Surprise them daily
As their holiday break begins, surprise your kids with a small gift for each of the days they are off school. Hint: Make the “gift” one that will entertain your child a true white Christmas.
Decorate
Enlist your children to help you decorate your home for the holidays. Bigger kids can help Dad with the lights and electronic decorations while the little ones can be in charge of gel window decals. Give your tree a special touch by stringing popcorn and making homemade ornaments.
Do good with these 5 budget-friendly holiday activities that teach kids social responsibility>>
Do some holiday activities
Regardless of how big or small your town is, we’re sure there are plenty of holiday happenings to participate in come December. You don’t have to partake in every single Christmas activity, but sprinkle your kids’ winter break calendar with a few fun holiday activities like driving around to view Christmas lights, going to see Santa at a local mall, attending holiday activities at your local amusement park or seeing a Christmas performance like The Nutcracker.
Prepare a craft basket
Before winter break starts, fill a large basket with random items perfect for craft-making like glue, ribbon, spare buttons, old socks, pipe cleaners, popsicle craft sticks, construction paper and more. Check Pinterest for some easy holiday crafts that older kids can do on their own . If your kids start with the “I’m bored” song and dance, you can pull out the basket and suggest they get crafty!
Get them in the kitchen
There is always plenty of cooking and baking to be done throughout the holidays, so why not let your kids help? We can’t think of a kid out there who would not volunteer to help make Christmas cookies .
Now what are you going to do with all those cookies? Have a cookie party!
Check out these 10 tips for a cookie exchange>>
Beyond just the sweet stuff, encourage your kids’ interest in cooking by suggesting they make one dish for the holiday meal this year. Help them research some recipes online or in your collection of cookbooks, then go shopping together for the ingredients and oversee their special dishes in the kitchen with them at the helm. Contributing to the big feast this holiday will surely make your child feel special.
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