Christmas

The holiday season is officially upon us, and we all know what that means for moms everywhere: over-commitments, high expectations, endless to-do lists, and breakdowns all around.

It seems like, with all the parties and events and gifts and crafts and travel that go along with the holidays these days, some of the basics get lost in the shuffle. The holidays are such a prime time to build lasting memories and traditions with our kids, and yet, it all feels so daunting.

But Christmas traditions for toddlers don’t have to be stressful. They don’t have to be time-intensive, or overwhelming, or any of those words that cause your blood pressure to creep all the way up to your ears.

Let’s be real, everyone knows it doesn’t matter what you get your baby – no matter what it is, he’s just going to want to play with the box it came in. Or a spatula. Or the TV remote. Or the dang Christmas tree that now has multiple layers of security surrounding it to protect it from his sticky, grabby, destructive paws.

But, we all still have this irrational desire to get our child the “perfect” gift, one that will surely bring him endless joy, that he’ll remember forever and ever and definitely not forget all about the instant he spots the pile of wrapping paper trash from across the room. So, now that I’ve gotten a year of overzealous toy-buying under my belt, it’s easy to look back and remember the ones that actually did stick around for more than 5 minutes. Here are some of the favorites at our house from each stage:

‘Tis the season for gift guides! We are in the home stretch for gift-buying, with about three weeks to go until both Christmas and Hanukkah. So if you haven’t started shopping yet (lookin’ at you, dads everywhere), consider this your wake-up call: GET. IT. IN. GEAR. With that, I give you 10 things the hangry …