The festive season looks magical on paper: twinkly lights, long lunches, sparkling moments with kids… but for so many families, it’s actually a sensory avalanche waiting to happen. In this episode, we unpack what’s really going on beneath the meltdowns, the indecision, the clinginess, the crankiness, and the “I can’t do this” moments (from kids and parents). We map nervous systems, explore individual sensory needs, and name the pressure cooker that December becomes — especially when you’re juggling perimenopause, presents, dinners, social expectations, and kids who are already overstretched. This conversation is honest, practical, and deeply human: how to choose magic moments without drowning in them, what regulation actually looks like for each child, and why being brutally honest about your capacity is the most loving thing you can do for your family.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• How the festive season overloads children’s nervous systems through noise, crowds, smells, transitions, and too much “magic” too fast.
• The three major overwhelm responses in kids: meltdown, anger spikes, or freeze/shut-down; and what they’re trying to communicate.
• Why one child needs silence and retreat, another needs cold drinks and blankets, and another needs fidgets, weight, rhythm, or background sound.
• How Bridget’s youngest regulates through touch and closeness, while her middle daughter can’t settle without constant sound.
• Why mindful “magic-moment picking” helps your child stay regulated instead of spiralling into overwhelm halfway through the day.
• The emotional labour of parenting in December — the pressure to make it magical while your own nervous system is scraping the bottom.
• Practical sensory-based regulation strategies for each child, and how to support differences without making anyone wrong.
• Why parents’ sensory thresholds drop dramatically during perimenopause, and how to honour that instead of pushing through.
• Julie’s “TV dinners” survival strategy for dinner prep and evening chaos when her own system is overloaded.
• Bridget’s regulation rituals and why they work so well.
• The importance of being brutally honest about your capacity and creating a “family sensory plan” for December.

Want support on this journey? Come join us inside Honey Club - where we melt these blocks together, one breath, one practice, one deep remembering at a time. Find out more at julietenner.love or visit: https://julie-tenner.newzenler.com/courses/honeyclub


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