holiday traditions!!

Holiday family traditions can be as simple as you make them. We have the tried and true traditions like elf on the shelf, leaving cookies and milk out for santa or opening a special gift on Christmas Eve. But starting new traditions can create fun memories that will last long after the holiday season is over. Here are some fun activities for spending time together as a family during the holidays!

Volunteering in your community- Teach your children real holiday spirit by spending some of your season helping others. There are always lots of opportunities around this time of year.  Try visiting your local soup kitchen to lend a helping hand or to donate food for another families holiday dinner. Make room for new toys or clothes by doing a clean out, and making a "giving box" to donate to Goodwill or a homeless shelter. Try the Adopt A Soldier Program, where you sign up for a one-time commitment and assemble a holiday care package to send!

Create memories to look back on- Write an annual letter to your child. Fill them with observations
you made over the year and hopes for their future. Write special little messages that will be cherished for a lifetime and store them in a keepsake box until they're old enough to read and enjoy them. Or for a more digital approach, record a year-in review. Shoot a fun video that reminisces about the year you all had, what you and your kids have been up too including vacations, a new pet or achievements your children have made!

Make the holiday's magical!- Try making " reindeer food" with uncooked oats rainbow sprinkles and glitter, to sprinkle in the yard on Christmas Eve. Keep them believing by leaving Santa's footprints behind by taking some boots and flour and stomping out a path of footprints! Going from the chimney to the Christmas tree or maybe to the milk and cookies. The path can be different every year! Wow the kids and grow a candy cane. Get a small planter and fill it 1/3 of the way with potting soil, Add the magic "candy cane seed" or small peppermint candy, fill the pot with more soil and have them water their candy cane! With a little help and magic from Mom or Dad they next day or two a candy cane will have grown!

Make it sweet!- Everyone loves sweets and treats around the holidays! This year host a cookie bake-off, gather loved ones for a good old-fashioned cookie bake off! Invite friends, or family to be the judges for a festive taste test. To make it more official, each year, require competitors to use a specific ingredient- the best use of eggnog, candy canes or fresh ginger! Considering hand delivering some of the winning cookies to a neighbor and make someone's day!

The best things about the holiday season is having the chance to spend valuable time with our loved ones, show our appreciation for one another and overall, give thanks. What your kids will remember long after another toy had been broken, lost, or left in the back of the closet are the traditions we live and breathe each holiday season.