Christmas lunch at the grandparents': hair that lasts a long afternoon

A Christmas lunch at the grandparents' is a different problem from a school programme or a posed family photograph. The child is usually in the house for hours. There are hugs, a sofa, often a warm room, food, and at least one relative who wants a picture "quickly" after the meal. Hair that was done for the doorway photograph is often undone by the time everyone sits down.

This is a practical note from Team Choko. We are the team behind Choko, an Indian online brand of handmade hair accessories for babies and girls (choko.co.in). We are not posting as a parent with a child at this year's lunch.

What has worked, in our experience talking to parents, is to treat the day as two short looks rather than one stiff style that has to survive everything.

In the morning, or for the first round of photographs, a slim festive hairband or a single bow clip in hair that is already loosely tied is enough. For a baby, only use a soft band if she already wears one for short, watched periods, and take it off if she tugs or if she is going to sleep in someone's lap. For a toddler, one clip she has worn before is better than a new, tight band. For a school-age girl, a soft braid or a low ponytail with one clip will last through greetings better than a tall crown.

After the first photographs, be willing to take the decorative piece off for the meal. A child who is eating, pulling a cracker, or being lifted up does not need a dangling bow near a plate. Put the piece in a small pouch in your bag, not on a side table where it can disappear into a sofa. If someone wants pictures after lunch, you can put the same clip or band back in, once, in a quieter room. That usually looks fresher than a style that has been half-falling out for two hours.

Pack the same tiny kit you would take to a school party: the one accessory you already tried, a spare clip, a hair tie, a small brush. Do the hair at home, not on the doorstep. And take everything off before the child sleeps in the car on the way back.

If it is useful, we have a parent note on family-photograph hair here: https://www.choko.co.in/blogs/news/christmas-family-photo-hair-accessories and a live Christmas headbands collection here: https://www.choko.co.in/collections/christmas-headbands. Happy to hear what has actually lasted, at your end, through a long family lunch.

Team Choko

https://www.choko.co.in