Ideas please for December fun leading to xmas

Lillibet_2

Make paper chains &/or turn putting the Xmas tree up into a special day/night

Read Xmas stories out loud to each other: the Night before Christmas for the chidlren, A Christmas carol (over several nights!) for adults etc.

A board game night.

A Charades night.

Celebrate Christmas in another countries way, i.e Russia, Scandanovia etc. Google for their traditions, food etc and they often do things on different dates to us so you can tie in with their celebration if you want.

Deliver goodwill wishes & HM mince pies/cookies/mulled wine to the neighbours, sing Christmas carols to them if you are in tune!

Go to a carol/Christingle/advent service. Or explore how other beliefs celebrate the season, i.e Paganism.

Go for a early evening twilight walk in the park & feed the ducks. It's loads of fun all wrapped up in layers then comming home to hot chocolate.

HTH;)

imuststartsaving

Wow they all sound like great ideas

Here Are some of the things we do

Make xmas cakes and mince pies yummy

Magic reindeer food to sprinkle out on xmas eve my kids love doin this
Recipe
porridge oats and sparkly glittery bits etc all mixed together n but in organza bags for them to sprinkle out on the lawn or path xmas eve so the glitter sparkles and the smell of oats guide rudolf to your house.

Makin gift tags out of the old xmas cards from last year they love doin this also

Hope these ideas help

Nenen

Lovely ideas everyone :T :T :T
Here are my additions:

Attend a local carol concert and have a good old sing-song... usually free or collection for charity.

Go to a local 'turning on of the Christmas lights' ceremony. Our small Suffolk town used to have a piper who paraded round, the local shopkeepers gave out free mince pies and Santa gave out oranges to all the children .

Go to your local Primary School Christmas Fayre if they have one (if dd hasn't started school yet it's a good way to introduce the building). They often have much cheaper 'Santa's Grotto' etc than the stores.

If you can afford it and you have a local steam railway they usually have a special Christmas steam day which Santa attends.

Have a special 'recycle gifts' evening when you all look for things you no longer want which could be recycled in some way... given to charity shops, given to your local womens refuge or even sold on ebay.

Make little individual Christmas cakes in empty, clean, baked bean tins... ice them and take them to anyone housebound and/or who will be on their own this Christmas.

Help your dd and stepsons to design their own Chritmas cards on the computer... most people who run MS have the 'Paint' program under <start> <all programs> <accessories> . This is very easy to use and can get fab results. Depending upon age and ability of children either they design their own picture from scratch or you draw them a basic Christmas Tree and they 'decorate' it! Alternatively, if you are able to import a photo of a child into 'Paint' (or similar program) you can then let the child turn themself into one of Santa's elves by 'painting' on hats, beards, outfits etc.

Go for a walk together to collect things to make into table decorations, eg fir cones, twigs, interesting pieces of fallen bark etc. When you get home spray them gold or silver and stick into oasis.

Make and decorate a Christmas placemat for everyone who will be with you for Christmas meals. If you use A4 paper/card you can decorate this then get it laminated.

Money-no-object stockings: for you and your partner to do... children can do these too if you think they're old enough to understand. Cut out a largish stocking shape from red paper/card. Write/draw/cut out pics of all the things you'd like to be able to give the person of your choice (OH etc) if money was no object... can be as realistic or imaginary as you like.... e.g. flight to the moon, new ferrari, perfect health. Somehow, making one of these and giving/receiving it is *almost* as good as the real thing... but very MSE Sounds a bit daft but when my dh did this for me it was the fact he went to a lot of trouble to find pics and write about all the things he knew I'd like if only he could afford them made me feel really special... he knew just what I'd like and the fact I knew he would give me these things if he could made me have a warm glow! I've done this with children at school aged 6+ for their parents too... given them old Argos catalogues and got them to find things for mummy and daddy etc... Reinforces the idea that Christmas is not just about them thinking what they want... but also what they could give and how to choose something special for someone else. I like to think I'm training the husbands of the future!

For you and OH... saucy board game night... children all in bed, a couple of glasses of something nice, turn the heating up and play strip poker, naughty forfeits etc! etc!

Christmas Eve... track Santa by satellite: http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.htm

Go to Midnight Mass... even if not religious it always feels special!

OK... that's as much as I can think of at the moment
Happy preparations eveyone! :xmastree: :xmastree: :xmastree: :xmastree: :xmastree:

jamtart6

i read somewhere about someone doing a christmas camping night. all camp out in sleeping bags in the living room, huddled round the fire watching dvds and eating marshmallows (or fondue type thing) - i cant wait to have kids to do it!! im considering making OH camp in the living room with me!! haha!!

were making gingerbread men too and also perhaps a gingerbread house!!!!

JenniO

I just wanted to say a special thank you to all the posters! I'm going to make up my December calendar of events today! So many new ideas I am going to have a ball! And probably be exhausted by Christmas day but that's not so unusual :rolleyes:

I hope everyone else also got some new lovely ideas to start traditions with. These ARE the things that children remember most. :T :T :T


jennifer

by the way, decorated the house yesterday, if anyone wanted to see pics you can view the slideshow on my blog: http://sty1eyourhome.blogspot.com/

mirandamayhem

oh wow, i am jealous of your house! It's gorgeous, and your decoration ideas are so simple and beautiful!
My house always just looks like a tinsel factory vomitted everywhere, hey ho!:rotfl:

JenniO

Christmas Season Ideas

• Writing and posting a letter to Santa
• Christmas Movie night - choose a Christmas film together and make non alcoholic Christmas punch/mulled wine and make red and green popcorn
• Make a Christmas shoebox for one of the shoebox charities
• Christmas dancing night where you put on Christmas music and just dance and be really silly together
• Make Christmas cards
• Make decorations out of hama beads, they do glow in the dark and glitter ones now.
• Carol singing around the neighbours’ houses?
• Making reindeer food and putting in little packages and writing notes on to give to their young friends?
• Making popcorn garlands out of red and green popcorn while watching the Christmassy film?
• It’s Sinterklaas (Feast of Saint Nicholas) in the Netherlands on 4th/5th Dec. Its a huge holiday over there, a big children's thing, and they do lots of little things. You could do some things around that time - if you google Sinterklaas you should find some websites in English.
• Family night looking at Christmas lights - Drive around with little ones in back of car wrapped in blankets. Keep thermos of hot chocolate in car and drive around looking at xmas lights! sometimes we'd even pull over and just stare (good time to pour hot chocolate too!)
• Romantic Night II - Make homemade egg nog and eat pannetone in front of xmas tree (with xmas songs in background. Lots of candles strewn about.
• Family guitar night - We play guitar so we have a Christmas guitar night and attempt to play Christmas songs (got them off internet and printed out) while the kids sing.
• Romantic Night III - Cheese board and crackers with port or sparkling wine in front of xmas tree with you guessed it, Christmas music on in background and candles.
• Go to a pantomime
• Mini Christmas party with games e.g. pass the parcel, musical statues with Christmas music
• Carol services
• Building a gingerbread house (you can get kits)
• Visit Santa - indoor shops open late in Dec
• Make a xmas box for each of the kids which they make and decorate themselves. This box is then used each year to put a xmas decoration in that the child gets to pick each year (this can be a great outing each year hunting for the one they want.) Each time the decoration is put away they write their favourite xmas memory from that year on a small card. Then when the time comes for them to leave home they already have xmas decorations of their own, and each time they get them out it will remind them of Christmas as a child.
• We always have an advent party on Dec 1st after putting up external Christmas lights. We eat mince pies and have Christmassy nibbles; myself and oh tuck into the mulled wine as well! We listen to Christmassy music and get excited when we turn on the lights!
• I give the kids their advent calendars and they are always given a new Christmas book as an early pressie.
• We have a tradition each year of watching good Christmassy films.
• Make paper chains &/or turn putting the Xmas tree up into a special day/night
• Read Xmas stories out loud to each other: the Night before Christmas for the children, A Christmas carol (over several nights!) for adults etc.
• A board game night.
• A Charades night.
• Celebrate Christmas in another countries way, i.e. Russia, Scandinavia etc. Google for their traditions, food etc and they often do things on different dates to us so you can tie in with their celebration if you want.
• Deliver goodwill wishes & HM mince pies/cookies/mulled wine to the neighbours, sing Christmas carols to them if you are in tune!
• Go to a carol/Christingle/advent service. Or explore how other beliefs celebrate the season, i.e. Paganism.
• Go for a early evening twilight walk in the park & feed the ducks. It's loads of fun all wrapped up in layers then coming home to hot chocolate.
• Make xmas cakes and mince pies yummy
• Magic reindeer food to sprinkle out on xmas eve my kids love doing this Recipe - porridge oats and sparkly glittery bits etc all mixed together n but in organza bags for them to sprinkle out on the lawn or path xmas eve so the glitter sparkles and the smell of oats guide Rudolph to your house.
• Making gift tags out of the old xmas cards from last year they love doing this also
• Attend a local carol concert and have a good old sing-song... usually free or collection for charity.
• Go to a local 'turning on of the Christmas lights' ceremony.
• Go to your local Primary School Christmas Fayre
• If you can afford it and you have a local steam railway they usually have a special Christmas steam day, which Santa attends.
• Have a special 'recycle gifts' evening when you all look for things you no longer want which could be recycled in some way... given to charity shops, given to your local women’s refuge or even sold on ebay.
• Make little individual Christmas cakes in empty, clean, baked bean tins... ice them and take them to anyone housebound and/or who will be on their own this Christmas.
• Design Christmas cards on the computer... most people who run MS have the 'Paint' program under <start> <all programs> <accessories> . This is very easy to use and can get fab results. Depending upon age and ability of children either they design their own picture from scratch or you draw them a basic Christmas Tree and they 'decorate' it! Alternatively, if you are able to import a photo of a child into 'Paint' (or similar program) you can then let the child turn themselves into one of Santa's elves by 'painting' on hats, beards, outfits etc.
• Go for a walk together to collect things to make into table decorations, e.g. fir cones, twigs, interesting pieces of fallen bark etc. When you get home spray them gold or silver and stick into oasis.
• Make and decorate a Christmas placemat for everyone who will be with you for Christmas meals. If you use A4 paper/card you can decorate this then get it laminated.
• Money-no-object stockings: for you and your partner to do... children can do these too if you think they're old enough to understand. Cut out a largish stocking shape from red paper/card. Write/draw/cut out pics of all the things you'd like to be able to give the person of your choice (OH etc) if money was no object... can be as realistic or imaginary as you like.... e.g. flight to the moon, new Ferrari, perfect health. Somehow, making one of these and giving/receiving it is *almost* as good as the real thing... but very MSE Sounds a bit daft but when my dh did this for me it was the fact he went to a lot of trouble to find pics and write about all the things he knew I'd like if only he could afford them made me feel really special... he knew just what I'd like and the fact I knew he would give me these things if he could made me have a warm glow! I've done this with children at school aged 6+ for their parents too... given them old Argos catalogues and got them to find things for mummy and daddy etc... Reinforces the idea that Christmas is not just about them thinking what they want... but also what they could give and how to choose something special for someone else. I like to think I'm training the husbands of the future!
• For you and OH... saucy board game night... children all in bed, a couple of glasses of something nice, turn the heating up and play strip poker, naughty forfeits etc! etc!
• Christmas Eve... track Santa by satellite: http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.htm
• Go to Midnight Mass... even if not religious it always feels special!
• I read somewhere about someone doing a Christmas camping night. all camp out in sleeping bags in the living room, huddled round the fire watching dvd’s and eating marshmallows (or fondue type thing) - i cant wait to have kids to do it!! I’m considering making OH camp in the living room with me!!
• We’re making gingerbread men too and also perhaps a gingerbread house!!!!
• Make Christmas sugar cookies with DD - I plan on painting egg whites on the outer edges of plain round sugar cookies and mixing red and green food colouring with Demerara sugar (2 separate sandwich bags and give a good shake) and cover the edges with the colours just for something different. Also use different cookie cutter Christmas shapes to make cookies another day with DD.
• Romantic night I - A night wrapped up in blankets in the dark in front of the lit Christmas tree and the fire, with a few savoury nibbles, whilst cracking nuts and drinking wine. Christmas music on in background. Etc.
• Christmas crafts with kids - I plan on doing crafty stars with lollipop sticks glued at ends to form a star and the kids will glue jewels or draw on them. We can add transparent thread to them and they can use them as xmas tree decorations.
• I'm also going to do paper plate Christmas trees - cut a slice into the paper plate just up to the middle and shape like a cone. glue cone together and kids will glue jewels or other bits and pieces to make a xmas tree.

Benmollymoo

You could also make "snowflakes" like http://highhopes.com/snowflakes.html. We're planning on doing them this year and sticking them to the windows . 9they can then go in the recycling box after christmas). I really like the paper plate christmas trees - think we will have to try out some of those too.

SharkyGeorge

Ice skating!