"Don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today" may sound cliche, but there is some truth to it. Especially when that "tomorrow" is the holiday season. Here are some fun activities for kids you can do before any holiday. A great project to start the festivities might be to create guest name plates for the dinner table. As your children design each name plate share a memory of that person with them. If you have a holiday memory of them, even better. To help younger children create a correlation between names and faces, include a photo of each person with their name. If your children are a little older you could work together to create a slideshow of memories to share with everyone during the family get together. Choose a seasonal song, or a song that describes your family, and add it to the background. Let your children help choose which photos to include and talk about the memories they bring up. Children of all ages can help with decorations. Handmade decorations are especially sentimental and teach children there is value in their own creativity. Decorations can be displayed around the home and given out to guests, or taken along as gifts to others homes.
Gratitude is an active part of the holiday season. After the festivities help your children create meaningful "Thank you" cards for friends and family. We show gratitude not only for tangible gifts but also for the pleasure of their company. If your child(ren) can recall a sweet or funny anecdote to include, even better!