MAKING WONDERFUL HOLIDAY MEMORIES WITH YOUR FAMILY
Here’s some
thoughts and ideas that will help you make it through with lots of traditions
and memories that will last a lifetime.
WATCH MEMORABLE
MOVIES WITH THE HOLIDAY THEME:
Charlie Brown Christmas
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Frosty The Snowman
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Polar Express
The Christmas Story
It’s
A Wonderful Life
ABC Family is doing 25 days of special
shows. Record and save them to view
together.
OR
READ A HOLIDAY STORY EVERY NIGHT
FOR THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS:
The New Testament (Luke, Matthew)
T’was The Night Before Christmas
A Christmas Carol (Movie too)
HAVE A TREE
TRIMMING PARTY:
Serve hot chocolate and cookies and
make it a family affair or open it up for friends or neighbors.
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Think of the children who won’t have
a Christmas. Many stores have a box at
their store. Have your child choose a
gift and help wrap it and take it to one of the stores.
FIND A MISSION
A
mission near our house takes food for Christmas baskets and also adopts out
families for people to buy gifts for the children and parents. It’s something so very special and will give
the children something to look forward to share.
BUY OR MAKE A
MEMORABLE ORNAMENT EACH YEAR:
I started when our children were young
and when they left home to be on their own or marry, they had a nice selection
of memorable ornaments to take with them.
I do this now for our grandchildren. They have reasonable kits to make them out of
fun foam with pictures to insert. You
only have to spend a $1 at the Dollar Store..
Not much to pay for a memory.
(binky)
ADVENT CALENDAR:
Most families make their own advent calendar or buy one to
count off the days leading up to Christmas.
Here’s one I just found out how to
do which is really cute.
Supplies:
Long wide strip of either burlap or red or
green felt
Decorate with holly and berries, bows or
little pointsettias
Red and green foil Hershey kisses
Glue gun
Decorate as you
wish and line up the kisses alternating green and red all the way down the
middle (25 of them).
Everyday,
alternate your children allowing them their turn to choose a kiss which they
can then, of course, eat.
REMEMBRANCE
CANDLE:
Make it a tradition to remember
family members who have either passed away or just can’t make it home for the
holidays. Their lights will shine the
whole evening allowing them not to be forgotten. Use special candle holders and decorate
with bows or other colorful Christmas items.
(Example: Samaritan's Purse)
SEND OFF A HOLIDAY BOX:
Maybe there’s a missionary or
friends who have moved away. Remember
them with a special holiday box filled with ornaments, cookie cutters, cookie
mixes and sprinkles, candies and little stocking stuffers. Things that they’re not able to get in a
foreign country.
DON’T
FORGET OUR TROOPS!!!
Give plenty of time for it to
arrival on time for the holidays.
There’s
Operation Shoebox -- Operation Home Front ----
SURPRISE A
PUBLIC SERVANT:
Our police and firemen work the holidays
in order that we can be safe. Maybe a
platter of cookies, fudge, microwave popcorn,
hot chocolate and packages of flavored coffees and teas can be taken to
the fire station or police station early Christmas Eve Day.
Don’t
forget your mailman. Especially on those
cold winter days.
THE SPECIAL
CHRISTMAS MORNING ENTRANCE:
Take a long roll of Christmas
wrapping paper and you know how the football teams run out on the field before
the game?? Make it a long banner---count
to 3 and yell “HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JESUS” and let them run through the
paper to see what surprises are under the tree.
CHRISTMAS
CAROLING:
Take your children around the
neighborhood Christmas Eve and sing carols to your neighbors. Go to the local nursing homes and do the same
the week before Christmas. They love
children and are often so lonely and don’t get visitors. Then take them for a ride to find the best
Christmas decorations. Nothing like
seeing Christmas lights. I still like to
do this when I can round up some grandchildren.
SHARING STORIES
OF YOUR MEMORIES:
Nothing like sitting around the tree
with a cup of hot chocolate to prepare the kids for stories about your
Christmases growing up. Do it while you
bake your cookies too. Included in this
is:
BRINGING OUT CHERISHED OLD FAMILY DECORATIONS:
Nothing more special than all those
old family ornaments that have a story behind it. We have so many on our tree. I call it a family memory tree.
SURPRISE YOUR
NEIGHBORS WITH TREATS/12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS:
Keep your identity a secret and
begin with 1 item for the first neighbor and build it up to 12 items on the 12th
day. Write notes and reveal your
identity the day after Christmas. It
will open up many quiet neighborhoods.
Wouldn’t that be fun? Especially
if there’s a Scrooge in your neighbor that really needs loved and befriended.
SAY “MERRY
CHRISTMAS”
In this day of politically
correctness.. happy holidays.. just doesn’t cut it with me.. I saw MERRY CHRISTMAS all the time.. If they don’t like it they can just ignore
you … but generally you’ll get a Merry Christmas back and even a smile.. This is what it is.. CHRISTMAS!!!
One night before Christmas, sleeping
bags and all. Shut off all the lights
and only keep the tree lights on.. as much as you can do it, try to get at
least the heads under the tree and listen to soft Christmas music all night
long. They always remember that special
night under the lights.
Above all, remember to tell them what Christmas is all about, because
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