The festive season is chock fun of exciting opportunities for everyone, from decorating the house and putting up the tree, to seeing family and friends and opening Christmas presents!
But whether you’re making a family trip to the nearest Christmas market, or attending a formal family festive feast, it’s important to dress your children appropriately for the occasion.
If you're not sure where to start, here are a few pointers. After you plan their outfits and know what to expect, your formal Christmas events will be a breeze for kids of any age.
1. Stay Calm
Christmastime is a lot of fun, but for parents, it can largely involve rushing around to buy gifts and making travel plans. Add to that trying to figure out how to dress your children for a formal event can send stress levels skyrocketing.
Keep calm. Practice deep breathing and remember that it is just one formal event, not a life-changing interview!
2. Limit Their Options
Giving your children a wide choice of outfits might sound like an easy option, but with so much to choose from, they can get easily overwhelmed, or create an outfit combination that is far from suitable.
Limiting their options will be easier for everyone, but do allow them to have a say. A child forced to wear stuffy formal clothes they do not like will not be a happy pleasant child to be around!
You can also help them by choosing sensory sensitive clothing, like soft pants or dresses. When kids don't have an entire wardrobe to choose from, they'll come to a decision faster and appreciate what you buy.
3. Invest in Long-Term Clothes
Older children have less growing to do, which means you are more easily able to invest in formal clothes for the long-term. Girls can wear dresses at school dances, and young men will then have a suit or shirt and tie combo that can be used at events throughout the year.
This means that to get the best out of your investment, avoid clothing that isn’t Christmas-specific, so it can be used throughout the year when needed.
4. Practice Putting on Formalwear
Getting kids to dress properly in formalwear, which they might not be used to if they wear t-shirts or sweatshirts for the rest of the year, can also be stressful. The best way to make this easier is to have a practice run, and fine-tune their outfits when there is no immediate need to get to an event.
A few days to a week in advance of the event, encourage your kids to practice putting on their fancy outfits. Once they walk through the process of putting on tights or clipping on their tie, you'll have less to watch out for on the big day.
Make this a fun opportunity by making a fancy dinner at home so your kids can wear their fancy clothes for a bit after putting them on.
Fancy clothes can be fun to shop for and wear, and they don't have to be stiff and stuffy. Even if your kids only put on the items once or a few times, you'll always have pictures of them looking their best and having fun during the holidays.
If you’re looking for children's occasion wear, visit our website today.