Making holidays children friendly.

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Thank God for holidays and happy 54th UAE National day, I thank God for this great country. On an ordinary Tuesday morning I would be stuck in traffic making my way to school therapy sessions but not today, am currently comfortably sipping coffee listening to Sinatra on the background.

Only welcomed annoyance is my beloved mountain(Jabali) who is also enjoying having dad at home on a weekday more than the break from school. He is officially on holiday mode now that schools are closed for the winter break and it is that ambivalent time for the year for us parents to don one of our many hats(chief entertainment managers) and figure out how to keep the children engaged for the whole month.

Holidays are meant to be the best time of the year especially the winter school break which for us Christians coincides with the advent season leading to Christmas. Unfortunately it can be the most stressful having learnt that from experience as a father to a typically developing son and a therapist to many neurodiverse children and families to whom holidays are an added layer of stress due to the break in school routine. Holidays mostly overwhelms  and unsettles these families who mostly thrive on school routine and structure.

How do parents deal with the the interrupted routines, anxieties around extended family/visitors, picky eating children ,sensory issues, travelling with children and giving/receiving gifts;

Here are my recommendations to deal with some of the holiday stressors;

Plan in advance for the interrupted routines and add some structure to the school break.
Talk about the school break and ask your children for their recommendations on which activities they would wish to engage in.
Make use of written or visual schedules as they build predictability. 
Stick with school bed times which will make it easier for transitioning back to school.

For children who are anxious around extended family and visitors consider hosting parties at home where your children are familiar with and will be more relaxed but if you have to attend parties away from home, consider planning ahead with the host and requesting for a safe space if your child becomes overwhelmed.

Holidays and parties usually involve trying out different foods which might be a problem for picky eating children. It is advisable to notify other family members about your child's picky eating and offer to carry his/her preferred foods or carry their favorite plate/cup.

For children with sensory processing difference holidays might be challenging because of having to dress up as per the theme. For such instances choose a general color scheme and allow them to choose what they are comfortable wearing. It is also advisable to choose soft fabrics and tag less clothes.

Holiday travelling can also be a major headache especially with children to which i dedicated an entire blog on (Link attached below on tips to navigate holiday travels with children )

https://elijah-occupations.blogspot.com/2024/07/travelling-with-special-needs-high.html

Lastly holidays are not complete without giving and/or receiving gifts which can be challenging when children are concerned. It would be advisable to role play gift opening with children before the actual day and talk to them appropriate responses to both preferred and non preferred gifts. If possible guide relatives to your child's preferred gifts and give options for experiences over gifts e.g. tickets to your child's preferred events over wrapped gifts.

Happy holidays and winter break.

References.

https://childmind.org/article/how-to-make-holidays-kid-friendly/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=thriving-kids-newsletter-2025-11-20&content=how-to-make-holidays-kid-friendly#









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