It’s Black Friday, you know what that means, Christmas shopping! When I was married I was always done my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. Once I got divorced time and money were both tight so it seemed like it all had to wait until the last minute.
I went shopping today, the crowds were awful, and there really isn’t any holiday spirit when people are fighting over bargains. I got the things I needed in record time. I knew what I wanted and got it done. It is wonderful now to be able to go shopping while Hailey works instead of having to figure out when I can go without her.
When Hailey was younger Christmas shopping was usually done on the weekends she was with her father, if he was able to take her. When she was too young to be left home alone and her father wasn’t good about taking her every other weekend I would do a lot of my Christmas shopping on my lunch break.
I also remember many nights waiting until Hailey was asleep and then staying up way too late wrapping and hiding gifts. It makes Christmas so much more stressful when you don’t have any help with the children.
One thing that worked for me was trading with a friend, I would keep her children while she shopped or wrapped and in return she would keep Hailey so I could get my holiday list taken care of. If you know a single mother, offer to take the kids for an afternoon so she can get some Christmas stuff done. Trust me, it will make a world of difference and reduce her stress just a little.
If we all help each other we can make the holidays a more joyous time, and give our children an opportunity to experience other family’s traditions at the same time.