2020 has been a wild ride and has come with too many changes to count. Unfortunately, one of those changes is how we have to celebrate our holidays. Instead of large family gatherings, big dinners, and other fun group activities, celebrations will be minimal and should not include extended family. Instead of letting this put a damper on your holiday celebration, try to make the most of the holiday season for you and your kiddos!
At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we know that this year has been hard for you and your kiddos. We believe that by making the most of this holiday season, you can teach your children to focus on the good in a bad situation and how to stay positive no matter what. While your holiday celebration will look different this year, there are still so many things you can do to make it special and enjoy it as a family. In this blog, we are going to give you some ideas for how to make this holiday season a fun one! Read on to learn more and be sure to check out our programs!
Decorate Everything
If your family feels like the holidays don’t have the same warm and cozy feeling that they usually have, it is time to decorate! Nothing makes the holidays feel more like the holidays than a well-decorated home. If you haven’t already, get out your decorations and go crazy! Your kiddos will love decorating the home with their favorite festive decorations. This is not the year to hold back on your decorations, in fact, we think you should invest in some more! Decorating your home with an excessive amount of holiday decor can help you create the warm and cozy feeling that we all know and love.
Another fun way to decorate your home with your kiddos is to make some of your own decorations! Winter-themed crafts are a great way to add a special touch to your holiday decor and allow you to spend quality time with your children doing fun activities. From paper snowflakes to construction paper garland, you can decorate your home with fun crafts your kiddos make.
Bake Sweet Treats
Baking with your family is another fun way to celebrate the holiday season. Sweet treats are a major part of the holidays, and just because you can’t share them with all your friends and family members this year doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make them! Spend time each weekend baking something with your children. Not only is this a fun activity to do with your kiddos and a great way to celebrate the holidays, but baking is actually very beneficial for developing minds! This activity teaches them to follow directions, helps with language development, allows them to work on their counting skills, and so much more.
Start A New Tradition
The holidays are also a time for family traditions. While you may not be able to do some of your old traditions, you can always start new ones! Brainstorm some fun things that your family would enjoy doing that could become a fun holiday tradition, whether it is reading a holiday book near the fire, getting matching pajamas and watching movies all day long, or making new ornaments every year. While it can be difficult to plan a tradition, you can plan a bunch of different activities and see which one sticks. Maybe your family will love doing all of these activities so much that you suddenly have multiple new family traditions!
Enjoy Cheesy Holiday Movies
While there are some great holiday movies out there that most of us love, there are others that are quite cheesy. Instead of shying away from these cheesy holiday flicks, embrace them! Make a list of all the cheesy festive films your family wants to watch this season and make a schedule to watch them all! Make this family movie time extra-special by making hot cocoa, enjoying some popcorn, and building a fort. Be sure to throw in some classic films as well so that your children can enjoy the holiday movies that you grew up watching! This is a fun way to share a piece of your childhood with your kiddos and it could help bring back some special holiday memories for you.
Meet With Family Virtually
The holiday season is meant to be spent with family, and while you may not be able to physically see family this year, you always can plan virtual meetings! Plan a time to video chat with your parents so that your kiddos can see their grandparents and talk to them throughout the season. This is a fun way to meet with family and can help everyone feel more together. This can be a great time for your little ones to show their grandparents the holiday crafts they have made, their favorite ornament, and any other fun things they want to show off.
Make Holiday Sweaters
Ugly holiday sweaters are something many people love and one way to celebrate this holiday season is to make your own with your kiddos! Simply buy some plain sweaters or sweatshirts in any color, buy some holiday craft supplies and a hot glue gun, and start decorating! This can be a fun way to make this year’s ugly sweater even more special and meaningful and it is a fun activity to do with your family. You can wear your homemade ugly holiday sweaters in family photos to really capture the memory!
Make Gifts
We know that the pandemic has put some families in a financially hard place. Everything is stressful enough as it is, the last thing you should do is stress about the holidays and gifts. Instead, make this year about making gifts! This can be a fun way to put more thought and time into your family’s gifts and can become a fun family tradition. Plus, your kids can get in on the action as well! While kids do not often take part in the gift-giving part of the holidays, when you make gifts, they can participate. They will be so excited to give someone a gift that they made! Even if it is a popsicle stick picture frame with a photo of them in it, they will be excited to give this special gift that they put time and effort into.
While this holiday season is not going to be the same as previous years, there are still so many reasons and fun ways to celebrate! Your kiddos will appreciate that you are still trying to make the holiday season special for the whole family and they will learn to take the same positive approach to life, which is a great life lesson to teach your kiddos at a young age — just because things aren’t going how you had hoped doesn’t mean you can’t make the most out of the situation you are in.
If you are looking for a child care center, be sure to check out Growing Kids Learn Centers! We offer a variety of great programs that can help your kiddos learn and develop new skills. Contact us today. We hope you have a safe, happy, and fun holiday season with your family!
