WNY Family Magazine November 2018 | Page 14

— by Lisa A. Beach 2 25 5 S Simple i m p e Ways W ay a y s to o C Countdown o u n t o w n t to Christmas C h m a as W hen the holiday season unofficially kicks off on Black Friday, a whirlwind of activity ensues that leaves families al- most breathless by the end of December. Instead of rushing through the month, be intentional about what you say yes to this holiday season. Rather than over-commit- ting to too many parties and activities that take you away from your family, focus instead on infusing the holiday spirit into your family. But how can you accomplish this without cramming more activities into an already frenetic season? Create an advent calendar, with 25 days of simple, meaning- ful holiday activities that focus on giving, family, friendship, fun and tradition. You can buy an inexpensive advent calendar with pockets and fill each day with a fortune-cookie style paper not- ing the day’s activity, or simply write the activity-of-the-day on the family calendar you already use. (Or, you can find free printable advent calendars online. Check out https://www.reallifeathome.com/ad- vent-calendar-activities-printable/ as an example.) Starting on December 1st, im- plement one idea each day to slow down your holidays and focus on intentional ac- 14 WNY Family November 2018 tivities that create lasting memories. 1) Play the Giving Game. Brainstorm a list of ways you can give to others with- out buying something from a store. (Exam- ples: give a smile, a hug, an encouraging word, a helping hand, etc.) Post the list on the fridge as a daily reminder. Each night (at dinner or before bedtime), ask kids to share how they gave to others throughout the day. Track everyone’s daily “gifts,” and at the end of the week, the child who gave the most gets to choose a holiday flick to watch for family movie night. 2) Make holiday s’mores, preferably over a fire pit if you have one. Add crushed candy canes to a classic s’more recipe for a festive spin on this classic summertime treat. 3) Adopt an international Christ- mas tradition. The Swedes celebrate St. Lucia Day on December 13, which marks the beginning of the Christmas season and focuses on St. Lucy being the light dur- ing the long, dark Scandinavian winters. Light up your own holiday season by eat- ing breakfast or dinner together by can- dlelight. Or adopt the French tradition of making buche de Noel, a traditional cake that resembles a Yule log with bark-col- ored frosting and a rich, buttercream fill- ing. Decorate it with “snow” by sprinkling confectioner’s sugar on top. 4) Blow holiday bubbles outside by adding red food coloring to one jar of bubbles and green food coloring to another bottle. For a crafty twist, blow the colored bubbles onto snow (or a sheet of white paper) and watch a Christmas color-burst emerge. 5) Play Christmas tourist in a neighboring town. Pop into a local gift shop to check out holiday treasures. Walk along the storefronts and look at holiday window displays. Grab a sweet treat at a local bakery you’ve never been to before. 6) Cull through old toys, books, and clothes to give to needy families. Take your kids with you to donate the items to- gether. 7) Allow your kids to decorate their bedroom doors for Christmas and offer up supplies of garland, ornaments, rib- bons, etc. 8) Invite grandma or a favorite un- cle to a craft day or baking day at your house to ensure your holiday fun extends to other family members. 9) Designate a “chores for charity” week. If you normally pay your kids for their daily chores, ask them to donate their earnings (matched by mom and dad) to a charity of their choosing. If you don’t nor- mally pay for chores, conduct a “chores for charity” weekend with a menu of spe- cial paid jobs to choose from (i.e., raking leaves, cleaning the family car’s interior, washing windows, etc.). Pool everyone’s wages and let the kids drop the family do- nation into a Salvation Army kettle. 10) Attend a community holiday event (such as a concert, play, craft fes- tival, live nativity scene, or parade) and bring a lonely relative, friend, or neighbor with you. 11) Do a “ding-dong-ditch” by se- cretly placing a poinsettia plant on a neigh- bor’s porch, ringing the doorbell and run- ning away without getting caught. 12) Pick a Secret Santa among fam- ily members and do something exception- ally kind for each other every day for a week. Reveal your Secret Santa identity in a cookies-and-milk ceremony at the end of seven days. 13) Ask each family member to choose a favorite cookie recipe. Then schedule a few baking sessions to make batches of each person’s favorite treat. Ev-