When the weather cools down, our spirits warm up as we look forward to the Christmas season. Naturally, you want to do activities with your children that will help get them into the holiday spirit. Whether you are looking to remember the real reasons we celebrate Christmas or just want to have a bit of fun, you can bring your family closer together with Christmas activities.
Christmas Crafts
Christmas crafts can serve as decorations for the home or the tree, or you can give them away as presents. Ornaments can make for a memorable craft–put the date on them so that you can always remember the time. You could also make pine-scented items for the home or paper crafts that incorporate a Santa or reindeer theme.
Volunteering
You want to encourage the spirit of giving at Christmastime but also throughout the year. Volunteer your time as a family to an organization that you believe in. You may help deliver Christmas presents and food to needy families in the area, feed meals to homeless people or simply visit with people in the community who may be lonely.
Advent Activities
If your family is religious, you may want to celebrate the season of Advent with the scripture readings that your church leaders recommend. Do one reading together as a family before or after dinner. Older children can read the passage out loud. You could also use an Advent calendar, which gives a small treat to your child on each day.
Baking Cookies
Cookie baking is a tradition that many families hold dear to their hearts. Even young children can help with the baking, by dumping ingredients into the bowl or frosting the cutout cookies. Let your child choose her favorite type of Christmas cookie, and help her to bake that one every year.
Santa Activities
With Santa coming to town, you may want to help your child get excited. You could start with writing Santa a letter or going to the mall to get your child’s picture taken with Santa. The night before Christmas, set out cookies and milk–take a bite out overnight so that it looks like Santa had a cookie. If you live in an area with snow, you can create reindeer prints in the snow, sprinkling the area with glitter for a bit of extra magic.
