Tag Archives: family

Quick Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

Quick Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

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The pressure of finding the perfect gifts, being “Santa’s Little Helper,” attending a dozen social events, and entertaining family can add up quickly. It takes one Saturday afternoon at the mall in December to make anyone want to pull their hair out from holiday stress. But how do we manage? We can’t drop everything and camp out under the covers in our pajamas until January (though obviously we recommend this approach over any other).

Here are some quick, practical tips for lightening your load and getting ahead of holiday stress this winter.

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5 Easy Mother’s Day Ideas to ‘Set the Mood’ for Relaxation

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We’re going to let you in on a little secret: it doesn’t matter if you serve your wife French toast or a bowl of stale Cheerios for her Mother’s Day breakfast in bed. What she really wants for Mother’s Day is rest, relaxation, and lot of downtime in her best pajamas.

People create nighttime routines for relaxation: small things like sliding on your favorite slippers, turning down the lights, wearing the most comfortable pajamas, turning off your phone, or opening a good book are all popular bedtime rituals. These healthy bedtime habits are the key to getting a good night’s sleep.

This Mother’s Day weekend ‘set the mood’ for R&R by showing her that you appreciate everything she does for your family. The easiest way to show your gratitude is by taking on some of the tasks she does regularly, freeing up time for her to decompress.

Here are simple ways to show appreciation will have a big impact on Mother’s Day, or any day of the week:

1. Give mom time to unwind.

Order pizza on Sunday night. Put a movie on for the kids and take charge of cleaning up after dinner. Suggest she sneak away to take a long bath, read a book, and enjoy some quiet time to herself while you get the kids ready for bed. Then let her rest, uninterrupted.

2. Give mom a morning to sleep in.

Keep the kids from bombarding her with their homemade cards at 5am on Mother’s Day morning. Explain that she’ll be really excited to see them after she’s had a good night’s sleep, then suggest she lounge in bed for as long as she’d like. For moms with young children, simply taking a shower alone is a luxury. When you hear her stirring, quietly knock and ask if she’d like coffee and a little something to eat (prepare those stale Cheerios!).

Easy Mother's Day Idea: Give mom me-time.

Take the kids out of the house and let her enjoy a quiet Sunday in her pajamas.

3. Give mom some space.

Another way to show her you understand her needs is by giving her some space on Mother’s Day. Take the kids out of the house and let her enjoy a quiet Sunday morning leisurely sipping coffee in her softest bathrobe without a schedule or agenda.

4. Give mom family time without the headache.

If you and your wife need some time together as a family, plan all the details yourself and keep it low-key. Go out to breakfast or see a movie, but when your toddler gets fussy or your 5-year old starts to whine, be the one to take the reins so she can finish her waffle in peace and drink her coffee while it’s hot.

5. Give mom time together.

Not everyone can spring on a couple’s massage or weekend retreat at a bed & breakfast. Show her you care by picking up a nice bottle of wine and carving out some time for the two of you. After you’ve put the kids to bed, pour her a glass and tell her how much you appreciate what she does every day. Be specific: what is it that she does regularly that you might be taking for granted? What does she do to make things easier for you and the rest of the family? There’s no need for a Hallmark card or a $600 spa treatment if you’re being sincere.

These ideas for Mother’s Day are small gestures of appreciation for your partner. The holiday is about acknowledging the mothers in your life. Nothing says “I see that you work hard” like offering someone time off and telling them how much they deserve it.

For more tips and ideas for rest and relaxation, visit our blog or check us out on Facebook.

Our Favorite Easter Games!

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by Becky Boyd, The Pajama Company Editor

Easter games can be so much fun and a great way for kids (and adults!) to burn off some of that sugar from all those treats and candy!  We’ve rounded up a list of our favorite Easter games that the whole family can enjoy.  Think about making these games an annual tradition and your kids will look forward to Easter for more than just what the bunny brings!

Easter Egg Hunt

An egg hunt is a classic Easter game and tons of fun!  This was always my favorite game as a kid.  Fill plastic eggs with treats and prizes and hide them around your house – inside or out.  The kids will love hunting them down and discovering the treats inside.  Check out step-by-step directions here.

Jelly Bean Trail

Create a trail of jelly beans from your kid’s room to their Easter basket.  On Easter morning, kids follow the trail and find their basket waiting at the end!

Easter Egg Roll

For 136 years now, the White House has hosted an Easter Egg Roll with upwards of 30,000 people.  You can host your own egg rolling party and join in the fun too!  Here’s how to set up the game.

Bunny’s Eggs

Much like “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”, in this game kids are blindfolded and each take a turn at pinning their egg in the bunny’s arms.  Who ever gets their egg closest to actually being in the arms is the winner.  Here’s a full description of the game here.

Egg Scramble

In this creative tag game, a course is set up and one person is the bunny and the rest of the players are various egg colors.  If the bunny can tag the egg when its color is called, that person becomes the next bunny and the game continues.  Check out more about the Egg Scramble.

The Bunny Hop

You may have seen the Bunny Hop at weddings and parties, but it can become a fun Easter tradition as well.  Find some fun music and teach everyone the steps!

Duck Walk Race

If this game doesn’t get everyone laughing, I don’t know what will!  Each player lines up at the starting line and squats down and grabs their ankles.  The first person to waddle over the finish line wins!

The Egg and Spoon

Participants walk the course balancing an egg on their spoon with no help from their other hand.  The first person to make it to the finish line without dropping and breaking their egg wins!  More details here.

What games does your family play at Easter time?  Do you have any favorites?  Please share in the comments below!

Photo Credit: dnhart via Compfight cc

Share Valentine’s Day With Everyone You Love With The Grab Bag

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At The Pajama Company we believe Valentine’s Day is the time to celebrate everyone you love, whether that’s a spouse, partner, friend or relative. That’s why we are sharing our favorite family tradition, the Valentine’s Day Grab Bag. It’s a Valentine’s Day gift and a game.

Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Choose one of our three options of Be My Valentine Grab Bag: $50, $75 or $100.

Step 2: Gather a group of family or friends on February 14.

Step 3: The youngest person in the group reaches into the grab bag and pulls out a gift. Eyes closed!

Step 4: That person who pulled out the gift has to then decide who in the group is most suited for that gift and then give it to that person. (For example, Susie pulls out a chocolate bar and decides that since Aunt Betty is a total chocoholic that she will give the bar to Betty.)

Step 5: The next youngest person in the group takes the next turn and repeats step 3 and 4. Continue until all people have a turn or until all the gifts are handed out.

All Valentine’s Day Grab Bags come with this 100% cotton specialty pillowcase packed with goodies to share.

The Best Pajamas for Busy Moms

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Aqua Footies

By Ellie Badanes

The life of a busy Mom is just that…busy!  And the key is always comfort.  When the day starts early and ends late with a zillion accomplishments, crises, panics and celebrations in between, perfect pajamas can just make everything a little bit better.  Here at The Pajama Company, we love to see Mom happy.  We love our comfy drawstring pajama pants in fun prints, perfect to just “live” in.  Pair a great pajama pant with your favorite tee or sweatshirt.  Our pj’s are perfect to go the distance from the bus stop to the home office to the activities of the day.  To see big smiles and fits of giggles on little and big kids alike we love seeing Mom in our footed pajamas for grownups!  Relax to the max in cotton flannels, cozy fleece or cool cotton jersey in a variety of colors.  Mom can have some fun putting kids to bed when she’s sporting her own Big Feet pajamas! And when the day is winding down, Mom can wind down in “pajama bliss” for a little “me” time.