Christmas time is the most exciting time of the year for most children and also many adults. We decorate our houses, have parties, and think of Santa Claus delivering gifts to our homes. I have found that there are many things we can do in the month of December to make the month even more fun and special for our families and especially our young children.
Here are 5 activities that will make your Christmas and Holiday a special time and will make memories for you and your children.
1. Make a gingerbread house. This is a simple activity that can take place on a weekend or on a Family Home Evening night. It is as simple as making a gingerbread recipe, making frosting, putting the house together, and decorating it with candy. My wife has gingerbread molds that make the shape of the house so it is easier to put together. You can also just make graham cracker houses, which are even easier than gingerbread. Just make sure that you use a recipe for Royal Icing because that dries quickly like glue, so the house stays together. My wife and I have made gingerbread houses for our little girls the past couple of years and they get really excited to put candy on and create their own little candied house.
2. See Christmas lights. This is another easy activity that only takes up a few hours of one evening. Find a place nearby that has lights (Temple Square, Thanksgiving Point, etc…) and drive to it and either walk around and look at the lights or drive around to see the lights while in the car. My wife and I drive to a light display in Spanish Fork every year and the kids have a lot of fun and remember the lights and decorations from going the year before. You can also just drive around your own neighborhood or nearby city and see many lights in people’s yards that decorate. You will be amazed at some of the displays people come up with.
3. Go sledding. Once it has snowed, take your kids to a nearby hill or open lot and go sledding. My wife and I bought some plastic sleds a couple of years ago and go down every year on a small hill on an empty lot nearby. This is a lot of fun (for both the kids and parents) and children love to play and especially like spending extra time with their moms and dads.
4. Sing Christmas Carols in your neighborhood or at rest homes. Caroling used to be really popular but hasn’t been as much in the last few decades. Go caroling as a family to your neighbors and drop off a treat or get together with extended family or your church young men/young women groups and sing carols at a rest home or for others in your local town or neighborhoods. This is a lot of fun and it is interesting to watch people’s reactions when you sing them a few songs. This really gets you and those you sing to in the Christmas spirit.
5. Attend a local concert or play. Christmas is a time when many Christmas concerts are held and many plays are put on. It is a great time to attend the many group’s and vocalist’s performances that are put on. A few that we have attended in the past are Voice Male, Michael McLean’s Forgotten Carols, and the Rocky Mountain Christmas. You can usually look up concerts or plays on your computer or find them in the local newspaper.
There is never a shortage of activities and fun things to do around Christmas time. The only shortage we have is on the years we will have time to spend with our young children. Time always goes by too fast. Get out and do some new and fun things this year and make some memories that will last a lifetime.
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Showing posts with label Making Christmas special. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Making Christmas special. Show all posts
Monday, December 8, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Making Family a Tradition
As the father of three beautiful children I have tried to make Christmas extra special by doing those extra little things that will help create memories throughout their lifetimes. Christmas is a magical time for young children and it is up to us fathers to make sure and do those things that we can to make it a memorable time. Our wives and mothers have a knack for making everything special throughout the year and have many opportunities to serve our children. Christmas is one time that fathers can take a larger role in doing something special and fun for their children.
My love for Christmas started for me as a young boy. My father loved Christmas. It was his favorite time of year and he made it very special for me and my four other siblings. The very minute that Thanksgiving ended my dad was pulling out what felt like hundreds of Christmas boxes full of decorations, lights, and many other Christmas items. While pulling out all of these wonderful decorations my dad would dust off his old Bing Crosby “White Christmas” record and put it on our ancient record player. I can still hear the record player churning out those Christmas songs in my mind and picture myself plugging in and testing the endless strands of Christmas lights. I start to feel nostalgic every year on the day after Thanksgiving.
My dad would string up lights on the house, have us kids help set up the nativity sets, put decorations on the mantle, hang up our stockings, and spend the whole night on the day after Thanksgiving making the house a Christmas wonderland. He would even boil cloves and apples to give the house a wonderful Christmas scent. It was a special day every year and as a little boy I would anticipate this day as much as Christmas Day itself.
In the week following the decoration of the house, we would make our way to the Christmas tree lot in town to find a Christmas tree. This wasn’t a lot where you just picked out a tree that was already cut down. This was a large field full of trees that were still in the ground. We were so excited to pick the perfect tree and thrilled with the opportunity to actually cut it down and tie it to the top of our car. We often flocked the tree making it appear as if snow were covering the tree. We then would take it in the house and start the tree decorating process. My mom would make fresh baked cookies or hot cinnamon rolls while we helped our dad string the lights on the tree, hang the little icicle strands, tinsel, and hundreds of other ornaments. My dad would make this night special, too, by playing more of his records, and later on reading us Christmas books.
My dad instilled in me a love for the holiday time of year. He taught me that it was a time for the kids. I am sure he saved extra money all year to be able to make this time special for us and do things to enjoy the whole month of December, not just Christmas Day.
It’s not the presents and the gifts that I remember the most, it’s that day after Thanksgiving spent with my dad hanging lights outside; it’s that night helping my dad decorate the tree; it’s that night he read us kids ‘Twas the Night before Christmas; it’s that afternoon picking out a tree and helping my dad cut it down; it’s the wonderful smell of the house and the sound of old Christmas records; it’s the happy feeling inside I had knowing that my dad loved me enough to do the extra little things to make Christmas a special time to remember.
When your children want to go for a drive to see Christmas lights this year, take them. When your children want to go cut down a real tree this year, take them. When your children want you to read them Christmas books at night, read to them. When your kids want to make a snowman, help them. You will never regret doing too much for them or spending too much time with them.
Make this year’s Christmas special. A father can offer a lot to his children and Christmas is a great time to start making memories that will last forever.
Return to the Neighborhood and while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
My love for Christmas started for me as a young boy. My father loved Christmas. It was his favorite time of year and he made it very special for me and my four other siblings. The very minute that Thanksgiving ended my dad was pulling out what felt like hundreds of Christmas boxes full of decorations, lights, and many other Christmas items. While pulling out all of these wonderful decorations my dad would dust off his old Bing Crosby “White Christmas” record and put it on our ancient record player. I can still hear the record player churning out those Christmas songs in my mind and picture myself plugging in and testing the endless strands of Christmas lights. I start to feel nostalgic every year on the day after Thanksgiving.
My dad would string up lights on the house, have us kids help set up the nativity sets, put decorations on the mantle, hang up our stockings, and spend the whole night on the day after Thanksgiving making the house a Christmas wonderland. He would even boil cloves and apples to give the house a wonderful Christmas scent. It was a special day every year and as a little boy I would anticipate this day as much as Christmas Day itself.
In the week following the decoration of the house, we would make our way to the Christmas tree lot in town to find a Christmas tree. This wasn’t a lot where you just picked out a tree that was already cut down. This was a large field full of trees that were still in the ground. We were so excited to pick the perfect tree and thrilled with the opportunity to actually cut it down and tie it to the top of our car. We often flocked the tree making it appear as if snow were covering the tree. We then would take it in the house and start the tree decorating process. My mom would make fresh baked cookies or hot cinnamon rolls while we helped our dad string the lights on the tree, hang the little icicle strands, tinsel, and hundreds of other ornaments. My dad would make this night special, too, by playing more of his records, and later on reading us Christmas books.
My dad instilled in me a love for the holiday time of year. He taught me that it was a time for the kids. I am sure he saved extra money all year to be able to make this time special for us and do things to enjoy the whole month of December, not just Christmas Day.
It’s not the presents and the gifts that I remember the most, it’s that day after Thanksgiving spent with my dad hanging lights outside; it’s that night helping my dad decorate the tree; it’s that night he read us kids ‘Twas the Night before Christmas; it’s that afternoon picking out a tree and helping my dad cut it down; it’s the wonderful smell of the house and the sound of old Christmas records; it’s the happy feeling inside I had knowing that my dad loved me enough to do the extra little things to make Christmas a special time to remember.
When your children want to go for a drive to see Christmas lights this year, take them. When your children want to go cut down a real tree this year, take them. When your children want you to read them Christmas books at night, read to them. When your kids want to make a snowman, help them. You will never regret doing too much for them or spending too much time with them.
Make this year’s Christmas special. A father can offer a lot to his children and Christmas is a great time to start making memories that will last forever.
Return to the Neighborhood and while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
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