I am not an introvert, but my husband is and the holiday season presents a special challenge for him: 1. We have a busy social calendar. 2. Our kids are home and really want his (and my) attention. 3. My youngest is just about 4, which means he is in the High Verbal Years. He's developing his inner voice but we can hear it on the outside...constantly. Here's our survival plan for introvert parents. Share your own in the comments! Plan your introvert down time As the extroverted parent I have often felt comfortable asking Carl to watch the kids while I go hang out with some friends for an evening. But it can be harder for an introverted parent to ask for time along at home with peace and quiet. We plan in some times that I take the kids out (we look for great Canadian winter activities like these) and he enjoys a few hours to "putter around." And that's a good thing. It's okay to ask for quiet Although we consider each of my kids' thoughts brilliant and special in their own way, sometimes it really is okay to ask them to keep them to themselves. Although the adage "children should be seen and not heard" makes my Generation-X head ache, there is some wisdom in teaching children to be a little peaceful. We occasionally ask our children to give us ten minutes of quiet time, and set a timer to enforce it. Every little bit of quiet helps. Playdates can be awesome More children might seem noisier, but then they occupy themselves. We've got great tips for a successful playdate over here, but I'll add that the holiday break is also a nice time to just go knock on some neighbourhood doors and see if so-and-so can come out to play. Even better, sometimes the other family reciprocates. Ease up on adult obligations Sometimes the key to great family time is to remove stress from the rest of the calendar. My husband turns some invitations down, and that means he is recharged and ready-to-go when it's time to build a Lego robot empire! My role is just to support him in saying no. Learn more: Introverts might just rule the world. Here's Susan Cain's TED talk on the power of introverts.