Home work, quizzes, exams... By the time your children are home from school, and you go through the process of asking them to do their work, shower, eat, etc, the day would almost be done. If we really think about it, how much of our time goes towards giving orders, and trying hard to finish things on time?
This is one reason why we should always make the most of any opportunity we get to have fun, and enjoy time with our children. One way is by using this time to Play, but another important way is by breaking the routine sometimes to celebrate different events. You can make your own unconventional celebrations, be it a pajama-day, or movie-night with popcorn and the whole theater experience. I personally love making an effort and celebrating even the most random events (I would have done the whole tea-party idea to celebrate Prince William's wedding if I was not out of town then :p).
So obviously, I am a fan of Halloween. I spoke to many parents, and most of them have either ordered costumes online, or have been pre-planning and bought outfits on their trips abroad. But surely, I thought, there must be something local!
This is what i found...
I was first greeted by "her loveliness" zipping past me. The show room was done up well, and as soon as one of the staff member clapped, two or three ominous looking bats/creatures, started flapping their wings and making some sounds. It was fun and unexpected!
The selection of children and adult costumes was extensive. You have choices for full costumes, or just accessories. There's also a big section for decorations and party favors (ask a staff member for information on assembly and design if you are planning a party).
Where is this???
Party Land (map link)
They have truly outdone themselves this year, and are fully in the spirit. Do check it out, I highly recommend it!
Here are some other pictures of Party Land...
Two Notes:
- As aforementioned in a post, if you are taking your younger kids, prepare them first! It might seem fun and funny to surprise them, but when your child cannot sleep at night, it will not be amusing anymore.
- What do kids do in Halloween? Trick or treat. Just like "Girgai3an" we have to be careful of the amount of sugar our kids are having. Make a reasonable agreement with your kids about how much candy they are allowed to have. Make sure they eat their main meals, and give them some exercise to release some of that sugar-high.
ADDITION: The great team at PartyLand has sent us a new 3D map of their store... There you go:
im a big fan of your blog, love all the posts and keep up the good work :)
ReplyDeletei have a question and wondering if you can give me any advice ....
my daughter is 3.8 years old and wakes up every single night after 3-4 hours seelping in her room like a big girl she wakes up to come and sleep in our bed. ive tried everything encourging her, bribing her, bedtime stars on the chart, sleeping fairy comes gives her a treat ... etc the list can go on forever it worked once or twice and now im starting to belive that coincidence was playing a big role.
i just dont understand why she wakes up?
thank you.. tried to find an email for suggested topics, or advice from readers but couldnt find.
My son did the same. He slept through when he was in a cot, but as soon as he was in a big bed he would climb into bed with us. It started from around midnight and would carry on. We would let him sleep with us because I was pregnant and too tired to take him back through, and it continued for nearly two years. We tried star charts and everything else but we found it wasn't incentive enough to encourage him to stop.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was pregnant with my third we knew we had to change things so we decided to just be firm and also to give him a big incentive. We told him that if he started to sleep in his own bed all night then we would buy him his first pet. It didn't work initially, but we also decided that we would take him back to his own bed when he came through to ours. Most of the time he was half asleep and so didn't even complain, he just allowed one of us to lead him back to bed and tuck him in again. It took a few days but once he realised that he wouldn't be allowed in our bed, he stopped coming through to us, and started sleeping through the night without waking. He was a little older than your daughter - four and a half, but it's worth a try!
thank you sara!
ReplyDeletethats exactly what my husband and i planned yesterday. she came in slept in our bed he carried her back and just an hour later she came in with cutest face and just cuddled back in and we were both fast asleep :( she keeps on winning! but i will keep on doing it as you said it might work
Dear Anonymous... Thank you for your support...
ReplyDeleteThere could be many reasons why your little girl wakes up at night, sometimes it is difficult for her to adjust to the new routine, it could be a bad dream, or just part of her sleep cycle, it could also be be hunger or a need to go to the bathroom, etc...
A very big factor is if she has a little brother or sister who sleeps with you, as this might be part of her jealousy or feelings of being abandoned (left out).
What we want to encourage is security and independence to fall back to sleep in her own bed. As Sara said (THANK YOU Sara), you need to actually wake up and put her back to sleep in her bed. Even if it continues more than once through the night. She needs to get used to the routine. I know you tried different strategies, but the key is continuity. Keep doing the walk back to be, plus a reward chart for at least 2 weeks. There will be days when she is not successful, just remind her (using the chart) of the days she was and how she was wonderfully able to do it. Also important is establishing a good bed-time routine (refer to my older post "Get your Zzzz")
If it does continue after 2-3 weeks, do feel free to come see me at Soor Center (email me at zalzabin@gmail.com for more information)