| |
Create Warm Memories With Holiday Traditions
By Norma Schmidt
(c) Norma Schmidt, LLC
I remember just a handful of the Christmas presents I received as a child: My first Barbie doll, with her skinny black sequined gown. My soft, pink Pat-a-Burp doll. The microscope I got in second grade.
But I have many, many memories of our holiday traditions. The lovely aromas of holiday ethnic food. Riding the South Shore train into Chicago to visit the "real" Santa. Using a paintbrush to decorate sugar cookies with colored frosting. Setting up our manger scene.
Traditions add so much joy to the holidays. Traditions give a child a sense of belonging and identity. They strengthen bonds across generations and live long in memory.
A family rich in traditions has a powerful antidote to commercialism. The more focused we are on pleasures that cost little or nothing, the more all the gifts tend to stay in their appropriate place.
Best of all, many traditions are perfectly suited to today's busy families. Here are a few favorites:
SIMPLE PLEASURES
Light candles at dinnertime. If December mornings are dark where you live, light candles at breakfast, too. (For safety, never leave candles unattended.)
Take an evening stroll or car ride to look at Christmas lights.
Serve warm chocolate milk with candy canes for stirring. If the birth of Jesus is part of your family's Christmas celebration, point out that the candy cane is shaped like a shepherd's crook. Then tell or read aloud the story of the angel who appeared to shepherds watching their sheep at night.
Sing holiday songs together while cooking or cleaning up.
THE JOY OF GIVING
Let kids in on the excitement of finding and wrapping gifts for those they love. Compliment them for being able to keep the surprise a secret.
As a family, decide on a charity and make a donation. Our favorite is Heifer International (www.heifer.org).
Take a plate of cookies or other holiday treats to a homeless shelter or to a police or fire station.
Help kids make or buy inexpensive gifts for siblings and other family members.
GRATITUDE
Give family members strips of paper in holiday colors. Let everyone write or draw something they're thankful for on each strip. Link the strips into a chain and hang as a decoration.
Write thank-you cards to each other, sharing what you appreciate about each member of the family. Decide together when to open them.
CONNECTING GENERATIONS
Interview grandparents, aunts, and uncles about holiday traditions they remember from their childhood. Adopt any traditions that fit your family.
Ask relatives for holiday recipes that have been handed down in your family. Or, search the Internet for holiday recipes related to your ethnic origins.
As a gift to a family member, tape an interview with a favorite elderly relative about their childhood memories. You may want to give a transcript of the tape as well.
NEW YEAR'S EVE
If your kids are little, it works fine to celebrate the new year at 9 PM instead of midnight!
Pull out photos and videos from the past year and share your memories.
Keep a box of inexpensive noisemakers and party hats that you can re-use each year. The kids will enjoy pulling out their old favorites.
NEW YEAR'S DAY
Decorate a box in which you'll put photos, ticket stubs and other souveniers of the coming year. Talk about your hopes and wishes.
Let each family member put their intentions for the coming year into individual envelopes. Mimi Doe, author of Busy But Balanced, suggests sealing the envelopes with wax -- a nice, magical touch.
About the Author
Get Norma Schmidt's free report, "55 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Have the Best Holiday Season Ever," at http://www.ParentCafeOnline.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/17041.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/17041.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| Some other articles by Norma Schmidt | Inappropriate Behavior as a "Teachable Moment"
Two boys in a first grade classroom were arguing loudly over an item they both wanted to use at the same time.
Their teacher approached them in ...
Being What We Want to See
My parents had just come home from a farmer's market and noticed an extra bag of peaches.
"You have to take these back," my ...
Bust Holiday Stress!
Holidays days got you down?
Clear the way for greater joy, love and meaning this year by "busting" these sources of holiday stress:
TOO MUCH TO DO IN TOO LITTLE TIME
* In early ...
|
|
| |
|
