Family is at the core of the
Christmas season, so creating fun memories with your family is
always at the top of the must-do list this time of year.
What fun activities can you incorporate into your family life
that makes Christmas memorable and fun? Plenty, really. There
are the traditional and the things a little bit out of the box.
Think back to your childhood and Christmas time in your house.
Are there particular memories that are clearer than others?
Those are likely the traditions your parents created for you and
your siblings. Trying to create traditions in your own home with
your own children is one way to make Christmas fun, exciting and
memorable. Perhaps it's decorating cookies, or making
gingerbread houses. Maybe when you were younger your mom always
had something yummy smelling coming from the kitchen. You can
create the same tradition by simply keeping potpourri warmed and
smelling nice, if you don't have the time to bake frequently.
If you want to do a fun family activity in the kitchen, but
baking's not your thing, you can make a variety of other gift
items in your kitchen. The kids love making chocolate and candy
covered pretzel sticks, and you can pair those with homemade hot
cocoa mix to give as gifts.
Be sure to incorporate music into your family's traditions. How
about some family fun singing Christmas carols or creating your
own family music CD? Record your family singing Christmas carols
and use that CD as your music CD for the holidays. If you all
are particularly talented, you could make these look pretty and
give them as gifts.
Many families like to cut down their own Christmas tree. This is
a really fun family activity that can add a lot to the Christmas
season. Christmas tree farms are located just about everywhere.
Check into a local grower's group for locations. You simply show
up, grab a saw (this is mom or dad's job) and go hunting.
Depending on the location of the tree farm, you might walk only
a short distance, or you might have to hike up and down hills
and far into the farm's reaches to find just the right tree.
To add even more fun to this activity, create another family
tradition that will annually go with the tree cutting. It can be
as simple as also having lunch (at the same place each year) and
picking up candy to eat in the car on the way home. You might
also add a shopping excursion to the day; after the tree is safe
at home in a bucket of water, you might all go shopping as a
family for some new ornaments.
Other fun family activities can include annual visits to certain
places in your community. Does your town have an annual
"Christmas tree lane" where all the homes on one street decorate
(sometimes in an over the top fashion) for the holidays? You can
make a tradition of driving down the street each year, or
walking the entire street, if the weather allows. Walking gives
the kids a chance to see some of the details of the various
décor items.
Many children think hot cocoa is an essential part of the
Christmas season. If that's the case with yours, you could start
a fun family activity each year where you make a big batch of
hot cocoa mix at the start of the season. Let the kids have a
small cup each night before bed during the month of December and
closer to Christmas, add special items to the hot cocoa, like
mini marshmallows one night and whipped cream another. Be sure
to leave this family-made hot cocoa for Santa on Christmas Eve!
At a certain age, children enjoy decorating their room for the
holidays. One fun family Christmas activity is to encourage this
decoration by letting the kids shop for items to put in their
rooms and letting them do the decorating. Be sure to take a
picture of them in their decorated room each year. They'll enjoy
looking at the pictures year after year.