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CJKIDZ Holiday & Seasonal |
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Halloween - See our Halloween page or Halloween Traditions
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Thanksgiving
"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." (Clarence Budinton Kelland). Children mimic what we do, so if you want your children to be grateful for what they have, be grateful for what YOU have!
Incorporate in YOUR daily conversation the things YOU are grateful for. When you visit the zoo, comment, “We are so lucky to have such a nice zoo in our city. Some children don’t have a zoo in their city”. When the weather is nice comment, “I am so grateful the weather is beautiful today so we can play in the yard”. Make sure YOU are telling your waitress or grocery clerk “thank you” for helping you.
Teach kids to send a thank you note, or make a phone call for gifts or acts of kindness. Children who are too young to write can decorate a thank you note with stickers and their name. Older kids can send emails or make a phone call. Besides acknowledging gifts, Grandparents attending grandparent’s day at school, a friend sharing their hand-me-down clothes or toys, a Girl Scout or Boy Scout leader giving their time are all acts of kindness that should be acknowledged. Kind acts, like someone letting you go ahead of them in a waiting line because they can see that you're in a hurry, carpooling your child to the soccer game or school, volunteering to be "room mom" and organizing holiday parties, field trips and activities. A simple "thank you" from your child goes a long way in acknowledging the kindness of everyday things. These simple words can change the next generation into a more appreciative, gentler, less self-centered generation going forward.
When you have “down time” (dinner, riding in the car, putting to bed at night, looking for something to do), ask your child what they are grateful for. Depending on the situation, they can say it out loud, write it down (which is great to date it and save to look back on) or incorporate it into an activity by drawing a picture.
Read books, watch movies, play music that teaches about being grateful. When kids see their favorite character in a book or movie acting in a certain way it makes them want to also. (See Books on being grateful, Thanksgiving also books on Manners)
Get the whole family involved “giving back” (see our Families Giving Back page). Seeing and doing for someone less fortunate is a sure way to make you see how blessed YOU are. If you can’t take on a charitable project, take on a simple family activity like taking the bus one day rather than driving your car. Explain that waiting for the bus on a cold day makes you feel grateful for your warm car!
Don’t buy the kids “something” each time they go to the store. It’s a sure way not to make them grateful for “anything”. These items will become quickly unappreciated when they get the next new “something”. Instead, take a pen and paper when you go to the store. Suggest they make a wish list of the items they want. The list should not have more than a few lines (5 or so). Tell them that you will use it as a birthday or Christmas list. Each time they go to the store they can write down what they want, but if it is over the 5 item limit, they will need to cross off something from the list to make room for the new item. This will teach them to think about what they REALLY want, prioritize and avoid impulse buying. It will also teach them patience and to be grateful when they finally get the long awaited item.
Teach kids about money and saving for things they want. When kids put their own time and sweat equity into saving up for what they want, it will certainly help them think about whether the item is worth their hard work and grateful when they have saved enough to buy it. (See Books about money & cool banks for kids)
Have kids do age appropriate chores. Telling your kids how hard it is to do laundry, cook, clean, rake leaves is a lot different than actually letting the kids do it themselves. They will see how much time and energy is involved in the upkeep of the house and hopefully appreciate and be more grateful for the hard work parents do! When they do a good job on their chores, tell THEM thank you! Maybe you’ll get lucky and they will tell YOU thank you! Books & tools to teach children about chores and responsibility
End the night or begin the morning by telling your child how grateful you are to have THEM as your child!
See our Families Giving Back Page for books and ideas on encouraging kindness, giving back, character-building
Need a hostess gift for the holidays?
Other hostess gift ideas? Elf on the Shelf, Santa Cookies and Milk Plate, Christmas Memory Book on our Christmas Traditions page . Homemade candy, flameless candle (shown above) & the peppermint pig (shown above). Search more ideas
Christmas - See our Kidz Gift Page CJKidz Kidz Gifts |
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| Set out one of these cookies & milk set for Santa and his reindeer. | ||||
Family Day - Mark your calendar early to put a "family day" on the calendar. Don't let anything get in the way. Go together as a family to pick out the tree, watch Christmas Movies, read Christmas books, bake cookies, play games, put together a Christmas puzzle or do holiday activities (coloring books, mazes, seek and finds) . Leave the puzzle out on the table and put together a few pieces everyday . Drink hot chocolate, pick out or make a family Christmas ornament. Shop for a family present (like a board game or video game that everyone would play). Pack a cooler and drive around town to see the Christmas lights. Set the mood - Play Christmas Music at bedtime or when the kids come home from school to get them in the Christmas mood. Christmas music not only sets the mood for kids, but can drown out the sounds parents wrapping presents or setting out gifts on Christmas Eve. Decorate a a basket or box with Christmas paper or material. Fill the basket with Christmas books and several weeks before Christmas begin reading a Christmas book together at bedtime. Let the child pick from the basket (or box) the book he would like to read.
Wrap the doorway to the room that has the tree. Kids can break through the wrapping paper to get into the room Christmas morning to see the tree and gifts. Record a holiday book - These recordable books are a great Christmas tradition. Mom, dad or grandma, grandpa can record a page and read/listen to the book each year. For family members out of town, have each family member can read a page and send the book to a child out of town. Also lots of fun for older children to read and record their own voice and listen to each Christmas! Recordable books Start a Christmas Journal -Keep a Christmas Journal writing down details of your Christmas holiday throughout the years. Pull it out each year and reminisce together. It makes a great baby shower gift (get the tradition started with the first baby), or hostess gift for the holidays. Attend a Holiday Show - Attend a live Christmas Play or Show and go together as a family (A Christmas Carol, Nutcracker, Rocketts, Christmas concert) If you can't find a live show, go to the movies and see a Christmas movie. Eat out or get a special treat (hot chocolate, cookies, dessert) together after the show. Remember the reason for the season - Attend Church services together, follow up with a special morning breakfast (an egg casserole, make homemade donuts, or something that you might ordinarily cook. During the holidays, set out the nativity scene together, read the story of Jesus birth from the Bible and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Hold off on putting baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas Eve and make it an event itself. Get a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Decorate an ornament - Let each family member decorate an ornament for the tree or make one family ornament. Hang on your own tree or give as a gift for family member or friend. Decorate the house together - Let kids help with the decorating. Kids love getting out the ornaments and decorations. Possibly use the same day each year and kids can count on it as "decorating day". Play Christmas music, have special treats or a special food that you serve year after year for your decorating day. Allowing children to have a small tree in their room can be fun too. Pick out (or decorate) together an ornament for the child's tree. The ornament can be something specific to the child (i.e. soccer ornament if the child loves soccer, ballerina if the child takes dancing classes) or something to reflect what is occuring in the child's life that year (school picture/hobby). Recycle children's artwork into a Christmas ornament - Save some the children's artwork throughout the year and turn it into a Christmas ornament (just tie on a string, or shrink it in size if necessary). Host a baking day - or gingerbread house decorating day! Invite over family members or friends. Each person can bring a ready to be cooked batch of cookies or ingredients for the gingerbread house. Take pictures, put them in a book and bring them the following year. Host a Christmas Movies, Christmas book reading, or play games day - take turns with other family members or friends to each host a day (or a few hours) where the kids can watch Christmas movies, read Christmas books, play games, make a Christmas craft together. Each child can bring their favorite movie, or book to read together. While you host the event the other parents can Christmas shop or wrap presents. Then it's their turn to return the favor. Start a stocking hunt - If your family has to travel out of town for the holidays, have a stocking hunt or open one present prior to leaving for the trip so that you have some "alone time" for just your own family. A stocking hunt is also a great way for anxious children to receive a small gift prior to Christmas. Give a family calendar - Throughout the year, take a picture of the kids or family one day of the month (January - in the snow, February with an Valentine candy or I love you note, etc.) put together the pictures to make a calendar for grandma and grandpa as a Christmas gift. Each picture will reflect the month. If you forget to do it each month, stage it/reinact it(put on swimming suits for a summer month etc.). Have a family shopping day - let the kids earn money by doing Chores a few months before Christmas. Teach them to save it (use a bank or decorate a holiday money jar). Then use it to buy a little something for other family members on a special shopping day. You will be surprised how generous and considerate brothers and sisters can be to each other. Help a family - and give gifts to a family less fortunate. It can be someone you know that may be struggling financially. Anonymously send a gift card so they can do shopping for their own family. You don't ever have to mention that you sent it. No gifts please - In the book Raising Charitable Children, Weisman(the author) talks about a grandmother of three who, when asked what she wanted for her birthday, told her grandchildren to "Do something for someone else, draw a picture of what you did, and then tell me the story. The same idea can be applied for Christmas. If you don't need or want gifts for Christmas, suggest this idea. Give your time - If you are struggling financially and can't afford gifts, give your time. Make a coupon for for cleaning the garage, washing the house windows, cleaning the car, babysitting, shoveling snow or cutting grass. Older people also enjoy gifts of time. Coupons could include a home cooked meal at your house, a ride in the country, a walk in the park. Have a Christmas slumber party - On Christmas Eve or one night during the holidays let the kids (possibly mom and dad too) pull out the sleeping bags and have a family sleepover in one of the rooms of the house. Give new pajamas for the event or a Christmas tshirt to sleep in. Read some Christmas books or pick one story like Twas the Night Before Christmas (AniMotion) Peppermint Pig Peppermint Pig Combination Pack Pictures with Santa - make a day of it to go visit Santa (take the kids or pets) to get a picture with Santa. Put the pictures year after year in the in the Christmas Journal Kids love Elf on the Shelf.The tradition -How does Santa know who is naughty or who was nice? The answer, a small pixie-elf. He arrives around the holidays, usually at Thanksgiving. His sole responsibility is to watch the children's behavior and report it to Santa each night. The next morning after the children awake, they can discover the elf returns from the North Pole and is resting in a new and different place in the house. Most children race out of bed to try and be the first to spy him in his new position. They can't touch him but can talk to him. It helps children to better control themselves. All it takes is a gentle reminder that the "elf is watching," for bad behavior to be modified. |
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New Year's Eve or Day |
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| Use New Year's Eve or Day to look back at the family pictures throughout that year. If you made family videos watch those together. | ||||
and read the same story each year. Use a Christmas pillowcase ( see
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The pig is a symbol of health, prosperity and happiness. Begin a tradition to put the peppermint pig in the cloth bag and smash with a hammer so that everyone can share the pieces in hopes of good fortune for the coming year. This makes a nice Christmas gift or hostess gift.
Valentine's Day:Make a trail of hearts to take your kids or spouse to their gift Valentine's morning. Make a tradition of buying new pink or red pajamas, bake Valentine cookies or candies, or read an I I love you book together. A special breakfast like heart shaped pancakes or going out to breakfast together is a nice way to start the day. The I love you books make great gifts even for teenagers. You can buy an I love you book each year and tape a note on the inside that says something like "You are never too old to know that I Love You". They can collect the books over the years and pass on to their children. A jar filled with hugs and kisses candies can be decorated for mom, dad or kids. Just add a note "Hugs and Kisses from ? because I love you". A simple inexpensive gift. Make your own jar or buy this one I Love You Books - Great for Valentine's Day see below or More I love you books | |||
| Start a Valentine Tradition -Order the Red "You Are Special Plate" (shown below) filled with cookies, candies, or "I love you because..." notes, and set out each Valentine's Day morning for family members, or use the plate to serve dinner to a spouse or child on Valentine's Day or any "You are Special" day (birthdays, a good report card, anniversary, winning soccer goal). | |||
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Other Valentine ideas - T-shirt, sports necklace, pillowcase, all shown below. Make a trail of red shaped hearts leading from your child's bed to where the gift is.
Valentine Activity
Random Dance game. Cut out large hearts. Place them around the room. Play music and have the kids dance but NOT step on the hearts. If they step on the heart while dancing, they're out. And, when the music stops, find a heart to stand on it and freeze. You could also use the hearts to do a musical chairs type game, but instead of sitting on the chairs, find and stand on a heart (you will remove a heart each time the game is played like you do with musical chairs).
See More Valentine Party Planning Ideas, Games, Food.
Valentine's Day Coloring Page and Valentine's Day School Party Ideas and Edible Friendship Bracelets
Valentine Gifts for Mom or Kids (the White Clover lotion is a light, clean scent which smells great!)
Click on the picture below to see the personalized platter and more gifts!
Everything for Graduation!