Tip of the Day: Start a Family Tradition
A family tradition could be as simple as listening to holiday music together.
Nov. 25, 2010 — -- Why not make this the year to start a holiday tradition with your family? It could be as simple as listening to holiday music together. So what is the right tradition for your family?
Decorate!
Most families have to decorate for the holidays anyway, so why not do it with your whole family. Decorate your Christmas tree as a family with Christmas music playing in the background. Some children have favorite ornaments that they love to put on the tree themselves.
Holiday treats
The holidays wouldn't be the same without your favorite holiday treat. Whether it's cookies or cake, share a holiday treat with the whole family – hot chocolate is sweet AND a good way to warm up too.
Dancing
During the holidays, there is always so much Christmas and holiday music playing. So why not get the family together and dance the night away every year.
Countdown
Advent calendars are a big tradition amongst family to countdown to December 25th, but why not make it special for your family. For instance:
• Use the nativity set and place a new piece in every day
• Put a bunch of little gifts or snacks and tie them to a rope or ribbon. Hang it from your fireplace and take a new one each day
• Do something special each night to countdown like baking, dancing, or playing a game.
• As a family, read a different holiday story every night
• Make a paper chain countdown. Start with one ring made of 4 inches of red construction paper and continue adding new rings to the chain until there 25. Then each night your kids can remove a ring until it's Christmas day.
Give service
The gift of giving is what the holidays are all about. So try to give back and teach your kids to do so too. Some ideas are:
• Donate to charity with your own toys
• Serve a meal at a local shelter
• Sing at a rest home
• Bake and bring cookies to a neighbor
Celebrate religion or culture
The holidays wouldn't exist without religion, so if you have children, teach them more about what that means. There are even movies to help your children understand.
