Hello and thank you for hopping over from The Butterfly Mother and welcome to the 1st day of #12DaysOfParenting. Today's sponsor is More2Explore who are offering an Adventure Belt and the theme is Preparing to survive the holidays! My keyword to enter today's giveaway is in this post below, good luck! Full details of the #12DaysOfParenting terms and conditions can be found on the #12DaysOfParenting page and all entries are to be completed via the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Being a parenting at Christmas usually means running around like crazy trying to sort everything out and missing out on the fun. December the 26th comes and you can be found crashed in a corner looking like you have barely survived the holidays and you've still got new years to come!

 

Today's theme got me really thinking, 'What do I do to prepare myself to survive the holidays?' and honestly at first, I didn't know. So I've asked some of my blogging friends too see what they do and I've compiled a list below! (With the first 2 being mine!)

1. Write Lists - Starting from October you will start to find pieces of paper ALL over my house, they slowly drip out, 1 bit, then 2, but the 23rd December I could quite easily paper my walls with all the notes I've made (to be fair, I'd probably still forget things though!)


2. Share out jobs - Don't do everything alone, you can achieve anything, but you can't achieve everything! (A very wise friend taught me this)


3. I'm having all of my family stay with us so I can enjoy it as much as possible. mehimthedogandababy.com


4. We're going back to our own beds on the same day so I can have some "downtime" -
   I find Christmas too full on socially  thegrowingmum.com


5. We have been a little selfish and not over stretched ourselves socially. This will hopefully ensure that our little family get to enjoy it as much as possible without feeling like we have to dash around all over the place. www.familytravelwithellie.com


6. We're going to share preparation of the meal so I'll buy the meat and my mum will prepare and bring over all the veg. Www.mummylauretta.com


7. There are work parties to attend, friends to meet up with, and the question of who to see on Christmas day. To minimise your risk of double booking yourself over this busy period, try to keep a diary or calendar displaying all your planned events so far. You could also try combining events and mixing groups of friends, if you think they will get along.
   http://thehomemakersjournal.com


8. Don’t try and be perfect. It’s harder said than done but often it’s our expectations that leads to pressure and stress. Take a step back and think about what’s really important; family time. https://www.scandimummy.com


9. Just remember its only for 1 day! Www.themumdiaries.co.uk

What do you do to survive the holidays?

Today's Codeword is: Sparkle, if you would like to read another post and gain another entry, then head over to Me and B Make Tea for their take on Preparing to survive the holidays!

To enter the grand prize draw, head over to 12 Days Of Parenting where you can also find all the #12DaysOfParentingPosts so you won't miss any!

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