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Five things you’ll only get if you’re a parent of a child with CF (the festive edition)

Blog - 08/12/2025

Putting up the Christmas tree, decorating the house, wrapping presents, only for one of my children to casually mention the “must have” item so late that only Amazon Prime can come to the rescue… Christmas with a child with cystic fibrosis (CF) is much like Christmas for anyone else. But there are a few additional things our family has to consider, so here is my (Lian) festive take on five things you’ll only get if you’re a parent of a child with CF.

Step into Christmas

Both of my children, Henry (10 with CF) and Emma (13), are avid sportspeople. Our evenings are taken up with training (swimming five times a week, plus aerial hoop and football), and weekends are often spent poolside (overheating while sitting on uncomfortable plastic chairs) or pitch side (unable to feel my fingers or toes). While Christmas means a short break from training, it also means that Henry’s activity levels drop. Enter the festive walks! Whether to the park for a kickaround and a game of crossbar challenge, or to a lovely local café here that’s only accessible by a walk along a lake, getting some steps in is a great way to keep his fitness levels up over the festive period.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Cold weather means cold viruses. Winter is that time of year when my meds cupboard is fully stocked, the CF team has to hear me describe in detail any cough Henry has and dropping him off at school fills me with a higher amount of dread as I hear the snotty coughs and spluttering echoing around the playground.

Silent Night

Continuing the theme of coughs and colds (ahh, the life of a CF parent), one thing we love to hear around the festive period (and any other time of the year, to be fair) is the sound of our children sleeping peacefully with not a hint of a chesty cough. Knowing the pharmacies will be closed at times over the festive period and the CF teams might not always be right at the end of the phone, means that we have to be on top of repeat meds and emergency antibiotics, just in case!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Ok, I know I’ve cheated here, and the song title is actually ‘The Christmas Song’ but this is harder than I thought! Christmas is full of calories, right? Perfect for children with CF! But getting the right calories is a different matter: how am I supposed to convince my child that yet another selection box isn’t the healthiest option when he immediately replies: “But I need the fat and calories… and it’s Christmas”?!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Even though we have CF to contend with at Christmas, this is no different to the other 364 days in the year! So while there are meds to be taken and physio to be done, we try to focus on the joy of enjoying Christmas with family and friends. CF may not take a day off (not even Santa can deliver that) and some years we may have more considerations to make than others, but we won’t allow CF to be the Grinch who steals Christmas!

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