eryone helps research recipes, make a list of needed ingredients,
shop for supplies, bake, clean up and, of course, eat the tasty results!
14) During your cookie-baking sessions, make a few extra
dozen to share. Take a cookie tray to your local fire department
and thank them for their service. Or divvy up cookies into little
treat bags and deliver them to a few of your neighbors.
15) Instead of a lemonade stand, host a hot chocolate stand
in your neighborhood, asking for donations to your favorite charity.
16) Go on a nature hike and bring along gifts to leave for
forest critters, such as handfuls of bird seed or pieces of peanut-
butter-smeared bread.
17) Play holiday decoration bingo by driving around your
neighborhood checking out the lights and yard displays while
searching for Christmas items like snowflakes, inflatable Santas,
Rudolph, angel tree toppers, etc. (You’ll find an example here:
https://fun-squared.com/christmas-bingo-game/)
18) Take back an old-fashioned tradition and go Christmas
caroling in your neighborhood. Invite neighbors to join in the fun,
with hot chocolate and cookies back at your house to cap off the
songfest.
19) Create a new tradition, such as buying a new Christmas
tree ornament each year that represents a special family moment
from this past year or allowing kids to open one gift on Christmas
Eve.
20) Let your kids sleep near the Christmas tree one night,
nodding off to the soft glow of twinkling tree lights, with holiday
music lulling them into a yuletide dreamland.
21) Live somewhere warm where it never snows? Let the
kids have a flour fight in the backyard and watch them giggle as
they cover each other in clouds of white.
22) Rewrite the lyrics to a favorite holiday tune, such as
the Twelve Days of Christmas, by putting your own’ family’s spin
on the song. (“On the twelfth day of Christmas, my mother gave
to me, 12 light sabers dueling, 11 markers drawing, 10 dogs a-
barking….”)
23) Create a Christmas scavenger hunt at home, using holi-
day items and decorations around the house, on the porch and in
your front yard. Conclude with a family game night after the kids
put back their collected treasures.
24) Mix up a batch of reindeer dust (red and green glitter
mixed with dried oats) and sprinkle it on your front lawn so Ru-
dolph and his flying, antlered-gang can find your house on Christ-
mas Eve.
25) Prepare a special treat for breakfast on Christmas
morning, whether it’s something simple (such as fresh-squeezed
orange juice and cinnamon toast shaped like a Christmas tree) or
something more indulgent (like mulled apple cider and a sausage-
and-egg casserole).
With just a bit of intentional planning, you can slow down
the pace of your holiday season and create a festive, memory-
filled month your kids won’t forget.
Lisa Beach is a freelance journalist and copywriter. Her work has
been published in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Par-
ents, Eating Well, USA Today Pet Guide, and dozens more. Learn
more at www.LisaBeachWrites.com.
November 2018 WNY Family 15