Christmas and all of the December holidays are wonderful times for enjoying activities that center on family and the expansive spirit.
Christmas is about generosity toward friends, family and strangers, and unlike other holidays, the spirit extends beyond a single day to embrace an entire season. Building family traditions will give your children lasting memories to share with their own children.
Ideas for traditions:
giving trees
Churches, firehouses and other civic institutions set up giving trees with paper ornaments, each identifying a needy family or individual. Let your child pick an ornament and get something for the person or family identified.
nativity
Each night during the week before Christmas, put out a new nativity figure. Talk about each character and how it fits into the story of Christmas. Put Baby Jesus in his cradle on Christmas morning.
santa’s secret helper
Do something helpful for someone else on the sly. Perhaps a neighbor needs firewood or a yard raked. Point it out to your children and do the deed together. Children love to strategize on how to help, and they will love the secret nature of this gift.
eurobook
Preserving family memories is fun and easy with Eurobook. Download the free software and utilize more than 200 page layouts and 150 fonts to organize your digital photos, then upload and order your choice of “coffee tableâ€-style hard-bound books. Prices start at $9.95 depending on number of pages and style of material. Visit eurobook.us.
photo gifts
The CVS/Pharmacy offers a slew of new photo gift ideas in order for you to preserve precious memories. New gifts include photo plates featuring Hannah Montana, The Dark Knight and others, or order a plate with a favorite snapshot. Don’t overlook two other great options: The CVS/Pharmacy Photo Book – a hard-cover bound book available in three sizes ranging in price from $5.99 – $14.99, or The Kodak Picture Movie DVD, which uses advanced technology to bring photos to life set to popular music. Available only at CVS for $14.99.
PHOTO TIP!
To get great photos of your kids, have someone who’s not in your picture play “tickle monster!â€