Kids inspire us to stay light-hearted and focus on what really matters during the holiday season. We keep traditions alive and remain nostalgic mostly for their benefit, and participate in traditions more fully and appreciatively as we see them fresh through their eyes.
Still, the most important thing to remember when it comes to kids and the holidays is to keep them occupied as much as possible. The holidays are a busy time for everyone, and multi-tasking while dodging the children bouncing off the walls and hanging from the ceiling is practically a holiday universal, regardless of particular holiday or faith. Sharing kid duty among friends and family goes along way to relieving this frustration, and can be a lot of fun. Or encourage your kids to tackle festive projects, and give yourself the gift of time to prepare for all your holiday shindigs. I also like to steer little ones towards one of my favorite educational websites, Little Director, allows kids to draw and animate their own movies, hey you never know, your kid may be the next Spielberg!
And here are a few other ways to get the kids involved, in the spirit and out of your hair, when necessary, this season!
Holiday Wish List on a Plate- I thought of this idea a few weeks ago, and totally love it, but still haven’t had a chance to try it out with my nieces. If any of you decide to give it a whirl, let me know how it turns out! Purchase typical, store-bought, decorate-‘em-yourself plates. Try creativity for kids for plates that require no baking or shipping, or Makit for dishwasher-safe options. Besides decorating, ask each kid to write their holiday wish list on their plate, making sure to include name, age, and the date (Christmas 2009, for example). Smaller children may require help with some of this, of course. Once Santa’s fat and happy from the cookies your kids have left him, he can peruse the Christmas lists on the plate before he puts the gifts under the tree. And you will have gained some precious preparation time, and started a tradition with collectable results to share with your family for years to come.
Creative Collections – I bought my niece, Bri a few games for her Nintendo DS for her birthday, and she thanked me and seemed happy, but man, were those things expensive!. A few months later, for no special occasion, I gave her a couple of gifts that cost me next to nothing. She totally flipped out, and loved them so much more. One was a little fish tackle box filled with embroidery floss in a bunch of different colors. Apparently, making colorful, collectable, floss friendship bracelets was super popular at her school. Another was a pretty bag filled with all of the sample and free toiletries I’ve accumulated from hotels over the years. Not the kind of thing you find on top of the wish list, but kids love pint sized things that seemingly are made just for them, and they really dig collections, whether cards or dolls or tiny toiletries. Collectible gifts, even inexpensive or free ones, build cheerful, ongoing traditions unique between you and your children, and take some of the pressure off coming up with gift ideas.
Holiday Cards on a Snow Day- I found this clever Christmas card idea on flickr, It’s so super easy, it can even be tweeked for a Chanukah card or New Year’s card without a problem! What I love about it is it’s a great way to reuse old wrapping paper or gift cards!
Get ‘em Baking-I LOVE these cookies because they are delicious and because they are a great cookie to collaborate with kids on. While you make the batter, they can be carefully unwrapping the Hersheys Kisses. You’ve got to watch ‘em though, or else they will unpack and eat more than they pass to you!
Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Hersheys Kisses, 1 for each cookie
Pre-Heat oven to 375°F.
Cream together butter, both sugars and peanut butter. Add 1 egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt.
Form in walnut size balls. Roll in white sugar and place them on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Press Hersheys Kiss into each cookie when fresh out of the oven.
Teach them to Give- Kids love giving as much as they love receiving, but they can be shy about it like anything else. Practice giving, and show them that generosity is an important trait. Help them pick out and pack up little gifts for their friends and family, and find a charity in your area that accepts wrapped gifts for less fortunate children. This is a great way to teach them to be considerate of others, and they will have an insanely good time learning to wrap their own gifts.
How are you going to involve your kids in this year’s holiday festivities? Let us know!
Happy Holidays!
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