Role Mommy 411

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Surefire Tips to Keep Preschoolers Occupied While You're Prepping for the Holidays

Keeping preschoolers entertained and preoccupied can be challenging while you wrap secret presents, shop, clean & decorate the house. Whether you need a few hours or just 5 minutes, grab precious time by following a few tips from the trenches courtesy of Role Mommy.

1) Shop & Swap. ‘Tis not the season to brave it alone. Set up a schedule with two or three family friends to host and swap group play dates while the other parents get time to shop alone or check into a spa for some relax rehab.
Parent’s Potential Time Grab: 3-6 hours

2) Give a little Christmas & Hanukah, right this very minute. Nothing holds their attention like an early holiday present. Here’s a gift from everyone’s favorite honey-lovin’ bear that will entertain preschoolers through the holidays and beyond. Pooh's Super Sleuth Christmas Movie is now available on DVD and it's the first time Pooh has appeared in a film in five years! The all-new holiday story takes preschoolers on a magical journey through the 100 acre wood with classic Disney pals Pooh and Tigger and some new friends. Plop down next to your preschooler as they watch Pooh and you sign holiday cards or take a break and watch it right along with them! Also a great movie to keep in the car for mobile viewing.
Parent’s Potential Time Grab: 1 hour

3) Deal cards. Here’s a two-fer that keeps preschoolers focused and delivers authentic holiday wishes. Ask your budding artist to create one-of-a-kind holiday cards or gift tags by equipping them with plain paper card stock, holiday stickers and appliqués, favorite character stickers, color copies of family photos and a glue stick. Keep it all in a large shoe box that they decorate themselves. Pull the box out any any time you need 30-minutes or an hour to shop online.
Parent’s Potential Time Grab: 1 hour

4) Picture Me Festive. When you need to hit the mall for the day, pack a little sketch pad and crayons for preschoolers to keep a picture diary of their day. Ask them to draw or color their favorite holiday scenes, window displays, people or events they see while shopping. As you tuck them into bed, ask them to share and “read” their picture diary back to you.
Parents Potential Time Grab: 5-10 precious minute intervals when they’re with you in the dressing room, when you’re at the cashier or waiting for your food order

5) Letter to Santa. It’s a classic and they do it every year. This year, bump it up a notch and have your preschooler draw or cut out pictures of their wish list from magazines and newspapers. If you’ve got digital kids, have them create a colorful postcard to email to Santa. Crayola.com and Disney.go.com are both treasure troves of ideas and templates that are easy for preschoolers to master while your cook dinner or clean up holiday baking.

Parents Potential Time Grab: 30 minutes
Have a wonderful holiday season and don't stress out! Keep your kids occupied and trust us, you will stay sane too! To enter to win a Disney DVD, Click Here or to return to Role Mommy, Click here.

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