Driving to Holiday Lights Displays

You know what they say about the best laid plans, right? My husband and I find that each year when we try to plan something festive around the holidays, the Universe has something else in mind, mainly to make us regret planning anything in the first place. 

This is never truer than when we pile the kids in the car and head for a holiday lights display. It sounds fun in theory, but once put into practice, things go downhill quickly. We've since discovered the secret to success, and I'm sharing it so you, too, can prevent your special family event from morphing into something that resembles the Griswold family's Christmas. Like the song says: kids from 1 to 92…need snacks, and the secret is in the preparation. 

Do's and Don'ts of Going to Holiday Lights Displays with Young Kids: 

DO use the potty before you leave. All of you. 

DO bring popcorn, eggnog, a thermos of hot cocoa, cookies, candy canes-basically anything that will keep mouths too busy to complain. 

The lights are beautiful, but they'll lose their luster quicker for the kids. To keep them interested, DO appoint the kids as the photographers, or ask them to count the . This works well with our 4-year-old; we often ask her to count the colored lights or snowmen. Giving them a "job" will help keep them focused and happy (and therefore not whining). 

DO entertain the masses with a running narrative of the display. My husband is the master at this; the man can make a story out of a single snowflake and the kids love it. 

Just do NOT head to a huge holiday display sincerely believing everyone will be as enthusiastic as you are about sitting still and looking at blinking lights for 45-minutes. Set yourself up for success by planning for the inevitable: the cries of "I'm hungry" and "this is boring" are easily sated with a little bit of preparation.