Today was a bit manic, this morning I took Theo to soft play after his morning nap and then we went to do the Christmas food shopping.
Mistakes I made
It’s always unwise to drive into the city centre a few days before Christmas but It was chucking it down and I didn’t fancy walking all the way being drenched. I like to park at The Forum as I find Chantry Place and Castle Quarter get crazy around this time of year. It was absolutely gridlocked, thankfully I was able to divert into the not as well know one-way single roads to get round the traffic.
Tire baby out before Christmas Food Shopping!
If The Forum is busy I tend to go to the soft play in Castle Quarter to let my son crawl around as the soft play in the arcade has loads of room. We were lucky to be alone in there for an hour to play and so I could get Theo worn out before shopping. That is my number one tip before doing any shopping as otherwise they get bored and can get cranky, whereas if they have been fed and worn out he is happy to be in a trolley or pram for a while.
After a quick pit stop to get a gingerbread latte at Costa, I made my way to Asda to grab my Christmas food shop. I say that loosely as we are over at my mothers Christmas day so this is just my essentials and any picky bits I want the night before.
Lets food shop
So I recently found a recipe for gingerbread people, if it isn’t a disaster I’m hoping to make some tomorrow and ice them if I have time.
My list was to cover Theo over the holidays so I could pre make babyfood and freeze it, then I only need to bring out what I need each day. I’ve found new recipes to try as he is so much more confident feeding himself and really doesn’t want us to feed him anymore.
For dinner he has mash potatoes with cheese, peas and ham which was super simple especially as I did the potatoes in the microwave but after shopping and soft play I was beyond worn out.
I am actually doing most of the food prep tonight and tomorrow so I can just take 3 bowls with me each day and not need to make something each morning to bring with me to wherever we are headed.
So far I’ve peeled, boiled and chopped different fruits for breakfast for him to have in porridge or in pancakes. For lunch he has a mixture of different pasta dishes with different sauces with veg and for dinner the next few days I’m alternating between fish and meat.
Baby Christmas week meal example
- Breakfast-kiwi/cherry and orange with banana pancakes
- Lunch-Beef Ravioli with Petits Felur for dessert
- Dinner-Shredded Chicken with veg and applesauce for dessert
Picking up a few picky bits to have Christmas Eve is a great alternative to having to cook a heavy meal, pigs in blankets being the main item as I didn’t want something too high maintenance the night before. I also got mince pies as Asda had them for £1.
Don’t forget to grab the essentials baby lotion, nappies and any other household bits you need especially if you have guests coming.
Let me know what your Christmas shop looks like, are you cooking or are you going to someone’s house?