25 Ways to Make Memories With Your Family This Christmas

So, we talked about making too much of Christmas, right?  We talked about overwhelming lists and falling behind, keeping up and losing sight, right?  But guess what?  Even in all of that we can find time to enjoy the season, to make fun memories with our families, to begin traditions or make little moments special.

I have some ideas to get you started, but let me tell you this first: you are not to do everything on this list.  You are not.  You are not to be overwhelmed or frustrated by this list.  You are not to be stressed or compare yourself or think every other mom in the world does awesome stuff but you.  Not allowed. Ok?

But first, my tips on the best way to do this well:

1. Surprise your kids. This is great for two reasons 1) surprises are fun and 2) if you don’t pull it off your kids will never know the difference.  I know from experience that “Mama, when are we going to…” can drive a mom crazy after the 24th (or 3rd) time.  So don’t say a word.  Just keep it to yourself until you’re ready to pull it off.

2. Lower your expectations.  Isn’t that great encouragement?  Seriously, grab a few ideas off this list and leave the rest for another year.  Your kids will never remember every activity anyhow so why not shoot for a couple, done really well, by a happy mama rather than every activity under the sun by a crazy mama.  No crazy, mama.

3. Be spontaneous.  Maybe it’s just me, but often times spontaneous works better than I expect.  Of course if you plan to do a craft or bake a special treat then you need to make sure you have the ingredients but once you have them just keep your eye out for a quiet pocket of time and dive right in.

Okay, I think you’re ready.  Here we go!

 

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1. Decorate your child’s bedroom for Christmas.  Take this as far as you’d like, but even a single strand of lights will make them think you are super mom and they will be thrilled to fall asleep in a sparkling room each night. Now that my kids are older I let them take on this task on their own. It’s one simple yes that makes the entire month special for them.

2. Have a campout by the Christmas tree.  I have this on my personal list this year.  I can’t say I’m thrilled about sleeping on the floor, but I know I’ll get some bang for my buck because my kids totally won’t be expecting mama to go for this one.

3. Have a gingerbread house party.  We did this a few years back.  My husband and I made these gingerbread houses in advance and we asked each kid to bring a a bag of decorating candy to share.  My kids are still talking about this party. That is what I call memory making success.

4. Do a service project.  I know a family that used to spend every Christmas Eve serving at a soup kitchen.  If your kids are younger you might help with Wreaths Across America or Project Angel Tree or keep your eye out for projects through your local church.  A couple of years ago our church was making hundreds of these salvation bracelets for an upcoming missions trip.  I was able to set up an assembly line even with my young kids and we all had fun helping.

5. Bake a birthday cake for Jesus – better yet, teach your kids to bake one!

6. Do an advent or 12 days of Christmas countdown.  We’ve already talked about advent here and here, but I saw an even simpler idea the other day using just a pack of gum.  Each piece was numbered for the countdown day.  What kid doesn’t like gum?  Easy peasy and memorable too.

7. Have a Christmas Movie Night.  Even better, wear pajamas.  Even BETTER, serve movie related treats.  My husband pretty much stays out of the kitchen in our home, but every time we watch The Polar Express he hurries in the kitchen and brings out cocoa for everyone right when the Hot Chocolate song comes on.  And of course there is much dancing and singing.  The kids like it too! 😉 Traditions are probably more my thing than his, but I love that this one is all him.

8. Find snow.  Near or far, a lot or little, Christmas needs snow.  My apologies to anyone living in a tropical climate.  This is the only time of year I’m not even a little jealous of you.  If you’re not afraid of a little mess, you can try making some here.

9. Make some snow day play dough.  My oldest child is 10 and even he still enjoys a little play dough every now and again.  I guess you never completely outgrow it.

10. Have a snowflake cutting competition.  We tried this last year and they turned out, well, not so awesome.  I’m taking notes this year and upping my game.  Not that I’m competitive or anything.

11. Declare family game night.  Stay up late, chug cocoa and spend some time playing games together.  Our favorite family games that work well with kids of differing ages are Blink, Spot It, and Qwirkle.

12. Act out the Christmas Story.  We’re trying this one out for this first time this year.  I teach Bible Quizzing to first and second graders and I’m amazed at how well they learn by acting out stories.  Plus it’s just good, clean fun.

13. Decorate Christmas Cookies.  This is probably a given but, man, I kind of have to make myself do it every year.  Ugh, the mess.  A couple of tips I picked up over the years are to have each child decorate on a large jelly roll pan (to contain the majority of the mess) and allow younger kids to use a paint brush instead of a knife or spoon for frosting.  Piping on frosting from Ziplock bags works great as well.

 

14. Read good books together.  We’ve covered that here, but make time and actually do it.

15. Make ornaments.  We started doing this when my oldest was 3 and every year we love looking back at the old ornaments.  I found a fun idea for some over here. Or Life as Mom buys ceramic ornaments at Michael’s and her kids have fun decorating them with Sharpie’s.  Love that idea for older kids.  As in, old enough to trust with a Sharpie!

16. Have a craft night.  Pinterest is full of great ideas like these snowmen and these snowflakes.  Make the time to make the mess and make a great memory while you’re at it.

17. Random Acts of Kindness. I recently read about a family that randomly hands out candy canes to store employees.  Hand the Salvation Army bell ringers some hand warmers.  Leave cookies in the mailbox for the mail man.  Or pay it forward in a fast food drive thru.  Whatever you do let your kids be apart of the process and let them experience the joy of spreading Christmas cheer.

18. Make meals fun.  Have a special breakfast like this one or this one you don’t even have to cook!  Or a special lunch like this one (I am so making these!).  Just plan ahead to get the ingredients and surprise your kids with a special little meal.  Each time I make these little efforts happen my kids are just thrilled.  They’ll be beyond this stage before I know it; your kids will to.  So keep it simple and make it happen!

19. Buy a few Christmas dishes.  I bought some salad plates probably about 10 years ago on an after Christmas sale and my kids eat off of them the entire month of December.  I never would have guessed how much those Christmas plates would be loved.

20. Attend a Christmas parade.  I don’t know if these are everywhere but I can name half a dozen within an hour drive of my home.  Brave the weather and make some memories.

21. Attend a Christmas play.  While the Nutcracker is always near the top of my list, this doesn’t have to cost money.  Go to the program at your church, at a school or at a small town theatre and make a memory.

22. Play reindeer games.  This mama labels her Christmas gifts with Reindeer names and then doesn’t tell her kids what their reindeer name is until Christmas morning.  Isn’t that a fun idea?  I think I may just do that one this year. UPDATE: This one was SO fun. And that super obvious box of Legos? No one had any clue who it was for. Score!

23. Teach your kids to be givers.  Whether that be dollar store shopping trips for their siblings, a name exchange or using their own funds, this is the perfect time of year to teach your children a lesson in giving as well as money management. It just takes a little teaching effort and time commitment on our part.

24. Living Nativity.  I love these!  We have been to several over the years, from full scale productions to simple setups with a few animals.  Either way, they are a fun way to imprint the concept of the nativity in your child’s mind beyond, you know, the Little People Nativity (which we have loved for years, by the way!).

25. Attend a light show.  I’ve heard of several families surprising their kids before bed time with a tour of the town.  Many communities have a light show of some sort or a few neighborhoods that go all out.  Find one that works for you and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season.

There you have it.  A no pressure list of simple, and mostly inexpensive, things you can do to make memories with your family in the upcoming weeks.  Remember the deal we made.  There is no need to do it all.  I don’t know about you but we have ballet recitals and piano recitals, church events and Christmas parties crowding the calendar so don’t let this list bring more stress.  Just sprinkle a few of these in wherever you can and you will be well set to make some wonderful memories this season.

Wishing you the Best Christmas EVER!

 

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