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It’s that time of year.  The lights, the parties, the festivities, the shopping, the trees, the STRESS of the holidays.  Most of us have more to get done than we think we can possibly handle, especially if you add kids into the mix.  But are there ways to at least reduce some of the stress this wonderful season brings? 

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department offers some valuable tips on simple things you can do to make this season a little easier:  

1. Save decorating until a week before the holiday.  Save irreplaceable decorations for later years when children are older.  My son is two, so I won’t be buying any Swarovski Crystal or Tiffany ornaments this year.   

2. Shop ahead, throughout the year, while children are at school or home.  Good advice, unless you’re like me and just HAVE to close the mall down on Christmas Eve, just for the fun of it. 

3. Limit the number of times children stay with babysitters while you attend events.  Not a problem in my house - my babysitter is terminally unavailable.  

4. Avoid forcing a frightened child to sit on Santa’s lap.  Young children often enjoy stories and pictures but the real thing can be overwhelming. I tried to force my son to sit for a Santa picture last year.  All I got was a photo of a distraught toddler with red puffy eyes. 

5. Avoid forcing children to welcome unknown relatives with a kiss or by handing them over to be held by a stranger.  Allow the child time to warm up. Also good advice, unless you’re my mother ‘Gwennie’ and in that case, there will be no warm up time. Because she said so.

 6. If weather permits, encourage outdoor play to release extra energy.  OK, we live in Oklahoma. This is not hard. It won’t be cold until at least Febraury.  

7. Keep routines as normal as possible.  Be sure to expect behavioral changes anytime routines change. I find that this is pretty much a given with a toddler, at any time, in any season, for any reason. 

8. When traveling with a young child, allow extra time on the road.  Take some familiar objects from home.  Establish a routine as close as possible to your regular routine and be assertive with relatives about how you enforce limits with your child. Unless, of course you’re ‘Gwennie’ and under her roof. Then it’s her rules … or else.

9. Limit holiday candy; give healthy treats along with the seasonal goodies.  So pumpkin pie counts as a vegetable, right?

Any more tips you’d like to share? Leave your comments here or email me at the address below.

~Erica Smith

esmith@opubco.com

Those of us celebrating this fun holiday with a toddler, may be thinking “My child is too young for trick-or-treating, but I can’t let the day go by without some festivities to create that picture perfect moment of my little one in full costume.”

Here are some ideas that might be a bit more toddler-friendly than trick-or-treating.

Have a get together at your house.  This works especially if you have other friends with toddlers.  They can have food and games just for them.

Go to the zoo.  The Oklahoma City Zoo sponsors “Haunt the Zoo” every year, and we go … every year.  You won’t see the exhibits, but you’ll meet alot of friendly zoo employees who will be giving out all kinds of goodies.  They also provide plenty of picture opportunities.  Go to www.okczoo.com for more information.

Festivals.  There are plenty around the metro. It seems that every church, YMCA and other community center is hosting a fall festival or carnival.  Take advantage of these, as many are free and they’re a fun, safe alternative to trick-or-treating.

Hand out candy. Dress your toddler up in their costume and let them pass out candy to visiting trick-or-treaters.  Chances are, they’ll just love the opportunity to show off their costume to neighbors.  And you’ll get to watch Halloween specials on TV.

And if you do decide to brave the neighborhood for goodies, just be sure to follow the basic rules of trick-or-treating:

-Wear light-colored clothing and/or reflective tape on costumes.  Don’t cross streets between parked cars.

-Go in a group, and while it is still light out.  Use flashlights if it’s dark. Don’t go to any house that has the lights turned off.

-Inspect all candy carefully and discard anything that has a torn or missing wrapper or could have been tampered with in any way. 

If you have any more good safety tips or suggestions for Halloween, post them here or email esmith@opubco.com and I’ll post them for you.

~Erica Smith

Is this something that is possible?  Without me losing my hair or sanity?

I have tickets to OU’s season-opener this Saturday.  First, I am a bit suprised that you have to buy a full-price ticket for a 2-year-old but according to the athletic office “any human being going into the stadium needs a ticket.  Even infants.” 

Yeah, I guess infants would fall into the “human being” category, although I couldn’t imagine bringing one to a game.  But a toddler, well, that may or may not be worse.

I hope I’m not crazy to try this, but maybe he’ll have a blast and we’ll have an extra activity to add to our fall calendar.  Has anyone tried it?  If so, give me the lowdown and some good tips if you have them. 

~Erica Smith

esmith@oklahoman.com

After the Hollywood Video store near our house went out of business last year, my family quit renting so many movies (Redbox is now our closest outlet and has very limited stock.) But we began buying the movies we knew the kids would watch over and over.

This has worked pretty well. We now have dozens of both classic and recent movies aimed at the under-12 set. A few are regretful purchases (Mimzy and The Wild didn’t inspire repeat viewings) but most will be great to hang onto until whatever new technology completely overtakes DVD. (I’ve only recently completed my long good-bye to the VCR.)

Occasionally, we go to a REAL MOVIE THEATRE and experience the big screen, buttered popcorn and all. This is a rather expensive way to spend every weekend for a family of four.

Last week, I took my 5-year-old to see Kung Fu Panda — how could we not after all the McDonald’s toys? — and she became restless within 30 minutes of its start. The popcorn and my pleading convinced her to stick with it through the end. I liked the movie and thought the animation was well done. Will we buy this movie when it comes out on DVD? Probably not.

This weekend I really want to go see Wall-E, Pixar’s newest animated feature. It’s gotten spectacular reviews from adults and children alike. I’ll take my 5-year-old and her sister, 10. I’m already planning to totally love the movie and think my girls will too. And yes, I already plan to buy it on DVD, I’m that convinced it’ll be a classic.

Maybe it’s because Wall-E is like my outdated VCR. Still functional, but not very sleek and swift. 

Susan Simpson 

I’m always looking for new things to do with my 2-year-old.  One of the best things about our weekend outings is that almost anywhere I take him, he gets in free.  So I thought it might be helpful to other parents if I compiled a list of the most popular things to do with kids in the metro area where they can get in at no charge.

Myriad Botanical Gardens & Crystal Bridge: Age 3 and younger FREE.  301 W. Reno. 297-3995. myriadgardens.com.

Science Museum Oklahoma: Age 3 and younger FREE. 2100 NE 52. 602-6664. omniplex.org.

Oklahoma City Zoo: Age 2 and younger FREE. 2101 NE 50. 424-3344. okczoo.com.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art: Age 5 and younger FREE. 415 Couch Dr. 236-3100. okcmoa.com.

Sam Noble Museum of Natural History: Age 5 and younger FREE. 2401 Chautauqua, Norman. 325-4712. snomnh.ou.edu.

Oklahoma River Cruises: Age 5 and younger FREE. Regatta Park, 725 S. Byers. 702-7755. okrivercruises.com.

Oklahoma City National Memorial: Age 5 and younger FREE. 620 N. Harvey. 235-3313. oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org.

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum: Age 5 and younger FREE. 1700 NE 63. 478-2250. nationalcowboymuseum.org.

Frontier City: Age 2 and younger FREE. I-35 between 122 & Hefner Rd. 478-2140. frontiercity.com.

White Water Bay: Age 2 and younger FREE. 3908 W. Reno. 943-0392. whitewaterbay.com.

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art: Age 5 and younger FREE. 555 Elm Ave., Norman. 325-4938. ou.edu/fjjma.

Oklahoma Redhawks games: Age 2 and younger FREE. AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Dr. 218-1000. oklahoma.redhawks.milb.com.

Ford Center: Age 2 and younger FREE at most events.  For a specific event, call 602-8700.

Heartland Flyer: Younger than 2 - FREE, ages 2-5 half off fares. 1-800-872-7245. heartlandflyer.com, amtrak.com.

Oklahoma State Fair: Age 5 and younger FREE. 1-800-511-1552.  2008 Fair dates are Sept. 11 - 21. Tickets go on sale July 12. okstatefair.com.

If you know of any other venues or events that kids can enjoy free of charge, let me know here or e-mail me at esmith@oklahoman.com.  I’d love to add it to this list!

-Erica Smith

This weekend is Memorial Day and if you’re one of many, you have three fantastic days off to enjoy.  You may be visiting relatives or heading out to the lake.  But if you still don’t have any idea what to do with the kids for three days, and plan to stay local, here are some ideas.

Star Spangled Salute Air Show, Saturday, Tinker Air Force Base.  The aviation acts will leave any child captivated and fascinated.  For more information, go to http://wimgo.com/events/29627/star-spangled-salute-air-show. My toddler may be a little young (he scares easily from loud noises) but I hear it is a terrific family event.

Chuck Wagon Gathering & Children’s Cowboy Festival, Saturday-Sunday, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.  Food, kids’ activities, pony rides.  It doesn’t get more fun (and educational) than this. You may even be able to coerce your kids into behaving long enough to let you walk around the museum and check out exhibits.  For more info, go to http://wimgo.com/events/27105/chuck-wagon-gathering-childrens-cowboy-festival.

The Oklahoma City Zoo starts its summer hours this weekend: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, beginning Monday. I personally bought a Zoo Friends pass online at www.okczoo.com so that my son and I could go all summer.  He loves the zoo, and it kills a few hours (and calories!) every time we go. Save the playground for last because once the kids get in it, they won’t want to leave.

As an added bonus, they have a program just for 4- and 5-year-olds this Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m.  Check it out at http://wimgo.com/events/31220/ .

Remington Park has a super fun family day planned for Memorial Day. The afternoon of “Racing and Family Fun” includes lucky horseshoe giveaways for kids, horseshoe pitching contests for kids and adults, inflatables, $1 hot dogs & sodas, petting zoo, face-painting, live music and more.  For more details, go to   http://wimgo.com/events/40208 .

White Water Bay.  OK, I have to admit, I am a huge kid at heart when it comes to the water.  I went this past weekend and it was actually not too busy for opening weekend.  We bought a season pass for both White Water and Frontier City.  They have great attractions for younger kids and kids 2 and younger are free. They also sell all-season parking passes, too.  If you don’t get one, expect to pay $5 cash every time you go for parking.  Again, kill a few hours and calories (that is, if you don’t get the heaping mound of loaded curly fries).  Don’t forget the sunscreen! http://www.whitewaterbay.com/ .

For a great list of other Memorial Day weekend events, concerts, lake activities and more, visit www.wimgo.com/memorialday and plan a fun family weekend!

-Erica Smith