With Thanksgiving a few days away, I hope everyone is finding time to spend with those they love. I've talked about special time often in this blog, so first off- thanks for continuing to read posts about special time. As many of us are traveling during the holiday season, I'd like to throw out some ideas of how to incorporate special time into your holiday schedule.
Packing toys of some sort into your child's bag, your car, or your carry-on is the first way to make sure you have toys to complete special time. Think light and little. It doesn't have to be your 100 piece MagnaTile set, but could be simple coloring pages and crayons. It could be tiny toy animals from the Dollar Store. It could be these adorable little foam turkey's below. All these toys could also double as good quiet toys for the car or the plane.
The second thing to think about is- special time shouldn't be boring. It's a time to spend with your child enjoying each other's company. Last year, we took these little turkeys and wrote family member's names on them and used them as place cards at the Thanksgiving dinner table. My kids loved decorating the turkeys for family members, and I mean, how cute were they to show up with place cards!
So I encourage you to pack some toys, use the holiday season to your advantage and enjoy some time with your children. We all know, they grow up too fast!
- Katie Smith, LCSW
