3 Ways To Help Your Kids Deal With The Move

3 Ways To Help Your Kids Deal With The MoveKids of all ages often have a hard time dealing with moving. They may not be able to understand why the family can’t stay in the same place forever. Even with explanations, children often can’t readily envision how amazing the new place will be.

Here are some ideas for helping your kids deal with the move.

1. Make It Easy To Stay In Touch

For a lot of kids, a big sore spot with moving is having to say goodbye to friends and schoolmates. They may even feel like you’re intentionally wresting them away from their friends. To demonstrate how much you understand the sacrifice, make a gift of a cute set of note cards, stamps included. Even if your child chooses to text or email old friends instead of write, they’ll appreciate your gesture.

2. Visit The New Community

If possible, bring your kids to visit the new neighborhood where you’ll be moving. Encourage positive anticipation by signing them up for things like a library card, pool membership or a community event such as an Easter egg hunt, relay race or something similar. Consider enrolling them in a fun local class such as pottery, horseback riding, or something else they would enjoy. This helps your kids to focus on the upcoming activities instead of leaving their friends behind.

3. Strive To Keep Old Routines

When you’re busy packing and readying for the big move, old routines often fall by the wayside. But children need routines to feel safe. Strive to keep as many old routines as possible in the preliminary days and weeks before the big move. For example, if Wednesday is always family game night, stick to the plan. Your kids will feel more secure knowing that some things will stay the same, even in a new location.

Above all, make the time to listen. Your child might have concerns that you hadn’t thought of, like having to give up their dog or cat in order to move to the new house. Don’t worry, though. Kids tend to adjust very well to new situations. With your support and a few tips like the ones mentioned above, your children will make a happy transition to your new home.

Before you begin your search, be sure to set an appointment with your trusted home mortgage professional to discuss financing options and your home loan pre-approval.

 

 

How to Host an Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Egg HuntDo you remember the excitement of hunting for chocolate eggs on Easter when you were a child? 

Now that you have a family of your own you can create an Easter egg hunt for your little ones so that they can enjoy searching for hidden treats.

Here are some tips on how to create the best Easter egg hunt ever:

Create Magic

Part of the fun of the egg hunt is in believing that the eggs have been left by the mysterious Easter Bunny. You can add to the illusion and create a magical feeling on Easter by leaving “evidence” behind of the bunny’s presence.

For example, your children can leave carrots out the night before, which will have been nibbled on the next day.

The More the Merrier

If you want, invite a few of the neighborhood children over and create a larger egg hunt with the other parents. This way you can share the work of setting up and the kids will have friends to play with.

You can also organize Easter related games and activities for the little ones to enjoy.

Make it Fair

Nothing ruins an Easter egg hunt more than siblings squabbling over their chocolate. You want to make sure that the eggs are divided evenly and that no one feels left out.

You can keep the peace by letting your children know that the eggs will be divided evenly at the end no matter how many they find, taking the competitive edge out of it.

You can also give younger kids a head start and make some hiding spots higher up and trickier for older ones.

Think Outside the Egg

You don’t have to hide just chocolate eggs on Easter. Be creative and think of other prizes that you can hide, such as teddy bears, stickers, small toys and more.

These other treats will be just as exciting for your little ones to find and it will mean that they get less sugar-high from overloading on candy!

Have a fun Easter and enjoy hosting your Easter egg hunt with your children.

Celebrating New Years Eve with Your Kids

If you have young kids and you cannot get a babysitter on New Year’s Eve, you will likely not be hitting the nightclubs and dancing until the kids new years partybreak of dawn.

If you are planning a quiet evening in with your little ones, you can put together a great New Year’s Eve party that the whole family will enjoy! Here are some tips for celebrating New Year’s Eve with your kids:

Decorate the House Together

You and the kids can have a great time in the afternoon decorating your house for New Year’s Eve. String up lights around and set up candles to create a party atmosphere. You can staple together colorful strips of construction paper to make homemade garlands. Get some balloons from the dollar store and some little noise makers that the kids can play when the clock strikes midnight.

Prepare for Staying up Late

If your children are quite small, it might be difficult for them to last until midnight without falling asleep. To help them have enough energy to ring in the New Year when the clock strikes 12, put them down for a nap in the evening or the late afternoon.

Invite Other Kids

If your friends or relatives are going out for the night and you are planning on staying at home with the kids, why not offer to babysit their children as well. The party at your house will be more fun when your kids have a few friends to play with!

Try to keep in small so that it is still easy to manage. Make sure that you have lots of fun games and activities planned! Why not go in the backyard with flashlights to play games or watch the stars, or have a dance party?

New Year’s Goodie Bags

A fun idea to make your New Year’s Eve party memorable is to put together special treat bags for your kids that can only be opened on the stroke of midnight. They can have small toys, books, calendars, and other little gifts for the New Year in them.

If you are celebrating New Year’s with the kids, it doesn’t mean that you are missing out on the fun! On the contrary, you can create a very special New Year’s Eve that you and your kids will remember forever.