Most parents of young children struggle with aspects of the holidays. Parents of special needs children often have even more challenges to face. Whether your child has health problems, a short attention span, behavioral problems or some sort of developmental delays that can make participating in your traditional family holiday rituals challenging, it is important to be realistic about what activities your child can and cannot do. Here are some suggestions about how to make the holiday season more enjoyable for your family:

Prioritize: Which traditions are very important to your family and which are less so? Perhaps it is more important to share in the family meal than to be present at the family photo session.

Set reasonable expectations: Participating in religious ceremonies, singing, eating traditional foods, even opening gifts may pose problems for your child. Be sure to let family members know what they might expect so they are not surprised or disappointed. That family dinner that Grandma so lovingly prepared may go completely untouched by a child on a special diet.

Prepare your child: While your child is young, you can prepare a visual list of activities that may be happening so that he or she knows what to expect. "After dinner, we will go home." If your child struggles with health problems, perhaps you need to schedule a rest time for him or her.

Prepare a survival kit: Bring calming toys, books, a favorite video, foods that you child will eat, or a familiar blanket for quiet times.

Prepare yourself: Scale back on holiday activities so that you and your child will not come to family gatherings exhausted and stressed out. Try to schedule time for yourself: exercise and get enough sleep. Don't worry about trying to have the "perfect" holiday.

Above all, try to remember that a spirit of compromise and a sense of humor can go a long way toward making a successful holiday. Maybe you can even create a few new holiday traditions of your own!