If you are hoping to say bye-bye to your child’s soother soon, the imminent arrival of the Big Guy In The Red Suit might be just the opportunity you need.
Our kids can get so attached to their soothers that it can be really difficult to persuade them to part with them. But with Christmas coming, the good news is that their attachment to Santa is probably stronger!
As our resident sleep expert Niamh O’Reilly says, Santa is very ‘soother friendly’. The message for your child is simple; Santa collects all the soothers on Christmas Eve so that he can give them to another baby in the world who doesn’t yet have one, and gives the boy or girl a toy in its place. Sounds like a good deal, doesn’t it?!
There are a few different ways to actually do the soother for a toy ‘swap’ – the key is to prepare the kids in advance so that they not only know that it is happening, but that they agree to it too. As we all know, toddlers are so very independent, so letting them believe that they made the decision themselves will go some way towards easing any separation issues.
Here are some ideas for you on how to set up the swap over event:
1. Put a call in
Place the soothers into a gift bag and call Santa on Christmas eve, letting him know that your child will be leaving them for another baby and make sure you are overheard! Place the bag containing the soothers anywhere that Santa plans to leave the Christmas presents and they will be swapped over on Christmas morning.
2. Bring the magic outside
Tie the soother to a tree in the garden so that Santa or the reindeer might pick them up when they visit the house, making sure to mark them with a bright red ribbon or festive decoration. You can then have great fun checking out the upstairs window on Christmas morning to make sure it’s gone, so there is extra excitement in running down to see the new gifts!
(Via Linda Rose on Pinterest)3. Make sure Santa sees it!
Leave the soothers on Santa’s cookie plate so that it is part of the ceremony of setting up for Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve. He won’t miss the cookies and milk so he definitely won’t miss the soothers!
(Via Designs By D)
Hopefully, these ideas will help and your child will be SO proud of themselves for helping Santa, that they won’t initially miss the soother too much and ultimately forget about them.
If they fret about them a few days later, you can always give them a thank you letter from Santa to reaffirm how great a little boy or girl they are, and help them to feel better.
Best of luck!
If you have any more ideas for us, why not share them in the comments!
