Many of those procrastinators are busy parents like yourselves with neverending daily to-do lists on top of regular parenting tasks, including preparing meals, school drop-offs, bedtime routines, and other activities. It’s no wonder some parents find themselves at the toy store on Christmas Eve wrestling another panicked parent for the last Hatchimals surprise egg.

The holiday season is kicking off earlier and earlier. As soon as those Halloween decorations come down, parents’ stress levels go up. If you haven’t started your holiday shopping yet, here are 10 things you’re missing out on by not shopping early.

1. The Twelve Months of Deals

It’s a misconception that retailers offer their best deals closer to Christmas. The fact is, you can find fantastic deals all year round with a little strategizing of what and when to buy. Black Friday, for instance, offers some of the lowest prices of the year on tons of items. It’s especially a good time to buy electronics (like that 65-inch TV dad has been talking about ever since the neighbors Super Bowl party, which he says ruined regular TVs for him forever.)

If you’re looking to buy winter clothes, including coats, sweaters, and matching jammies, you’ll save more money shopping in January when retailers are under pressure to clear out all the leftover winter inventory before spring. The same goes for other seasonal items such as bikes. It’s best to shop right before the stock for the new season hits shelves.

2. Shopping around on a Christmas spree

Last-minute holiday shopping can feel like a mad dash. Hurds of people rushing from store to store, scrambling to find ANY gift – never mind the perfect one. It’s the reason you end up being the gift recipient of a creepy cat clock, which you now have to re-gift to your child’s teacher because you also waited too long to shop  It’s a vicious cycle that can easily be broken by beating the holiday rush. When the clock is ticking (no pun intended), people tend to grab whatever is leftover.

You can be a confident and money-savvy gifter when you take the time to shop around. Browsing gift guides for inspiration is a great place to start. You’ll also have the opportunity to price match to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck.

3. All The Christmas Stockings!

The closer you shop to Christmas Eve, the more you begin to feel like you’re in one of those post-apocalyptic movies, hunting and scavenging nearly empty store shelves for supplies.

But in this case, it’s Lego, because the 500 pieces that currently occupy your living room floor, some of which are now permanently embedded in your feet, aren’t enough.

Shopping earlier or during times of the year when items are at their peak season guarantees there will be plenty of stock to choose from.

Tip: Subscribe to the mailing lists of your favourite stores to get early access to specials and even exclusive deals right to your inbox. This ensures you’re one of the first in line to scoop up the item as soon as it goes on sale and before it goes out of stock.

4. It’s not just the weather outside that’s frightful

If you’ve ever tried doing hot yoga in a snowsuit while balancing several heavy bags of rocks in each hand and a coffee on your head, that’s what shopping in the wintertime feels like. Walking around the mall with all those layers on –puffy coats, sweaters, scarves, and mitts– plus all the shopping bags is exhausting to even talk about. And that’s if you can even make it there through all the snowstorms.

Not having to shop in the winter means fewer layers and nicer weather conditions to contend with. You also don’t have to worry about stores and banks suddenly closing because of bad weather. Besides, it’s much easier to push a full shopping cart when you’re not having to plow through 5-feet of snow across the entire parking lot while your kids scream in your ear to go faster. We call this shopping move “the downward sled dog.”

5. Shopping in your pajamas

Many parents don’t have time to shop in-store during the holidays. Did we mention that parents are busy? I mean we eat 156 meals a year standing up for goodness sake! Seriously, there was a study about it and everything. The alternative is shopping online. 

Online shopping is the most convenient way to purchase gifts because you can do it from anywhere at any time from your mobile device. Product selection is often better online, with additional styles and colours to choose from.

You can conveniently have gifts shipped directly to your house for a small fee or to the nearest store for free. Make sure to double-check each retailer’s website for shipping deadlines as they may vary.

6. Rocking the ship out of Christmas

If you have gifts to ship, getting your shop on early guarantees you won’t be scrambling to get everything delivered by Christmas or get stuck using couriers and paying expensive priority fees. You can take advantage of free shipping at some retailers like Amazon and eBay when you shop ahead of the busy holiday period. You’re also prepared if the post office inconveniently goes on strike, which could cause delivery delays.

Make sure to check out the shipping deadlines for retailers and the post office so they can ship those pants out early or you’ll be shipping your pants come December 22nd.

7. No cuts, no buts, no crowds going nuts

The worst aspects of holiday shopping are undoubtedly the large crowds and endless lineups. It’s amazing what people are willing to do for a deal, like camping out for days in the blistering cold huddled next to strangers, making small talk while discreetly relieving themselves in a urine bag. If this isn’t how you want to spend your holidays, get to the stores before the Christmas season starts, even before Black Friday.

Shopping during the retail off-season means no queues or angry mall mobs to fend off or customers next to you eyeballing your shopping cart. Let’s not even talk about parking. Get your shopping done during non-holiday periods and we promise you’ll be in and out of the store faster than you can say Happy Hour.

8. Gifting like Santa and saving like Scrooge

The most wonderful time of the year often turns into the most expensive time of the year for most families. Never mind buying gifts for friends, relatives, teachers, the mailman, and the dog, but there’s also the food, the drinks, the parties, and the travel expenses. Hmm, starting to see things from Scrooge’s perspective.

The benefit of shopping early or slowly throughout the year is that you can spread out your expenses into more manageable funds. Make the effort to put together a budget at the beginning of the year, or at the very least, the beginning of the season. Setting spending limits for gifts and additional holiday expenses is also a good idea. All of these steps can help save you time, money, and stress.

9. Saying Yes to No Stress

Nothing turns someone into a Grinch faster than the stress of the holidays. The key is to be organized and have a plan of attack. Otherwise, you will be stuck on Christmas Eve running around like a chicken with your head cut off at the grocery store, and ironically, holding a couple of frozen chickens because the grocery store ran out of turkeys.

There’s a reason why your annoying friend, the one who hums Christmas carols in July and has her gifts wrapped and under the tree by November 1st, is so happy and cheery all the time. She doesn’t have to step foot in a store during the holidays! Imagine how great it would be to have all your holiday shopping done early this year? You can sit back with your glass of wine, binge-watch Christmas movies all night, and still have time to move the stupid Elf on the Shelf before the kids wake up.

10. More time for fun and family

With the shopping out of the way, you’ll have more opportunity to spend with your loved ones and do all the Hallmark Christmas stuff you never get to do, such as roasting chestnuts on an open fire! Even though you’re allergic to nuts, you’re doing it anyway because people sing about it and you have time now. And you can send out Christmas cards with an adorable photo of your family in matching reindeer pajamas. Finally, you can rub your holiday happiness in everyone else’s face!

Turns out your holiday-obsessed friend and those retail Christmas creeps were on to something after all. The key to enjoying the holidays is actually getting to enjoy the holidays. Who knew? So give yourself the gift of shopping early this year so you can spend more time with the people you care about instead of a bunch of salty strangers ready to rumble over $2 bath towels.

Melanie Gibson is a Canadian comedy writer and spokesperson known for her razor-sharp wit and dry/sarcastic humour. When she’s not writing, you can find her in the ‘hood, fighting off invisible bad guys with her two sidekicks (sons, ages 1 & 3) and rescuing wine trapped in bottles.

Twitter: @sugarwits |  Instagram: @sugar.wits |  Facebook

The post 10 Things You’re Missing Out on by Not Shopping Early this Holiday Season appeared first on TWINS Magazine.

The holidays will be different this year. We can’t travel or gather with loved ones, and there are few things to do in the community, thanks to closures. This, combined with the lack of routine that comes with school holidays, will make this break harder than ever for parents.

Despite this, you can still prepare for a holiday that’s relaxing and fun — one that has a comfortable balance of family time, independent activities, and rest. You can create new memories while also staying sane and healthy (mentally and physically!). Consider some of these suggestions:

1) Brainstorm with your family.

Ask your kids what they want to do over the break, and make a list. Include activities indoors and out, on screens (think movie nights and family Zoom parties) and off (board games, crafts, and baking), solo, and social. Try to come up with things you’ve never done before. Everyone in the family gets a voice here!

2) Mimic the school day — with flexibility!

Think about how your child’s teacher schedules the school day to make things work: there’s a balanced variety of activities to keep kids interested, motivated, and burn some of that limitless energy. There are also passive activities, when kids aren’t “on” but still learning something. Use the school day as a guide to set up your day, and plan the day’s events together with the kids! Better, do this the night before at bedtime!

Include fun activities that involve creativity and focus, outdoor play, physical activity, social connection, and something passive. Keep an eye on the time, but let the schedule/plan go if the kids get into “flow” in an activity.

3) Let go of your screen time boundaries — for now.

We know the drawbacks of too much screen time but the reality is, screens help us stay sane during long stretches of time with the kids. Under these “indoor” (winter) circumstances, use screens as needed. Remember: screen activities in which learning and creating occur are beneficial, and, social and more passive activities such as YouTube viewing are fine in moderation. Even video games have benefits (can improve higher-level thinking, social and communication skills to name a couple).

4) Encourage independent play (or “quiet time” for the older kids.)

Everyone needs some daily “down-time,” so set up a routine for it. Pick at time of day (mid-afternoon would be divine!) and model this activity consistently. Mom and dad can take a nap or read a book, and that’s the signal to the kids that it’s time to find something to do without you. They can learn to get comfortable in their own skin.

If you haven’t already done it, set up a personal workspace with your child, for your child. Find a place with few distractions — their bedroom is perfect! Provide things to encourage creativity, focus, and imagination. Include books and school supplies, puzzles, toys, instruments, and craft materials. Set up a formal desk with a task light for concentration and homework, and provide a cozy spot to curl up with a book or screen.

Establishing this routine takes work and patience — and probably a ton of reminders. Set expectations in advance, use a timer if you need to, and be consistent with follow-through. It’s tough to set up this routine, but worth it in the end. You can do it!

5) Let your kids figure it out.

Don’t worry if you don’t have every minute planned or if your plan goes off track. Boredom is good for kids! It’s a place for creativity and problem-solving skills to grow. You don’t need to have a jam-packed schedule of exciting things to do, with kids behaving perfectly all day long.

While this holiday season will be different — stranger — than any other, this break may be the most memorable one, ever! There are always silver linings. We’ll have to think outside the box to enjoy this school vacation, but I’m guessing families will bond more than ever in spite of the challenges and sacrifices.

Happy holidays and stay well!

More about Jane Kristoffy

‍A teacher and guidance counsellor for over 25 years, Jane founded Right Track Educational Services in 2012. She’s a popular speaker on a variety of education and parenting topics, and a regular expert on national television news programs. In 2021, Jane will release her first book, Launch Your Kid: How to Promote Your Child’s Academic and Personal Success (without being a helicopter parent), which is jam-packed with no-nonsense tips for parents about how to get their kids through school and ready for the real world!

The post 5 Coping Strategies For Parents Over The School Break appeared first on TWINS Magazine.

With all of our talk about winter ailments and running fevers, it’s easy to be tough on winter. But winter isn’t all bad!

When we asked on our Facebook page last week what our readers’ favorite thing about winter was, we got some great responses. There were several votes for:

• No bugs
• Less sweating
• Christmas
  and
• When it’s over

But some of our winter lovers had some fun responses. Here are some of our favorites:

One of our readers, Jaclyn Kurtz, found much to love about winter, including: “No bugs, not sweating, beautiful snow, cozy clothes, fireplace, comfort food… I looooooove winter?.”

Another twins magazine fan, Kathryn O’Connor Scaccia, told us that she particularly loves: “Christmas. Snow. Sledding. Snowmen. Fires. and Movies.” Some of the very best parts of winter!

Twins magazine writer, Kristen, shared that her favorite part of winter is: “waiting for that first beautiful snowfall of the season. In New Jersey, it usually doesn’t come until February but it’s beautiful when it comes.”

Jennifer Houston Maxedon shared that her favorite part of winter is, “No bugs and bees when my kids play outside…. a nice fire crackling with a cozy blanket and book is nice too!”

Of course, not winter would be complete without some time on the courts. We were reminded by Jennifer Crasilli Lynch that her favorite part of winter is, “Watching my twin’s on the basketball court.”

The post What’s to love about winter? appeared first on TWINS Magazine.

Here is our list of five ways to survive life as a glorified taxi service.

#1: Audiobooks

One way to really get the most of your travel time is to spend it reading. Well, listening. Audiobooks can help pass the time while you keep your eyes on the road. They even afford you the chance to read that book you have had your eye on.

Services like Audible or Google Play make it easy and portable.

#2: Keep Your Car Stocked

Another way to make driving your kids all over time a little less cumbersome is to keep you car stocked. Make sure your console or glove box has your favorite snacks, tissues, gum, mints, or whatever else you might want on hand. You can take it a step further and keep things like your favorite hand lotion or lip balm handy do you can hydrate while you wait.

#3: The Right Playlists

Carting kids is not complete without the right tunes. We recommend creating various playlists for all your family’s moods. One playlist for pumping up the kids before a game or match. Another to chill out when they feel chatty.

And don’t forget to make one (or two) just for you.

#4: Keep Busy While You Wait

It’s happened to every parent. The practice runs 20 minutes late and you are stuck in the parking lot waiting it out. When you have twins or more, the chances for that opportunity to sit and wait it out are even higher.

Before you leave the house take a couple minutes and find something that might keep you busy. Keep a book in the glovebox, your favorite puzzle book or crossword nearby or even catch up on some work or emails.

#5: Travel in Comfort

If you are going to spend hours in your car each week getting your teens where they need to be, you might as well be comfortable when you do it. During the winter months, keep a small blanket nearby to stay warm. Splurge and find yourself a relaxing seat cushion or cover. If you are lucky enough to be in the market for a new car, upgrade for those heated seats.

If you are fortunate enough to get your tweens or teens talking in the car, consider it a gift. In those moments turn down the music and minimize distractions. But if they are not in the mood for a chat, there’s no reason you can’t focus on yourself and enjoy your time as a teen taxi service.

The post Mom and Dad – The Ultimate Uber Drivers appeared first on TWINS Magazine.

It is either your aide or your adversary and its pressure is more pronounced when you are a parent of multiples. So allow me to share a bit of advice on how to keep this relationship pleasant and productive. You might call this “The Quadfather’s Five Suggestions for Time Management and Multi-Parenting Success.”

#1:  Know Yourselves and Your Family

Regardless of your family size and structure, it is imperative to determine your personal strengths and weaknesses. Discover likes, dislikes, passions, and giftings. 

For instance, my wife Pam and I have known for years that in terms of personality and motivations we are polar opposites. She is goal-oriented, organized and assertive. I am more relationally motivated, creative and persuasive. On the other hand, you might say I am friendly, disorganized and long-winded. Still, we have learned over a decade, or almost two, that my weaknesses are her strengths and visa versa. When we relate well we minimize our vulnerabilities and blind spots. Taking on the tasks that fit us the best makes the most sense.

Knowing yourself, your spouse and your best mix together is vital. It makes your efforts more focused and effective. It saves time and limits frustrations. Unrealistic expectations of each other will sink your best intentions every time–and we are talking about your precious time.

#2: Understand Roles and Boundaries

Maintain and establish a healthy family boundary. Various people for various reasons will want access and input into your love and care of the double blessings, triple wonders, quality quads and so on. Advice will be like weeds in your neighbor’s lawn but real help will be as rare and welcome as rain in the desert.

The time-challenged life of a multi-family needs as little extra drama and relational drains as possible. Parents, in-laws, siblings, and friends can be invaluable and provide much-needed relief and support. Alternatively, they can be vicariously attached, jealous, co-dependent and distracting.

One good friend explained it to me like this. Your family is like a large train. You make set stops and set departures. Your regular riders depend on this. If someone wants to be on your train, they need to be on your schedule with a ticket you issued. This keeps the train riding smoothly and its’ passengers happy and on time.

#3: Schedule, Schedule, Schedule!

One word…schedule! If there is one thing (besides faith, grace, and mercy) that has kept our household manageable, it has been the fact that we have a schedule. With multiples, you will either have organized logistics or you will have chaotic crisis management and thankfully – you get to choose. The organized thing is better to trust me.

Start this from day one. All of the feedings, changing, napping and visiting need to take place on a time structure. My belief is that multiples respond to this better than singletons.

When we are raising multiples we are raising individuals, but much of the dynamics and interactions will occur with a group inclination. I believe that you can harness this behavior tendency to everyone’s advantage by early schedule introduction and constant reinforcement. They can be a group cyclone or a troupe that knows the drills. Now you guess which one most folks prefer to sit near at a restaurant.

There is no need to be neurotic in this pursuit but I can assure you as the unforeseen arises, your schedule will allow you to bend and adapt. Without it, you scramble to stay ahead and might even miss your own train.

#4: Make Time for Your Relationship and Yourself

And I do love fours, with all the commotion, planning and boundary protecting carve out time for yourself and your spouse. This may seem hard but be realistic, like us you may go for a year or more with just one afternoon. Make it count.

That one good friend always came to our house every Wednesday at 9:00 AM. She would be there until 4:30 PM. During that time, we sometimes shopped, napped, had lunch or talked in the park. Other times we might rent a boat, find a nice cove, sit in the sun and just hang loose.

Even if you are a single parent, make time for you. I cannot overstress how much this will help when someone opens a pudding cup and your double dreamboats practice body painting just before its time to go pick up the oldest from school. Make regular time deposits in the bank of personal mental health and relational renewals.

Multi-parenting can drain this account dry if you do not take that time for you. Embrace the seasons! No matter where you stand in relation to faith listen to the Wisdom of Solomon “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” Even if you define heaven as “only stars” you need to know your seasons.

#5:  Be Flexible and Embrace Change

Shorts in wintertime and long sleeves in summer are nearly always poor choices. Seasons change so do circumstances and people. Look around and look ahead. Potty training may be kicking your butt, but one day they might be changing your diaper. Embrace the best of where you are today, even if the best may be simply getting to tomorrow because tomorrow will come and it will not be the same as today.

I hope my list has not left some of you disappointed as you might be seeking well-seasoned tricks or amazing magic formulas. As you sort through these “suggestions”, it is my hope you take away this bit of insight, no matter the number of kids you have. Regardless of the number of recourses and abilities you possess. It is the health of the relationships involved and the space you create around them that will matter the most.

These are what will most influence you, your kids and those around you. These are what will set the stage for your children’s, children’s childhoods, parenting styles, and prayerful success. Just in case, you have been wondering, these are a huge part of what has kept our train running and Pam and I feeling like we are heading somewhere wonderful.

Mike Poff is a 40 something stay-at-home father who lives in the Appalachian Mountain Town of Big Island, Va. Mike’s wife, Pam, owns a case management firm that operates in four states in the Mid Atlantic region. Before defining his role as a domestic dad, Mike was a news reporter, disc jockey, copywriter and production manager. He is perpetually working on his Masters of Theology in his abundant spare time. He and Pam have seven children ranging from 15 down to 17 months including their quad kiddos who are now six.

The post 5 Suggestions for Time Management and Multi- Parenting Success appeared first on TWINS Magazine.

Our identical twins Tim and Cary were born 11 weeks early after developing Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) where one was getting more blood than the other. They were born weighing 2.7 pounds and 1.13 pounds. Both were diagnosed with Chronic Lung Disease. And once discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) approximately three months later, only Cary came home on oxygen.

One morning, a few weeks after coming home, Cary refused to take his bottle. The deafening alarms on his pulse oximeter were constant and my worry was growing. A few days prior we had taken him to a doctor who told us he had a virus that would soon run its course. But he wasn’t getting better. A phone call with the pulmonologist ended with us buckling Cary into his car seat to take him to the emergency room. But then everything dropped – his oxygen levels, his heartrate. Panicked, we called the paramedics. As we waited for help to arrive, I held my little baby close to my chest, while his little lips turned blue and his skin gray. Cary made it to the hospital, but once there, he was intubated and placed on an oscillator ventilator, a machine that literally shook bacteria out of his lungs. That night, exhausted and exasperated, my husband and I asked his doctor a question we should have asked long before. What exactly is Chronic Lung Disease?

The problem is, there really isn’t much information about this perplexing and often frustrating condition. What is known is that Chronic Lung Disease (sometimes referred to as Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia) is more common in premature babies born before 26 weeks of gestational age and whose birth weight is less than 2.2 lbs.

With us, we were told Chronic Lung Disease is something our twins would likely outgrow. Sure, they sent us to a pulmonologist once they were discharged from the NICU, but it was one of those cases of not knowing what we didn’t know. And our learning curve was steep.

I’m embarrassed to admit my knowledge of lungs started and ended with you breathe in, you breathe out. But as Cary’s doctor painstakingly illustrated on the back of a blank medical form the night he was hospitalized, preemie lungs are far more fragile. The doctor drew a diagram of the small bronchi that inflate and deflate in normal lungs. In preemies like Cary, these bronchi aren’t fully formed, can become easily inflamed or filled with fluid, sometimes resulting in pneumonia or a dangerous buildup of carbon dioxide. To make matters worse, preemies often also have compromised immune systems making them more susceptible to germs and become sick.

According to WebMD, nearly 10,000 babies develop CLD each year. And while ventilators, or in Tim and Cary’s case when they were born, a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine, help in making it easier for infants with CLD to breathe. As they grow, so do their lungs, making the need for breathing assistance less. However, there’s no real way to know if your child is getting better until he or she survives that first cold without being hospitalized. Even then, it’s a guessing game. In Cary’s case, he was hospitalized another four times his first year of life. He just turned five and spent a raucous New Year’s Eve hospitalized last year. Summer months are spent hopefully growing and healing. But when the Michigan winter hits, we brace ourselves not knowing how he’ll fair.

I’ve asked many a doctor why more isn’t known about this disease beyond looking at X-rays, administering bronchodilators and corticosteroids. Generally, the response is that short of putting dangerous scopes down a child’s throat, risking further damage to the lungs, doctors don’t have many alternatives.

The truth is, Cary is getting better. Will he have asthma or asthma-like symptoms the rest of his life? No one can say for sure. Colds, thankfully aren’t as bad. And come spring and summer, he’s a healthy, easy breathing machine that runs, climbs and breathes just as freely as the next kid. For that, we’re tremendously grateful.

Ginny Justice is a freelance writer who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her four sons (including five year twins) and husband.

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