Holidays can be exciting and difficult for children with special needs and their families.

There can be lots of stress, schedules change, kids are up late (and early!), new people to meet, hugs are given that might be uncomfortable, new toys, things to share, foods that taste funny, and sugar highs that seem to never end.

Here are 10 tips my family uses to manage holiday time. I hope a few of these will help your family as well.

 1. Do less than you think you must.   You can't attend every party or give gifts to every person who has ever supported your child or your family.  Do what you can for now. If you want to catch up with friends or give little gifts to more people than you have time for now, I'm sure they will love to hear from you in January or February when nothing much exciting is going on.

2.     Teach children the spirit of giving.   Kids love to give and help. Teach the spirit of the season in giving to those less fortunate.  This is a great way to teach kids that, while they have challenges, they are not insurmountable and they have the power to help someone else in need.

3.     Get outside.  Yes, it's cold, yes there is snow on the ground for many of us.  Fresh air is good for all of us. Bundle up and go for an evening walk to look at holiday lights, grab the sleds or skates. Throwing snowballs is fun, too!

4.     Bake something good to eat. Always a fun way to spend an afternoon indoors. Don't stress about how the cookies look or how much flour gets on the floor, enjoy each others' company and the end result of your baking together.

5.     Leave early.  No matter where you are for the holidays, you can never go wrong leaving a little bit earlier than planned. Your kids who look so well behaved now, may be tantruming aliens in an hour or so. Go while everyone is still in a good mood so those memories stay with them, rather than memories of meltdowns and being carried to the car.

6.     Give fewer gifts.  No one enjoys being overwhelmed by toys, wrapping paper and ribbon. Fewer gifts means kids appreciate the ones they get all the more.

7.     Appreciate signs of caring and love.  Helping with chores, brushing teeth when asked, a lovely drawing of the family, and holding it together while grandma is in the house are all reasons to show your child you appreciate him or her.  In our house, we do this with a "kiss on the head" (that is exactly what we call it: "You deserve a kiss on the head!" Quick kiss and moving on....)

8.     Make family time simple.  We all feel pressure to spend "family time" during the holidays. Keep it simple with a game or movie night. Watch the classic holiday TV shows, get some popcorn and you're good to go. Another fun thing to do is dance to happy holiday music (Alvin and the Chipmunks comes in handy for this!).

9.     Remember your big kids like traditions, too.  Even if they grumble at first, teenagers love everything I outlined in tips 1-8. Just sayin'.