Making the Holidays Extra Special – The Easy Way

It’s probably safe to say that most people love Christmas. I love all holidays so much! Especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. And having young kids makes it so much more exciting, because they are so excited too! It’s always been very important to me to make the holidays special for my kids. But between the parties, school or church events, shopping and wrapping, doesn’t it just sometimes feel like there’s no time and energy for anything extra? (And why does my calendar just fill up immediately this time of year?) Today I’m sharing a few easy peasy ways that we make Christmas special for our kids without spending thousands of dollars or going over the top.

Homemade Ornaments

A few Christmas’ ago, my husband was deployed, and I was home alone with a 2 year old and a 1 year old. I managed to get the tree up, but I didn’t put any ornaments on the tree. I knew that I just didn’t have the energy to keep my young kids from playing with the ornaments for a month. The tree looked beautiful just the way it was, too. After a few days of a bare tree, I decided to make some salt dough ornaments with my oldest daughter. Since they were homemade, and easy, I didn’t care at all if they broke. We could always make more.

After that year, it’s become a tradition of ours to make salt dough ornaments. (And I still don’t put other ornaments on our tree!) I use this recipe to make ours. I add in some essential oils to part of the batch to make our tree smell amazing. After we finish, we like to share some of them with friends and neighbors for their tree as well.

Look At Christmas Lights

We love to drive around looking at Christmas lights! This is something you can do on your way home from any activity too. We turn on Christmas music, pack hot chocolate or another fun snack and load in the car with blankets. When we drive around, I have the kids yell “Merry Christmas!” each time they see lights that they love. There are a few houses in our town that they really love, so we will try to drive by any time we are in that area to see. One house in particular, my daughter has nicknamed “The Masterpiece.” It really is impressive! My kids love doing this! And I love it too because it is so simple!

I know some families turn this activity into “The Polar Express.” They’ll listen to the music from the movie, bring hot chocolate, and give each child a ticket. We might have to give that a try this year now that my kids are familiar with the movie!

Paper Chain Countdown

With all the constant reminders of Christmas around us, it can be hard for kids to understand when the day actually comes. We got this tip from Busy Toddler a couple years ago. We get every sticker, marker, paint, crayon, and marker out. I have my strips of paper already cut and let the kids decorate each strip for the chain. This one can get messy, but it will really depend on what craft items your kids use. If you want low stress, low mess – just grab some stickers and crayons. Once the kids are done decorating, we tape the chain together and hang it up high. The kids take turns taking of a chain from our countdown. We do these for birthdays, trips or other holidays too. My kids love these!

You can also use a paper chain countdown in place of an advent calendar. Maybe write a winter/holiday activity to do that day on each piece of paper on your chain. Or get a bag of candy and give each kid a piece each day when you pull the paper off.

Cooking and Baking

Toddlers love to help in the kitchen! It can definitely be a test in patience though. But at Christmas time, you may be making recipes that are a part of your family tradition and culture. Have your kids stir while you tell them about your ancestors and history. Or have them wash veggies while you talk about your favorite memories of Christmas. You’ll never regret sharing your family history with your kids.

We like to make nanaimo bars at Christmas time. My husband’s family is from Canada and he introduced them to me when we were first married. They are delicious! But even if you don’t have family recipes that have been handed down for years, you can do a little research into where your ancestors are from and what traditions they might have enjoyed many years ago. A great place to start is the Family Tree app. Or start your very own family tradition! Find a festive recipe on Pinterest, and get to work in the kitchen!

Light The World

Light The World is one of my favorite traditions. This is something my church started several years ago focused on serving and uplifting others. Each day from December 1st to Christmas Day, they have a service prompt to complete that day. The prompt are totally doable, and are great to do as a family. In the past, the church sent out a calendar with a specific service prompt for each day. But this year, they sent out a list of “50 Ideas to Share Your Light” and encouraged everyone to choose at least one each day.

The ideas are things like “Tell a loved one they matter to you” or “Learn how another culture celebrates Christmas.” There are so many ideas, and they are all perfect for including your kids in. You can get the full list at the Light the World website. You can also text “LIGHT” to 71234 to receive a daily prompt throughout December.

What traditions do you have with your kids? And what do you do each holiday season that your kids love? Let me know what you try, and how it works out!

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