Tips for Putting together Toys after Santa Arrives
All season you shopped for your kids' wish lists and wrapped them with care. When Christmas Eve finally arrived you gently placed all of beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree. You may have even taken a bite out of one of Santa's cookies and drank the milk for good measure.
Christmas morning arrives and the carefully wrapped paper is quickly torn off. After all the oohs and ahhs are over and the kids have marveled in their glory, now comes the fun part. It is time to get going on putting all of those toys together.
Assembling toys together is not always an easy feat to accomplish. There are instructions, multiple pieces and maybe even some stickers to put together in order to construct those beloved toys. All those directions, especially with multiple toys involved, can feel overwhelming.
The good news is this task can be a piece of cake once you get yourself organized and set the groundwork and environment you need to get those parts together and create some awesome toys.
Here are some helpful tips:
• Clear the room
If you can effectively create an organized work space this will make the task at hand easier to accomplish. Pick a room which is not cluttered with already assembled toys or one which doesn't give you a lot of space to spread out.
Depending on what kinds of toys you are assembling you may need a lot of room to stretch out. Personally I like to spread out on the floor to tackle the job. This way there's room to work and strategically place all of the parts in organized piles according to the assembly steps.
You might want to try putting on your favorite movie, TV show or some music to play as you work, this makes putting together the frustrating ones a little less maddening.
• Get organized
After you have your work place plotted out, it's time to get organized. You'll need to develop a system to spread out your directions, the tools you'll need and have them in a logical order. This way you can systematically put each toy together.
It is a good idea to give a quick run through the directions before you start. This way you know everything you'll need and you won't have to interrupt yourself in order to get additional tools or other things you may need.
• Send the kids out of the room
Even though your kids are excited to play with their new toys it is probably best to send them out of the room with their other parent or an older sibling. This way you'll get the job done much quicker if you can shoo your kids into another room.
If there is no one else to watch the young ones, it might be best to tackle toy assembly after they are in bed. True your children will be anxious to have their toys, but if you're frustrated and having a tough time putting them together, this will only delay the toy getting finished.
Kids who are a little older can help in the assembly process. Surprisingly kids often understand directions better than adults and quickly grasp onto putting toys together. Making toy assembly a joint effort offers some nice together time, not to mention a great opportunity for your child to learn.
• Work one project at a time
This is probably one of the most important factors to remember for assembling toys. Don't try to do more than one toy at a time or you'll likely end up with a bunch of mixed up parts you'll have to sort through.
If you create a list of the toys you want to do first, focus on them one at a time and then put it to the side or bring it out of the room when you're finished. This will ensure each toy has your undivided attention and is put together correctly in the shortest amount of time.
Christmas toy assembly doesn't have to be a grueling process. By taking a few proactive steps to prep yourself the job can be a relaxing an enjoyable one. You might even have time to catch up on a movie or two if you have several toys to assemble.
Relax and have fun! After all, how often is it you get to sit down and play with toys like a kid again?
