How to Have Happier Holidays!

Holidays can be a time of family togetherness, a break in the routine of daily life and a celebration of special moments and events.  Sometimes the stress of meeting expectations, the added work of preparation and the arrival of relatives and friends can lessen our appreciation for these events. 

Children, especially those who struggle with change, will benefit from advance information about what will happen during the holiday.  Reading books about the history of the event, telling stories from your childhood, and involving everyone in the preparation will reduce some of the apprehension and worry.  

Focusing on the real message of the holiday instead of special meals and gifts will give everyone a joyful outlook.  Play music and sing while doing the tasks around the house.  Take pictures of the cleaning, cooking and shopping and make a collage of them to show all the family how joyful this time can be. 

In my home there is a permanent picture wall with photos of family members, friends and special times.  A frame above says:  We Are Thankful.  It started as a Thanksgiving reminder for our lives and now is a part of everyday.  Create your own traditions!

In our beautifully diverse culture here in Houston we are fortunate to have a wide array of holidays and events which provide a rich source of knowledge for our children.  It can be difficult with all of the media and retail focus on Christmas.  If your family does not celebrate this holiday perhaps focusing on the winter aspects of this time would work.  There are ice skating rinks, snow events where children can build a snowman, and lots of festive lights.  The library has many books about winter.  One I especially love is "The Mitten" by Jan Brett.  It is the story of animals who take refuge from a snow storm in a lost mitten.  Her web site has a print out of masks of all the animals and a question game to play. 

http://www.janbrett.com/mitten_masks_main.htm

She has written many charming books for young children. 

A friend makes treats with her children and delivers them to neighbors and friends who celebrate Christmas.  They try to make the treats with spices and recipes from their culture and include the recipe and the history of the food in the gift.  

If we explore ways to lessen the commercial aspects of the holidays, focus on our family history and culture and remember that sharing and giving cross all cultures and borders, we will help our children to truly celebrate these special times.

I wish you a joyful winter holiday!   Maybe making s'mores over a campfire!

The Art of Giving Gifts

Throughout the year we have many opportunities for gift giving:  birthdays, holidays, as a thank you  and just because we care about someone

As we try to decide which gifts to give our children there are several things to consider:

• What does the child want?
• What is age and developmentally appropriate?
• Can we afford it?

So let's address each of these questions.  

What does the child want?  Often television ads, movies and store displays convince children that getting that toy, game or costume will be fun and "everyone will have one".

But is this true?  Most of these items are of short lived interest and with little play or educational value.  They are only promoted to make money for the companies. Often these items are discarded after a short time, or they break or they are just not very interesting.  

What is age and developmentally appropriate?  Sometimes children ask for things that will contribute nothing to their growth or to enjoyment or to knowledge.  It is important to examine the real interests of the child and try to match that information to meaningful gifts. 

Can we afford it?  Wonderful gifts can be inexpensive, even without monetary cost.  We should not spend large amounts of money on items that will be discarded, broken or even harmful.  Instead let's think about the long term value of a gift.  A  bicycle, skates, a big set of building blocks or trains all are expensive but provide years of fun. 

Some ideas!

Gifts to grow the mind and body:

Books

Art materials: crayons, paint, paper, glue, a box of collage materials (buttons, lace, string, etc.) An easel.   

Garden tools and seeds

Blocks, Legos and other building materials

A sand box and sand toys

Science experiments

Child size cooking implements, an apron and even a chef's hat

Bikes 

Scooters

Skates

Child size cleaning tools (yes, children like to clean!)

Music:  a cd player, cd's 

Music instruments:  kazoo, rhythm instruments, harmonica, a drum, a recorder 

Sports equipment:  basketball goal and ball, baseball glove, bat and ball, ring toss, plastic horse shoes

Board games (especially cooperative ones)

Models of animals:  these are great fun in conjunction with sand, blocks and clay  activities

These are all items that will be of great interest to all children, especially if the parents and other siblings are included in the activity.  

Here are some resources for you to explore:

www.smallhands.com

 A great place for many of these items.

www.mamalisa.com

a web site for children's music and games

https://cooperativegames.com/

Many family friendly cooperative games...fun for all, even the adults. 

A box with dress up clothes and hats:  a firefighter's hat, a cowboy (or girl) hat, a chef's hat, and any interesting clothes and jewelry.  Create a play!  Invite the family to see it! 

Hobby Lobby and Michaels and local dollar stores can be a great resource for art supplies, animal models, etc. 

Have fun and help your child build a lifetime of creative play. 

Please post your own ideas in the comments section of the blog!