Monday, November 30, 2015

Meaningful and Fun Holiday Family Activities

This is one of my favorite pictures of my little girl. 

When she was little her favorite part of the Christmas celebration at our church was seeing baby Jesus. 

Although this photo was taken several years ago, it is still a great reminder of what the season is all about--LOVE!  Taking time to connect and love on the people around you is really the best gift you can give this holiday season!

Sometimes the holiday season gets so busy with parties, shopping, and decorating that we can easily let precious moments with our children slip by. 

I am going to be very intentional about taking time to connect with my family each day this month.  Whether it's a simple butterfly kiss at bedtime or baking cookies for our neighbors what matters is that we slow down and take time to strengthen our connection.  It is also a great opportunity to teach our children to care for others by demonstrating kindness and love.  It doesn't have to take a lot of time, but it can still be meaningful and fun!

If you follow the link below you can print out a free December calendar with over 30 ideas for activities you could use to connect throughout the month.  Work with your child to cut out the ones you like the most and glue them on the dates when you know you will have time to spend on that activity.  When we did it we glued the calendar to a larger piece of construction paper and then decorated the calendar with foam Christmas cutouts.  We then added some ribbon to make a hanger for the calendar so we could hang it up in the kitchen where we were reminded to do our daily activity! 

This would also be a great activity for Sunday School classes, make and take family nights, or "homework" for classroom teachers.

Whatever you do, may you and your family be richly blessed this holiday season in the time you spend together.  I hope your light shines a little brighter as you share your love with those around you!

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)



https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2o2onDfM4BxZEJaQzlUUkRnUW8/view?usp=sharing