Christmas traditions
The magic of Christmas is a wonderful thing when seen through the eyes of our children. Everything for them is so amazing and exciting and that enthusiasm is contagious.
Creating holiday traditions for our children, whether they are ones carried forward from your childhood or new ones created for your family is so memorable. Traditions are a wonderful way to create memories that will stay with them forever.
Growing up, one of my fondest memories is of fresh-baked croissants and jam, which we had every Christmas morning for breakfast. Even today the smell of croissants makes me smile.
In our family the first tradition is tree decorating. We put on Christmas music and have fun decorating the tree together, then afterwards enjoy hot chocolate and a favourite Christmas movie. Friends of ours enjoy an outing where they pick out a tree and go on a sleigh ride, which is another fun way to kick off the Christmas season.
Visiting Santa is another exciting time. This year our toddler was a bit apprehensive about meeting the big guy – after all, he is a stranger in a funny red suit. Isn’t it funny how we remind our children not to talk to strangers or go near them but then encourage them to sit on this big red-dressed man? Hahaha!
We prepared him by reading books about Santa and talking through what we would say and do when we saw him. He is now very excited to ask Santa for trucks and trains for Christmas. School-aged kids are often much better at this task. The fear of Santa is often replaced by their amazement and curiosity about him.
Writing letters to Santa is another fun thing to do. Be sure to include as much detail as possible about your children and their wishes in the letter because Santa and his elves will write back. Letters can be mailed to the North Pole, postal code H0H 0H0, no stamp required. Make sure to include your return address.
Elf on the shelf is a relatively new tradition in our home. Some parents love this daily chore and others loathe it. It’s true that during the Christmas season especially we have a million and one things to do so why add moving around this little elf to our daily chores?
In our house it is the pure magic and excitement in our kids’ eyes that make us continue to come up with ideas for our elf. Patches gets into mischief, reminds the kids about kindness and caring for each other and neighbours and sometimes leaves little tokens around. Think hard before you start this tradition because it’ll last for years to come. My kids talk about Patches’ shenanigans all year round and can’t wait for him to reappear in December.
Of course it wouldn’t be a holiday without a craft. We go a little craft crazy in our house at Christmas time. Here’s an easy craft you can do with your kids:
Cut the middle out of a paper plate to make a wreath shape. Have the kids paint it green and glue on decorations. Pompoms and stickers work great. Punch a hole in the top and tie a string through it to hang as a wreath. There are thousands of crafts ideas online and it’s always so much fun to make ornaments that will keep for years to come. Check out a recipe for salt dough to make special ornaments that last for years and years and that also make wonderful gifts.
Our Christmas Eve tradition is one of my favourites as it’s a time for us to snuggle up together as a family and relax. We open one present on Christmas Eve, which is always a package we can enjoy that night. It includes new Christmas pyjamas, hot chocolate, popcorn, a cozy blanket or stuffie and a movie for us to watch together that night. We also put out food for the reindeer and milk and cookies for Santa. There’s a really easy magic reindeer food recipe you can make and help the kids sprinkle outside before bed! It includes 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 tsp. red glitter and 1 tsp green glitter. Mix it up in a bowl and let them kids sprinkle it on the lawn.
Here at the Parents’ Voice we want to thank everyone who came to our Christmas party a few weeks ago. It is your support that helps keep our programs running. A big thank you goes out to all of our wonderful sponsors who helped make the event possible.
