Celebrating Holidays with Kids

[joelsgirl]

So I want to put together a planner for celebrating holidays with my kids. I think if I do it all at one time {ie. Jan-Dec} and put my ideas and materials together, I stand a better chance of actually celebrating holidays and special occasions. I'm always scrambling at the last minute and then don't do anything fun.

So I'm looking for ideas to celebrate holidays with kids. Also anything about creating traditions. Do you gals know any websites or books that would help?

[maaike3773]

Ohh :confused:I am going to follow this tread too! I am a bad planning mom so any help is welcome here too!:)

[Traci Reed]

We're doing a fun thing with our shelf elf...

Every day (12 days of Christmas) he hides in a new spot with a note from Santa that's preparing the kids for Christmas by doing fun little activities...for example:

Day 1 had them make Christmas cards for our relatives that live far away (this note was all about spreading Christmas Cheer)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1205.snc4/155738_474358507423_715957423_5952559_3780524_n.jp g

Day 2 Santa asked them to bring him their Christmas Lists that they had made to the mall (so we got our Santa picture) and reminded them to be good to their brother (we're having issues with this)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1224.snc4/155680_474734187423_715957423_5956866_6179570_n.jp g

Day 3 Santa left a note on the Wii to make Reindeer Food for his team so we'll be doing that after school

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs714.snc4/63416_475142162423_715957423_5961840_5080409_n.jpg

The kids are having so much fun "finding" Buddy every day and it's a good way to get them in the Christmas Spirit or thinking about other people. Other activities I plan on doing is having them go through their toys to donate what they no longer use, make snowflake garlands for the house, make cookies for Santa..etc, etc

[Aimeemomof2+]

This a site that has a lot of good ideas about how to be organized about Christmas, I don't know if it has any fun ideas....(we have SO MANY "mandatory" extended family traditions, that I just try to cut things out every year)....LOL

But, I do use the printables to organize things. I love them!
http://christmas.organizedhome.com/

[Traci Reed]

I LOVE that site! Tomorrow, the boys are making the confetti bean soup and cornbread for teacher gifts <3

[scrap2day]

I love Gretchen's idea for the Holiday Breakfast http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2008/02/its-friday-ti-2.html

[scrap2day]

We're doing a fun thing with our shelf elf...

Every day (12 days of Christmas) he hides in a new spot with a note from Santa that's preparing the kids for Christmas by doing fun little activities...for example:

Day 1 had them make Christmas cards for our relatives that live far away (this note was all about spreading Christmas Cheer)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1205.snc4/155738_474358507423_715957423_5952559_3780524_n.jp g

Day 2 Santa asked them to bring him their Christmas Lists that they had made to the mall (so we got our Santa picture) and reminded them to be good to their brother (we're having issues with this)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1224.snc4/155680_474734187423_715957423_5956866_6179570_n.jp g

Day 3 Santa left a note on the Wii to make Reindeer Food for his team so we'll be doing that after school

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs714.snc4/63416_475142162423_715957423_5961840_5080409_n.jpg

The kids are having so much fun "finding" Buddy every day and it's a good way to get them in the Christmas Spirit or thinking about other people. Other activities I plan on doing is having them go through their toys to donate what they no longer use, make snowflake garlands for the house, make cookies for Santa..etc, etc

I love that your elf has a note/task each day.

[kristijoy]

I also collected a variety of craft projects (I have a preschooler). One day we made a BIG star out of cardboard tubes, painted it and covered it with glitter. Yesterday we made a little Christmas tree out of construction paper. I got ideas for a few books at the library.

[Darcy Baldwin]

http://familyfun.go.com/ always has cute ideas for things to do on holidays.

[xboxmom]

This year was the first time we have done something fun for each day before christmas with my kids. It's been a lot of work though I tell ya. Not sure if I want to keep doing it every year or not. I do like the Elf on the shelf Idea though, that does sound fun. And I know a lot of people that do that.

When it comes to my kids birthdays its our tradition to always let each child choose where he/she wants to go out to eat. For a few years my daughter always choose Applebee's (yuck) But it's their day so we let them choose.

When we still lived in Utah on memorial day we always made it a tradition to go to each side of our families cemetaries and put flowers on the graves. One year my Mother in law went with us and the rest of the family and told us stories about the people we were remembering on that day. Then we would always get together with the family and have a huge BBQ!

Thanksgiving we always just invite all my husbands work folks over for dinner and do a potluck, the kids love helping cook and decorate the house for this event.

Hmmm can't think of anything else that we do.

[LeeAndra]

This is a great idea, Kellie. I just have a list going in my head and a couple of Notepad files with the ideas I want to incorporate.

Having an official binder (Hey Col! You hear this?! I need a hybrid-y binder! *lol*) would be much better and make me feel like a 'with it' mom... and after all, isn't it all abt stroking my ego?! Oh wait... :p