In the midst of holiday hooplas, children often lose sight of the significance of the season. Taking a spin off the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song, the following is a list of a dozen ways to create a more meaningful holiday celebration.
1. Grassroots giving. One of the best ways to make your holiday more meaningful is to adopt a family from a local charity. When you call, ask for a family with children your own kids’ ages. Then, if you normally give your child five gifts, suggest giving three and let him pick out two for each needy child.
2. Aspiring ornaments. Have each family member secretly write one non-monetary thing they want to work for, wish for, and pray for in the coming year. Then, put it in a decorative envelope or ornament and attach it to the tree. On Christmas morning share it with the other family members and discuss ways everyone can help that person fulfill his goal.
3. Go green. Reuse holiday wrapping paper to cover another gift, line a drawer, or draw on the reverse side. Christmas cards can be recycled, too. Cut them in half and use the blank side to jot down reminder notes or let your kids cut them up and make new cards for next year. Christmas trees can be recycled as well. Take them to state parks rather than sending them to the curb for trash pick up.
4. Multicultural merriment. Every year, pick one country and find out how it celebrates the holiday season. Make mock passports that can be used year after year. Find out what the culture and traditions are like, learn a few words, and try their foods. If you have extended family members from other parts of the country, have them share insights and tell stories about their holiday celebrations.
5. Advent virtues. Make an advent calendar with character traits you want to instill in your family. Pick one virtue each day, discuss what it means, and talk about someone in history who displayed that character. Then, decide how you and your children can put that virtue into action. For example, extend kindness by raking an elderly neighbor’s leaves or shoveling snow from her driveway.
6. Family photo tree. Decorate your tree with individual photos of family members taken throughout the year. Mount images on construction paper, felt, or foam, write the date on the back, attach a ribbon, and hang it on the tree. Keep photos year after year and add more as you go to remind kids of how blessed they have been throughout their childhood. When your children are grown, pass along the pictures so they can carry on the tradition.
7. Inter-generational experiences. If grandparents have personal items they want to pass along to their grandchildren, the holidays are an opportune time. Suggest they give something that is special to them, along with the story behind it. It could be one of grandma’s old dolls, a piece of jewelry, a book, or even a photograph. If the kids are old enough, they can video record the story for keepsake.
8. Mindful of military. Have your child write a letter of appreciation to someone in the military. Include a picture of your child and an e-mail address, and ask the service person to send a reply e-mail along with pictures if he has them. There several websites that provide officers’ names and care package suggestions. If your children love animals, check out Operation Military Pride’s Kindness for K9’s link (www.operationmilitarypride.org), where you can send dog biscuits, chew toys, and other pet items to service dogs.
9. Warm fuzzies. Families so often forget to share positive and encouraging words with one another. Have your family sit in a circle and pass a fuzzy teddy bear around. As you do so, have the person holding the bear say something he appreciates about one sitting to his right or left. This will set the tone for an uplifting celebration and teach your kids how to give strokes of encouragement to others.
10. Critter Christmas. Decorate an outdoor tree with pinecones rolled in peanut butter and birdseed, popcorn and cranberry garland, and orange and apple slices that have been attached to pipe cleaners or opened paperclips and hung on the tree’s boughs. This is a way to take care of neighboring wildlife and wish them a happy holiday.
11. Family fitness. Incorporate the “Twelve Days” theme into a family fitness routine. Decide on one activity you can do together each day to stay fit — walk around the neighborhood and look at lights, jump rope to a favorite holiday song, or play a round of basketball while the pie is baking. Then make it a family New Year’s resolution.
12. Family video newsletter. Each child can take turns being the anchorperson while you record, but make it more than just reading off news. Take footage from the kids’ bedrooms where they are showing a favorite stuffed animal or in the yard performing a newly acquired skill. Send copies of the DVD with your holiday cards, or attach it to a holiday greeting e-mail and donate the money you save on stamps to charity.
Denise Yearian is the former editor of two parenting magazines and the mother of three children.
