Christmas is less than two weeks away and schools are breaking up for the holidays. During term time, the routine of school and work sweeps many families through one week to the next. But at Christmas, we are thrust into much closer quarters with one another and have to adjust to a slower pace, an intense amount of “family time”, and a much emptier calendar.

Loneliness can be an issue for many people at Christmas. When everyone around is moving between family gatherings and social occasions, a lack of companionship and close connections is felt a lot more keenly. Children can feel lonely too, away from their friendship groups. 

Dr Kathy Weston’s podcast on Emotional Literacy At Christmas is a great starting point for preparing to navigate the highs and lows of the festive period.

Our Coping Menu provides suggested activities for children experiencing difficult emotions: it could be a valuable go-to if loneliness hits or tempers fray over the Christmas break. You might feel the holidays are already packed with activities and obligations, but it can still provide structure and calmness to think about what you’d like to achieve. Our School Holiday Planner can help, and is a great way to ensure there’s time for recharging batteries and maintaining connections and friendships.

If family life becomes stressful or difficult over the holiday, our Family Audit Template can help you to take a step back and consider what might be going wrong. Completing these reflection tasks only takes a short time but they’re a great way to take stock.

For younger children experiencing isolation or loneliness, our Loneliness Book List can help them talk through feelings and be more confident. If older children are struggling emotionally, our webinars on Raising A Resilient Teen Boy and Understanding Girls provide a wealth of insight and helpful advice.

And finally: thank you! We are so grateful to our parents and families for their questions, suggestions and feedback throughout the year, and for making Tooled Up such a rewarding experience.

Have a wonderful holiday however you celebrate, and we’ll be back in 2024!

From all at Tooled Up Education

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