Enjoying this Holiday Season...

I. Can't.  Believe.  The.  Holidays.  Are.  Here!  This time of year is wonderful, loud, yummy, expensive, fun, and exhausting!  But most of all can be made of  the most memorable family moments your kids will remember.  My sisters and I always recall the long and agonizing rides in my mom's mini van... My father would drive from Florida to Arkansas the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, in the middle of the night, for hours to get there in time to duck hunt with his brothers early morning the Wednesday before.  It was a long 9 hours of playing "I Spy", the Capital/State game, memorizing movies that we watched on our Sam's special small T.V. hooked up to the cigarette lighter in the van, over and over, and over ( seriously we still have So I Married an Axe Murderer memorized) .  This is before the era of iPads and fancy screens attached to seat backs or that magically come down from the ceiling. *Side note... Eva wants a car with these things so bad and I am so anti, first of all a trip to the grocery store,  minutes away from the house will turn into a whine fest of "Why can't I watch t.v in the car!!"  #meanmomalert
So these fancy gadgets have turned family road trips into a bearable cruise, for both mom and dad, as well as the kids!  Mom and dad get to hear every single word of a movie that they don't get to watch, and children get to veg out in front of a screen... even though they are sitting next to some family member.  Literally within 200 sq ft of people they are going to be interacting with for the next couple of days on this said family trip....Do you smell the sarcasm?  I am laying it on pretty thick.  Take advantage of this time to  talk with your children, I promise it is so much more fun!  Your kids might surprise you and actually open up and quite possibly be really funny.
Here are some tips to getting everyone involved!

• Have your children be on snack patrol, let them choose what to put in the basket, as well as the good Au-natural snacks you want them to have too ;) This allows them to have a say, they know their options already and they get to be a part of the trip planning!
• Put some fun travel games in a bag and have someone each hour of the trip pull something out.  Games that are rad for everyone: mad libs, coloring, connect the dots, hangman, and so on. You get the point.
• My all time favorite games are I Spy, License Plate, and 20 questions.  Here is a great car games site that has the games listed and how to play.  Warning they are trying to sell you a car too, so disregard the comments like " I Spy is great with  a vehicle whose excellent visibility facilitates easy spying, like the Subaru Forrester" :)  
• And always have great music to listen to!  Dance parties can absolutely happen, even with a seat belt on!Or even sing offs! 

There is also the option of just driving at midnight and letting the kids sleep it off in the car :)  then you don't have to listen to the "are we there yet's"...

As we get closer to December you need to do one major thing to make sure the holidays turn out fantastic...
Whip out your calendar and schedule some "you" time!
The one thing that really helps me get through the holidays, other than spiked eggnog :),  is taking time for myself.  We all get so wrapped up in doing, shopping, partying, caroling, schooling, elf on the shelfing and everything else that we forget that this time of year can be just as magical as it was when we were kids! 
Take the time to shop with a girlfriend.  Make a day of it!  Catch up with one another, grab lunch and get some shopping done.  Set aside a day to bake cookies with your kids, enjoy the cold weather with a hot tottie and de-stress!  It CAN be enjoyable.  I've found that doing yoga and meditating daily can make everything so much smoother... even the Holidays! I know it sounds kooky especially after I am fully promoting drinking around the holidays, but honestly my mind is clearer and I am able to handle little things that pop up if  I practice daily.  Like a surprise visit from in-laws, or the casserole burning in the oven, or the oven deciding to sh!t the bed the day before Thanksgiving... All true stories and all handled with grace.. ha ha says my hubby in the background.  Hey! I never said I was perfect, but the truth is that taking the time to do these things for yourself can help you come to the realization that the holidays can be fun and contagious!  As in your kids will have a blast, your neighbors will get in on the spirit, and even Santa might bring you a little something special for being on the "Nice" list! ;-)

So good luck with traveling, baking, sharing, loving, and making memories that last!
xo-Aly
mom, wife, business owner still going 4 years strong with realizing how crazy the holidays are when you own a retail shop but still making it worth it for my littles...