lots of support and much less arsiness there.

Lay out a load of newspapers and buy some paint sticks (£9 ish Amazon) you can all join in as much as you like - less mess than paints, hours of fun.

Or make it unusual by doing outside stuff inside..

Plastic sheet in the kitchen small sand pit and sand - let the toddler go nuts doing something they may not remember doing before or only doing outside. Make mini sand castles with a small plastic cup, walk in bare feed over the sand etc. Sprinkle in some glitter if desired.

Get dressed up and play with bubbles in the garden.

Cake baking kit (99p Asda own chocolate sponge) take you time letting them mix and stir. Icing sugar and water to decorate and £1 on sprinkles you can all decorate together.

Get an animal projector torch from Amazon (£6)there’s 24 different animals that can be shone on anything - go for a pre bath walk in the dark chasing toddler with the projection of a tiger / dinosaur / zebra then let them chase you or your partner (you can be carrying a nice travel mug with hot chocolate 😀)

Then finish the day with some for the bath stuff that turns the bath a different colour and makes it crackle:

Play doh.
Camping (blanket over 2 chairs).
Pass the parcel - loads and loads of layers, sweet in each, layer music stops on toddler's turn 90& of the time.
Chinese 'takeaway' (ready meal) - you all eat with chopsticks - takes ages so uses up time and saves you/DH cooking. Most toddlers like noodles.

I get it OP. 2.5 is a tricky age for Christmas. Old enough to kind of know what’s going on but not old enough to get a lot of it.

Lots of ideas here for activities. My eldest was not at all interested in crafts at that age though.

I would seriously consider having your main meal after DC is in bed for the evening. They won’t care about Christmas dinner and it’s one less stressful part of the day to worry about. You can also properly relax and enjoy your meal. Although not wine unfortunately.

Chalking on slabs outside
Big paintbrush and tub of water to paint the slabs
Indoor trampoline - I bought a fitness one years ago and dc love bouncing on it.

Put on some toddler christmas songs and teach him to sing them with actions and then video a 'show' for family (and him) to watch.

When we had toddlers and spent christmas without extended family we made it easy and just had nibble foods and allowed everyone to pick all day so no proper meals to make. Lay out at lunchtime and clear up in the evening. Grown ups also had alcohol but perhaps not so good this year with a baby on the way!

If you have an active toddler try to get outside for a while, even if just in the garden if you have one, to kick/throw a ball about or splash in puddles etc, and burn off some energy. Does make them a bit calmer indoors afterwards.

They usually like messy or water play at that age. Easy to clean fun is shaving foam and some brushes. Shaving foam wipes off clothes and surfaces fairly easily afterwards so easier to deal with than paint (and tends to smell nice).

I had a couple of Christmases without family when my eldest two were small and it isn't as enjoyable as it is with other adults about but the children had fun and if they have a good bed routine then at least the evening is free to put on a nice film and a snuggle with your dh.

So glad everyone here is happy for someone to refer to an upcoming holiday with their child, and with another child on the way, as "completely shit".

Games! My 2.4 year old has recently got into:
Pop up pirate
Fishing game
Humpty dumpty's wall game
Orchard Toys shopping list game
Hungry hippos

Plus you can all play together.

@OhToBeASeahorse - hear hear.

OP- yeah, I think your idea of having things that your DH and you will enjoy while your toddler tags along is probably out of sight, mainly because there’s just so little available to do at all ATM! I sympathise completely- mine are 4 and 7 and my one comfort is that this hasn’t happened when they were younger because it would be even harder... I realise that’s little help but hopefully it’s reassuring in the light of some of the other comments.

hang in there!!

@ZippedyDooDa

So glad everyone here is happy for someone to refer to an upcoming holiday with their child, and with another child on the way, as "completely shit".

Yawn.

Don't you have friends and family you can visit

If you have a car - drive round to see Christmas lights (timed so not a disaster if he naps) and/or see sheep/horses if you're not in a city.

Cup of tea and a biscuit, the holy grail of toddler mums!

I’m with you OP, DS is 2 and 90mph being cooped up and I don’t have the excuse of being pregnant.

Mine spends ages playing with his Aquadoodle mat (Amazon and Argos sell it) you put water in a pen, scribble and colours show up and they disappear as it dries. DS shouts out items and I have to draw them. We bought another set of the pens so we can all play together like a backwards game of Pictionary!

Balloons are the best at wearing him out, blow up a few and bat them around the room and he chases them, uses them to whack things with, great fun! DS and DH can play catch with them while you have a cuppa and keep score.

Asda were selling gingerbread man decorating kits. I haven’t attempted ours yet but should be fun and at least I can eat the leftover mess!

Hot chocolate station? Maybe more a warm chocolate milk station but he can add marshmallows, sprinkle some cocoa on top etc.

If you have an Alexa the CBeebies skill has games, songs and interactive bits for kids. DS loves the Hey Duggee game where you create a song. If you ask her to play a specific animal noise she can keep playing random ones which is fun and informative.

Cardboard box colouring. Biggest box you have and make a fort. Or use the little boxes to create things for his toys. I drew inside a small box to make a very lovely house for Spider-Man the other day!

Don't you have friends and family you can visit

And the winner of the most bizarre comment so far goes to....

Many, many hours of Thomas/ Fireman Sam/ CBeebies got me through a long, hard winter involving pregnancy, SPD (ended up on crutches) and a difficult toddler. It turned out that he had ASD which wasn't diagnosed until he was nearly 9 which belatedly explains why all the wholesome crafty, doing with mummy stuff was inevitably a stressy failiure and really not worth the crushing disappointment. If only I'd known wny he loathed crafts, anything messy and sensory and found walking with hypermobility hard going.

He's 10 now and hasn't been ruined by surviving a shitty winter on minimal effort. He's fit, healthy, intelligent and thriving at school despite ASD, dyspraxia and dyslexia.

There is a good chat thread for mums trying to get through the toddler phase with some sanity in tact, I think it has "puddlesuits" in the title.

Ignore the twits who had empathy by-passes, they're doing a grand job of making themselves look stupid.

@CrispySeaweedIsReallyCabbage

I think people may be getting snarky because maybe, (like me), they never get the sit down with cup of tea while toddler plays with beloved family members. I'm of your normal! My normal is your completely shit. But I appreciate, it's all relative, and to have it taken away at the last minute IS shit.

We do walks, disney movies, balance bike, baking. Not a lot of grown up fun sadly. Watching with interest in case anyone comes up with something genius .

You may be right, and I'm sorry if it came off as insensitive.

Go out as late as possible. I found going out in the morning would mean I felt trapped for the rest of the day. If I know I'm going out in the afternoon it somehow makes the morning pass more quickly and then when you get home it's not long until tea time and bed!

[quote OhToBeASeahorse]@ZippedyDooDa

Do fuck off. There's a love.[/quote]
Absolutely, with attitudes like this it's no wonder people feel ashamed to reach out for help

I would seriously consider having your main meal after DC is in bed for the evening. They won’t care about Christmas dinner and it’s one less stressful part of the day to worry about. You can also properly relax and enjoy your meal

Agree with this - toddlers don't give a flying fuck about turkey and all the trimmings. Alternatively, don't bother doing Christmas dinner at all - have loads of lovely snacky stuff and treats for you and DH instead.

Really tricky at the moment, I completely understand where you’re coming from! I am ECV so have been staying pretty much at home with 17mo DD for months while DSs (7&5) are at school. Now I feel like I’m mostly out of ideas for things to amuse them during the holidays (tier 4 here) while DH is working. I think I’ll be heavily reliant on baking - have bought a Christmas biscuit kit from M&S and have an IKEA gingerbread house ready to go for a day when I’m feeling brave and patient haha! I’ve also just ordered some Christmas craft kits from Amazon - might make some paper chains - anything to keep them occupied for a bit! Some great suggestions on this thread already, will definitely be following them. This is a very tricky time- and quite, quite overwhelming! Definitely ok to do plenty of activities which involve you being able to drink a hot cup of tea. Good luck x

@MrsLeclerc your ballon idea is genius! 😀

And OP any one of these activities can be ones that you can organise for your DH and toddler to do while you que up a zoom call or some sanity saving FaceTime with friends.

Agree driving somewhere to see the Christmas lights/decorations and get yourselves a takeaway coffee or hot chocolate sounds like something nice to do.

In terms of things to do at home, when my DS was little he’d be entertained for ages by a couple of bags of dry split peas in a cat litter tray. He’d use his little digger toys and dumper trucks to move around the ‘dirt’ (split peas). The great thing about this activity was that he didn’t require much involvement from me and DH. One thing to note is that this is not such a great idea if you own a cat, as then your DS might think the actual litter tray is a toy!