How to get Children into the Festive Spirit
When it comes to the holiday season, kids tend to forget about what this specific time of year is all about. It is more important to carry on family traditions that have been maintained for decades. Despite being in sync with their ipods and smart phones, kids will appreciate the simplicity of these traditions. They might even look forward to doing them again next year.
TheElf on the Shelfis a holiday tradition that has been maintained for decades. This is a children’s book that comes with an elf, who is made to sit on the shelf. A family can adopt an elf to watch over the children until Christmas arrives. That is how Santa knows who has been naughty or nice.
Making a ginger bread house is the perfect activity for a chilly afternoon. To make your ginger bread house you will need ginger bread, obviously, icing and assorted candies to decorate the house. Gingerbread house kits can be purchased almost anywhere, but many people don’t know how this fun filled craft came about. This activity originated in Germany after the Brothers Grimm wrote their fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. Germans brought this tradition over with them to America in the 19th century.
Since you can’t always eat a gingerbread house,Christmas cookiesare the perfect way to indulge this holiday season. Colorful candy bar cookies put a modern twist on a favorite tradition. To make them you will need a tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough, flour, fun-size candy bars of your choice and red and green colored sugar. These cookies are quick and easy to make. They are a great activity for kids, since kids are more concerned about the finished product and don’t have a lot of patience while food is baking.
Teach your kids the importance of giving this holiday season. Encourage them to makeChristmas cardsthat they can send out to friends and family. You will need construction paper, scissors, glue and glitter. A snowflake card is simple to make, just have your child cut out a snowflake by folding up a square of construction paper and cutting slits into it. When the snowflake is done, have your child glue it onto a different colored piece of construction paper and add some glitter for a finishing touch.
Although children will be bombarded this holiday season with every toy and gadget commercial possible, it is important to keep them level-headed. By maintaining these holiday traditions, you can keep your child grounded and get him or her in the festive holiday spirit the right way, not the commercial way.
