Christmas Day is full of opportunities to make memories with your kids! Whether you’re on the run visiting family or hunkering down at home, take a peek at these options for adding a little extra happiness to your holiday this year.
1. Begin a holiday journal. A priceless memento that will be relished year after year.
2. Choose a service project. Bundle up and head to a soup kitchen to serve a warm meal, pay it forward at the coffee drive thru, hand out cocoa downtown, or find a local organization that could use helping hands. Teach your kids that Christmas is so much more than the gifts they are blessed with and turn their gratitude towards meeting other’s needs.
3. Prepare a traditional meal. Every year our family has prime rib, scalloped potatoes, and a few other sides. But, although the menu stays the same, we always research a different prime rib method, salt pack, or seasoning. It’s super fun to play Food Network at home and try new things together!
4. Play board games! They always bring about laughter and happy memories.
5. Hang out in the weather. Do you have snow? Rain? Bitter cold? Join the elements, snap some fun photos, and carol your way through a special winter day.
6. Read the Christmas story and more. Christmas is the perfect time to walk through history and read about Jesus’ birth and St. Nicholas. When little ones better understand where our traditions come from they’ll be able to grasp a deeper meaning of the season.
7. Watch a favorite Christmas movie. Here’s the perfect list to choose from!
8. Write thank you notes. Am I a mean mom to say that writing thank you notes could be a memorable holiday activity? Well, I’m not, I promise! Make your notes unique with homemade drawings or even better, take an InstaMax photo of your child playing with their new toy and surprise Aunt Louise with a visual of how happy her gift made your child.
9. Surprise the birds with a Christmas treat! Whip up a popcorn berry garland and bring Christmas to your outdoor friends.
10. Not to rush Christmas away, but plan some snow related crafts to help transition your holiday decor for January. My kids both love this and this.
11. Again, not to rush, but plant the seed about resolutions and goals for the coming year. Even little ones can come up with plans for their new year. After all, once Christmas is over … the coming year is just 6 days away!
12. I’m a HUGE proponent of naps, so be sure to squeeze a cozy one in on Christmas Day! After, host a hot chocolate bar with all the fixings — I love all the mix-ins mentioned here.
How do you like to make memories with your children on Christmas Day?