Top 5 tips to Surviving Christmas Shopping with a Toddler

It’s that time of year again

Now, if you’re anything like me, you will have purchased the majority of your gifts throughout the year.  The downfall with that is that you then end up with a pile of ‘stuff’ and trying to remember who you originally purchased it for.  Which means there is still a few items to be bought, not to mention the normal grocery items… so you have to brave the shopping malls and go shopping with a Toddler.

Gulp… that means, you have to take your toddler with you.  As a general, this isn’t an issue, but when you add a toddler to the mission, and you’re on a time restraint, Murphy’s Law says this may not go well.

So, after a bit of discussion with a few Mummy friends, we came up with our top five tips to help you get through the madness.

Don’t take the toddler!

Yes, it’s true.  If there is anything you can do to offload your toddler before you hit the shops, then do it.  Maybe Nana or Grandad is available?  You could tag team with a Mummy friend and leave your toddler with them for a couple of hours.  Then on another day, you take their toddler while they enjoy some child free time.  There are ways around it, and you will have a much more pleasant, not to mention hell of a lot more productive time shopping without the toddler there.

But it’s not always possible.

 

Take Snacks

The days of just having a handbag are gone.  Apart from now being twice the size of my usual pre-child bag, mine is now full of kids stuff.  Snacks, drink bottles, wipes, nappies, plasters, cars and trucks (I have three boys!) as well as a range of other necessities like my phone and wallet.  But the one thing that tends to help keep my toddler quiet is snacks.  I have a wee box that is actually supposed to be for fishing tackle that I can put all sorts of things into.  He enjoys digging into the segmented compartments finding his favourite bits and pieces – so I usually get around half an hour to run around if he’s got that.

 

Use the Buggy or the Trolley

A toddler on the loose is mayhem if you’re trying to get anything done within a few hours.  So my advice is to take the buggy with you.  I’ve found since my little one hit two last month that he now wants to be higher, so the good old supermarket trolley works a treat.  You just strap them in if they’re in the seat, or if they start getting grumpy and loud, I pop him into the main part of the trolley.  It’s deep enough that he can’t get out, and his eyes light up like he’s on a roller coaster ride.  Yes, I know you’re not supposed to put kids in there, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to keep the peace and achieve the mission – to complete the shopping.

 

Take a List

On the days I forget my list, I may as well have stayed at home.  I end up purchasing items that I’m pretty sure I needed (and didn’t), and forgetting all the items that I really did want.  My list is a Godsend.  That way it’s literally a shopping mission – to complete all my tasks within the shortest time possible before the toddler loses the plot and gets sick of sitting in the trolley.  So, make a list and take it with you.

 

It’s Broken!

This is my most common saying within the shopping malls.  It’s broken! For those shopping savvy mums who are on a mission like me, you’ll know I’m talking about all the blooming brightly coloured rides that they scatter around the malls.  Trucks, fire engines, helicopters, merry go rounds – they are all there with their flashing lights wanting you to put $2 in them for a measly 30 seconds of nothing.  My two year old gets really fidgety and loud whenever he sees them…. But unfortunately, they’re all broken.  If the lights are flashing, then Daddy has to fix it later with his screwdriver.  If they make a noise, Daddy will have to come and fix it later with his hammer.  You get the drift.  It’s broken.  You cannot get out of the trolley and have a ride.  Mummy is on a mission.

 

Letting Toddlers ride on those things are what Nana and Grandad are for – suckers!

 

Good luck with the shopping Mummy!  I hope you get enough time for a coffee and muffin too.  You deserve it!

 

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