How to Keep Kids Entertained During Holiday Breaks

The upside of the holiday season: your kids get off from school and you get to spend more time with them! The downside?... you have to figure out how to entertain them! The holidays are stressful enough without having to either brainstorm a million ideas for entertainment or surrendering yourself to the screens. Hopefully these ideas will give you a jumpstart, but it will be even more effective to ask your kids what they want to do. If they’re too young to come up with ideas, perhaps you can give them a couple options to choose between. Giving kids a sense of autonomy by inviting them to figure out how they want to spend their time will make them more engaged.

1) Involve them in holiday preparations like cooking and decorating.

• Making gifts, decorations, holiday cards, and wrapping paper from scratch

• Helping to plan the holiday dinner menu

• Baking holiday desserts and decorating cookies

2) Volunteer together. Some examples are…

• Serve food at a soup kitchen

• Pick out food, toys, and/or coats for a charity drive together

• Make holiday cards to drop off at a local senior home or hospital. Alternatively, you can do it through a program like Cardz For Kidz

3) Have an indoor picnic 

• Just because it’s winter time, doesn’t mean you have to miss out on picnicking! Put together a little snack plate, lay out a blanket, put on your favorite tunes and enjoy your picnic!

4) Paint snow

5) Set up a spa day

• Who doesn’t love to be pampered? Make some hot cocoa, slice some cucumbers, and buy a couple face masks to treat your kids to their very own spa.

6) Check out events at your local library or YMCA

7) Go on a nature walk

• For bonus points, look up a couple quick facts about local plants and animals to share!

We hope you find these suggestions helpful in keeping the kids entertained through creative activities during holiday breaks. Best of luck keeping them entertained and happy holidays!

Experiencing Depression During the Holidays? Here Are Four Tips for Staying Connected

It’s the time of year where the daylight is dwindling and the chill in the air disincentivizes adventuring outside of the house as much. In other words, it’s a perfect recipe for heightened depression. As we’ve discussed in a recent blog post, the holiday season is a particularly stressful one for most people. If you’re struggling with your depression these days, you’re not alone. These tips are not solutions but hopefully they’ll serve to make you more resilient against your depression.

1) Get outside

Easier said than done considering the chill in the air but one of the most important ways to care for yourself year-round is by getting outside. Sun and fresh air won’t solve all your problems, but it will do you a world of good to get outside of your house, especially if your depression is making you struggle to stay on top of chores.

2) Determine a realistic level of social commitments

The holiday season can get dizzying with the amount of demands it brings. You might find yourself wanting to say yes to everything but that’s a recipe for burn out. It’s tough but essential to find the balance between socializing enough so you’re not isolated, without socializing so much that you burn out. Only you can determine where your limit is.

3) Ensure that you’re eating and sleeping enough

Like the other tips, this is important year-round but becomes even more important when you’re expecting a particularly stressful time in your life. When you’re running on fumes because you’re sleep deprived or hungry, you won’t be able to function at your best. Here are some foods that are suggested for winter blues.

4) Loop in your loved ones

Consider talking to a few trusted loved ones about your depression to shore up your support system. Perhaps they can plan to check in on you once a week, help you stay on top of commitments and chores, or just come keep you company once in awhile.

If you feel like nothing you’re trying to address your depression is working or if you feel unsafe, consider seeing a professional if it’s accessible to you. We hope you enjoy your holiday season as much as possible!

Feeling Stressed? Here are 3 Tips to Cope With Holiday Stress

The holidays are an exciting time but that excitement brings stress too. Between coordinating logistics, interpersonal drama, and potential financial burdens, not to mention less daylight, it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed by the fast approaching holiday season. With some forethought and planning though it doesn’t have to drown you. Here are Embrace Sexual Wellness’ best tips for not just surviving but thriving this holiday season so you can enjoy yourself to the fullest extent possible.

Clearly Identify and establish personal boundaries

• Boundaries are important year-round but they should most certainly be shored up ahead of a known stressful time. Family and boundaries can be particularly tricky so it might take more discipline to hold your ground. If you’re not sure where to start with determining and communicating your boundaries, check out this ESW article

Expect and accept imperfection

• It might sound obvious but it’s still important to intentionally remember that even the best laid plans go awry. In these moments, try reflecting on the true importance and priorities of the holidays: spending time with people you love.

Make an escape plan

Even the closest and calmest families and/or friends can feel overwhelming at times so consider planning how you might be able to get a break during the festivities before they begin. Whether that means going for a walk or a drive, stepping into the washroom, or finding another reprieve, knowing you have a plan to catch your breath can be stress reducing in and of itself.

These tips won’t solve all your problems or prevent stress completely, but they can certainly help ease your burden. We wish you and your loved ones the happiest holiday season!