Holidays can be challenging, especially when you have a large family. Sometimes, you may be tempted to save yourself the drama and stress of making holiday preparations for your family, but that would be wrong. Spending quality time with family is essential, but this time has been cut short by work and other inevitable activities. Hence, the holiday is the right time to compensate for the unspent time together. Remember, the time spent with family is the most precious in the world.

You must also realize that you can’t have a perfect holiday like the ones you see on tv, so cut yourself some slack. However, here are some expert tips to make holiday time with your family enjoyable.

7     expert tips for having an enjoyable holiday with family

1. Don’t forget the gifts: Giving out gifts is a way to express love and gratitude to your family. No matter how trivial the gift may seem, it matters a lot that they are there in the first place. However, your gifts must be age and gender-appropriate, or they may even be more offensive than gratifying.

Gifting will also help you pay more attention to your family as you try to study their behavior and understand the kind of gifts each member would naturally desire. There are tricky ways to ask, too, so you get them to give you hints on what they want. 

• Keep off electronics as much as possible: It’s the holiday; hence everyone must be in the holiday spirit. Set limits on all devices, and nobody must break the boundaries; this will strengthen the relationship between family members. 

• Make a holiday fun list: Your holiday should lack dull moments. Get a diary and write down all the fun activities you want with your family.

You may require help to think it all out, which is why early preparations are essential to making the event a good show for everyone. 

• Show affection: The holiday is a time to spread love and affection no matter what happens. It’s a time to overlook little mistakes, reconnect with family, create lovely memories, and do things that foster togetherness, like cooking or making crafts together.

• Safety first: No matter how much fun is going on during your holiday celebration, a little accident could bring it all to a halt. So, keeping safety in mind is an essential checklist for a happy celebration. 

Close flame-resistant decors, keep candles away from any clothing, read the manufacturer’s instructions when using new equipment and control your kids’ activities.

• Keep your calm and be organized: Running around like a headless chicken will get nothing done; besides, if you are unorganized, your kids will take no cue from you.

When you are calm, it’s easy to seem like you have everything under control, even when you don’t. It is also easier to observe little details, like kids playing with sharp objects that could injure them.

These tips can help you spice up your holiday with your family, but they cannot give you a perfect celebration, so quit looking for one. Instead, please focus on the little special moments that mean a lot, and avoid distractions from friends, phones, or external entertainment. The holiday only happens some days!