I don’t know about you, but as a kid, I always felt bad about other kids who had their birthdays right near Christmas.
At first I thought it would be coolest thing in the world. I mean, your birthday AND Christmas? That’s two present holidays in a short amount of time. However, my friends who suffered from this soon let me in on a disturbing fact: Having a birthday near Christmas meant less presents, not more. Often. the two were bundled together.
It wasn’t the best thing ever. It was the worst.
Now I’m a mom-to-be with a due date about a month before Christmas. Rather than worrying about the number of presents my kid will get, I look at the whole birthday / Christmas thing a little differently. How did their mothers do two things — preparing for baby and preparing for Christmas — while pregnant?
This is my first baby, so it’s just my husband and I that I’m planning Christmas for, but I can’t imagine having older kids that I need to be planning Christmas for, too!
Knowing our due date was a month before Christmas and that baby could come early (or late), I began to think about Christmas much earlier than normal to help ensure we had a plan. After all, something tells me once baby arrives, trimming the tree may not be on my list of things to do.
Here are some of my tips:
That sounds a lot harsher than I mean it to. All I mean here is look at your due date and think about what happens if baby comes sooner or later? For example, with my due date of November 22, I wasn’t really about to put up Christmas decorations in October, just in case baby came early. However, if you’re due date is the beginning of December or later, you may want to put up your decorations a little bit earlier... just in case.
I’ve been prepping post-baby freezer meals for my husband and I since I began my maternity leave a couple of weeks ago. Along with freezer meals, doing some of my holiday baking when I have the energy could be a good way to maximize the pre-baby time I have so I don’t feel so pressured once baby arrives.
Don’t feel things have to be perfect or that you have to do it all, Mama! After all, you’re growing a person inside of you. Ask for help with baking this year. People want to feel helpful, so let them. Scale back on your holiday responsibilities this year. Your friends and family will understand.
Did you have a baby around Christmas time? I’d love to hear how you prepared for both baby and the holiday season. Leave your tips in the comments below!
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