Avoiding over-stimulation at Christmas for pre-schoolers

Christmas with toddlers and pre-schoolers can be a little overwhelming. The sheer volume of toys and gifts can almost be too much in one day, and can cause a lot of overstimulation - not to mention lots of family, lots of treat food and irregular meal times, huge excitement and high expectations for behaviour. So we have compiled a few top tips to make Christmas more manageable, and to create magical memories that everyone will enjoy.

There is often huge pressure to make every single part of Christmas magical, whilst forgetting that really simple things can be novel for children, and can make them really happy without spending enormous amounts of money. Here are some ideas for easy wins that will be calm and joyful.

1. The ‘four present’ guide
   
   It is very tempting to buy huge numbers of presents, and grandparents and relatives will often do the same. A good way to buy a lovely range whilst also not spending too much is to implement the “Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read” rule. You can also send this to family members as a good guide for receiving gifts that will be useful as well as the fun ones. Of course, when considering ‘something to read’, do look at our book collections!

2. Spread out the gift opening
   
   Whilst it is exciting to open everything at 4am, why not spread the present opening a little so that everyone hasn’t crashed by 7am and got bored or cross by 2pm. Try a stocking for the morning, with some fun things to do in it, as well as a few silly bits and a couple of higher value items to play with. If you are lucky, you might then be able to stretch out the main present opening until 10am or so, which can really help prolong the excitement. If this is tricky to do, why not make a treasure hunt of Christmas presents so that they have to be found? It might prolong things a little!

3. Christmas Eve pyjamas and book
   
   This is a really simple and fun tradition. Open a cosy pair of pyjamas and a Christmas book on Christmas Eve before hanging up stockings, so that you can have some quiet time on the sofa before bed. Add hot chocolate and a Christmas snack for a little more magic.

4. Christmas lights drive
   
   Light shows are extremely popular, and a wonderful experience, but they can be extremely expensive, particularly for a whole family. If you have little children, scout out where the good Christmas lights are in your town (this might be the town centre, or people’s houses!) and one evening when it is dark, put on pyjamas, get in the car and go light spotting! This is great fun, and memorable.

5. Garden Centres
   
   Garden centres (particularly the larger ones) put on amazing displays of Christmas decorations, which are like walking around a Christmas exhibit, but for free. Maybe you could choose a decoration to bring home or add in a stop at the cafe for a drink and biscuit if you feel like it, too.

6. Making mince pies or Christmas biscuits
   
   Low budget activity accompanied by Christmas music and some kitchen dancing. As a bonus, you can put these in pretty paper bags (made from wrapping paper) and gift them to teachers, neighbours and friends.

7. Simple crafts
   
   And we mean things like paper snowflakes, paper chains, toilet roll angels, making Christmas cards with collage, and making gift tags out of old Christmas card.

8. Pre-loved gifts
   
   It is worth checking the charity shops for gifts at this time of year, as you will find a lot of ‘new’ items that were unwanted gifts from last year. And sometimes these are enough, as are second-hand toys, books and games. It is all about how we teach values from a young age. In most cases a pre-schooler will have no idea that something is second hand, but if pre-loved shopping has always been part of their upbringing alongside new, then they will not mind.

9. Go for a walk
   
   A change of scene on Christmas day (with a bit of fresh air) can be helpful. A little trip to the park or a ride on a new scooter or bike will offer a break from the stimulation of the house, and will burn off a little energy.

10. A Christmas movie night
    
    This is an easy win. Blankets, popcorn, a darkened room and fairy lights on the Christmas tree. This will be magical with very little effort!