With the holiday season upon us, it’s the perfect time to think about creating exciting, engaging activities to help your little one celebrate this special time of year. Don’t stress, though! The holidays naturally invite lots of practical fun that your child will love.
Here are some of our favorite activities for children to celebrate the holiday season:
1. Focus on the reason for the season
In the true spirit of the season, encourage your child to find ways to help others. They can donate clothes, toys, and food to a charity organization, participate in a holiday toy drive, and make or purchase a special gift for a loved one. These are all great ways for children to practice kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity.
2. Cook a holiday meal
Young children love helping out in the kitchen, especially if it means having the chance to sample yummy foods! Encourage your little one to join you in making their favorite holiday dishes. Depending on their age, you might ask them to help gather ingredients, wash fruits and vegetables, chop ingredients, crack the eggs, measure ingredients, or mix and stir. They can also help with washing dishes, putting away utensils, and setting the table.
3. Enjoy (or make) holiday music
“Jingle Bells” is just one of many popular holiday tunes. Sing festive songs together with your little one or make some holiday music of your own! Gather different-sized bells and invite your child to play them all and then play a song for you. You can also use glasses or vases filled with varying amounts of water that the child then taps with another object. For young children in their sensitive period for sensorial exploration, this is a perfect way to captivate their interest while celebrating the holiday season!
4. Make decorations
Many families love to deck the halls. Invite your child to make some homemade decorations or help out in decorating the home. They can hang ornaments on the lowest branches of the Christmas tree, make and string popcorn garland, make ornaments, or make paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling.
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5. Create and send cards to loved ones
Crafting handmade holiday cards is a great one for little ones to express their creativity and to practice grace and courtesy. Maybe they make a reindeer with pipe cleaners and a red pom-pom nose or paint bowtie pasta green and make a wreath. They could make a zig-zag pattern out of glue and sprinkle glitter on top to make a Christmas tree and add buttons for ornaments. The possibilities are endless!
6. Read a holiday story together
Reading holiday stories is a great way to help your child learn about different traditions and celebrations around the world. It’s also a great way to spend quality time with your child. We’ve gathered a collection of some of our holiday favorites here that your little one is sure to love here in our Amazon shop (affiliate link).
Whatever you do this holiday season, remember that it’s the time to celebrate being together as a family. Enjoy each other’s company and make some beautiful memories. Happy Holidays from all of us at Guide & Grow!
