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Have you thrown out the Christmas cards you’ve received yet? Don’t! There is still joy and fun to be had with them. In our house we tend to be so busy during the Holiday Season that I save all of the Christmas cards we receive in the mail and read them after New Years when I have time to sit, relax, and catch up on the news our friends and family share in their cards. After that, I mark down in an address book who we got cards from this year so I don’t forget anyone next year. (There are always people to add and subtract from the card mailing list each year, right?) Finally, I throw them in the recycle bin. But, I learned a new idea last year to have one more round of fun with the cards.
Last year, a gentleman came up to me after one of my speaking engagements and told me about a great tradition they do in their house with their Christmas cards. They have an art show. He said his family tapes all of the cards up on a wall in their house and then they vote on their favorite card for the year. I know I tend to open the cards quickly and say “Oh, that’s cute” but I don’t really stop to look at the cards as a piece of art and I should, because some are amazing. Even the photo postcards can be admired for the composition of the card or the photography itself. He said that the winning card gets put in a box with the other year’s winners so you have a showcase of the “best-of-the-best” in Christmas-themed art. You could also make a scrapbook or my daughter had the idea of making a story book using the winning cards as the illustrations. I’m totally digging that idea and she is working on it.
Here’s an idea to make the voting easier. Have everyone in the family pick their top 3 favorite cards. Take down all of the rest off the wall. Now you have a smaller selection. Then have everyone choose 3 favorites again. Keep whittling it down until you have 3 cards total on the wall. Have everyone explain what they like best about their favorite card and why it should win. For the final vote, have everyone write their favorite on a piece of paper so it’s an anonymous vote and crown the winner. If it is a tie or no one can agree, then Mom’s pick wins. Why? You shouldn’t even have to ask.
Here’s another great idea to recycle and get more out of your Christmas cards. Aubrey at The Mother Huddle blog had a great idea for making a Christmas card photo collage. Read her post on how to do it.
Any other ideas of what to do with your Christmas cards? Leave me a comment because I’d love to hear about them.
There’s only 9 more days for having fun with you Elf on the Shelf. Are you out of ideas yet? Well, here are more fun things you can do to hide and enjoy your Elf on the Shelf tradition.
Elf on the Shelf Cookies
Bridget over at the Bake at 350 blog did an AMAZING job with these Elf on the Shelf cut-out cookies. I wish I could ice cookies like that!
Elf Magic
Amy at Living Locurto had some fun with her kids by giving them “Elf Seeds” and creating magic. Check it out, it’s a very fun idea. She also has a free download with ideas for posing your Elf.
Elf Mischief
I’ve been having a blast creating funny situations for our Elf Jack. I found that I’ve been doing so many “scenes” with our elf that when I actually do hide him. The kids can’t even find him. They have become lazy with their elf sighting skills. Oh well. Here are some of the latest Elf sightings in our house.
Snowball Fight
Jack picked a snowball fight with one of our other Elf decorations. Each side has his own Marshmallow Reindeer team mascot.
Snow Globe
I made homemade snow globes with the kids one night and Jack decided to make his own that night while we were sleeping.
Elf Notes
Jack wrote our kids a note last year and of course everyone knows that Elves write backwards, so the kids had to hold their notes up to the mirror to read it. (You knew that, right?)
Late Elf Nights
We have a pull out couch in our family room that we like to use for Family Movie Night. We pull out the couch and everyone watches the movie in their PJ’s. Well, the kids loved it when they came down one night to find Jack had pulled out the couch and had stayed up all night watching Holiday movies. He even made himself an espresso to stay up. The cat must have kept him company.
I’ve been working on my Parents Sanity-Saving Guide to Elf on the Shelf for the last few weeks but sadly I didn’t get it done in time for the Holiday Season. Life keeps getting in my way. I’m make sure you know when it’s done so you can download it for next year.
What do you do for fun with your Elf on the Shelf? Send me a photo and I’ll put it up on the blog. I’d love to highlight your creativity! Send photos to sue (at) chocolatecakeclub.com Thanks!
Don’t you just love Holiday family traditions? Everyone is excited, looking forward to the activity. It’s fun to get everything ready with the kids. And then it’s fun to make the memories.
However, every now and then I feel like some of our traditions are getting a little “stale” and we need to spice them up a bit. Maybe you just need to add a fun twist to an existing family tradition or maybe your kids are a little older now so they can do more things.
So I did a little investigating and I was amazed at some of the really unique and cool traditions that other families are doing for fun. So I flagged some traditions I found online and asked my readers about some of their unique Holiday Family Traditions. You might want to start some of these fun activities in your home.
Christmas Eve Traditions
There are a lot of fun activities that go on on Christmas Eve night. Some are more traditional like opening gifts from family members to going to midnight mass. Some read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and others have to sing a Christmas carol before you get to open gifts. (OK, that was my Mom’s rule.) However, some families kick it up a notch. I’ve seen online that some families wear matching Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. My Mother-in-law has a good family friends that hosts a talent show on Christmas Eve. Everyone no matter what age has to get up and provide entertainment for the whole family. If your family tends towards the “dramatic” it’s a nice tradition because cousins were working together on an act which brought them even closer together. Plus, it makes for great family videos.
The Family Memory Tablecloth
Amy over at SheWearsManyHats.com has a unique family tradition where they make aFamily Tablecloth. Every year when her family gets together for the Holiday they add a saying, memory, hand print or other drawing in pencil onto the designated family tablecloth. Then her mother-in-law embroiders over the pencil marks during the year so that next Holiday you see your contribution permanently added in needlepoint. The tablecloth grows as the family does. How cool!
Tree Looking
My husband’s family lives in rural Iowa and for years they’ve had a tradition of “tree looking” where you drive around to your friends’ houses during the Holiday Season and drop in to look at their tree. I know my Mother-in-law always had to have some cookies or treats ready because you never know when someone will stop by. It’s casual, informal and a fun way to stay connected with friends or neighbors and get to check out all of the hard work people put into decorating their homes for Christmas. I only ever get to see my neighbors’ trees from the window. I love the idea of stopping by to admire and chat. I love seeing other people’s Christmas decorations too because there is usually a memory or story behind some of them that I love hearing.
Hide and Seek Traditions
This year, the Elf on the Shelf tradition has really taken off but many families have been hiding the Christmas Pickle for years. This is a German traditions where you have a glass pickle ornament that gets hidden on the tree and whoever finds it first on Christmas Eve wins a prize or small gift. Here’s how one of my readers does the Christmas Pickle tradition.
The Cookie Drop
Over at Girlfriendology.com, I found a cute post about a Cookie Drop tradition. Andi, the author from Udandi.com, makes up packages of homemade cookies, drops them at a friend or neighbor’s house, takes a photo of the package at their door and sends them an email telling them to check their front door for a surprise. Very cool!
Does your family have any unique holiday traditions? I’d love to hear about them so please leave me a comment.
Looking for a way to spice up your family’s Holiday Traditions this year? I suggest you Be Creative and Try Something New to add a little variety to your Holiday Season and make it more fun this year.
While we all love traditions and look forward to them every year because they provide a foundation for the family’s Holiday activities, it doesn’t mean you can’t adapt or update the tradition or try something new entirely. Variety is the spice of life! What’s the worst that could happen? You don’t like the new activity and you don’t do it again next year.
So, instead of putting on your Santa Hat, put on your thinking caps and get the whole family to brainstorm some creative ways to amp up your existing Holiday Traditions. If your family has a tradition of cutting down a real tree every year, try wearing Santa Hats or dressing like lumberjacks this year to give the event a little silliness and flair. If you all bake Holiday cookies together, be adventurous and try a new recipe or one that sounds really wild. Do all the girls in your family get together for Holiday Tea? Ask everyone to wear an audacious hat to make the affair more elegant and/or goofy.
If your family seems a little burned out on the tried and true family traditions, be adventurous this year and try a new activity that you’ve heard or read about. Who knows? It may become a new favorite. So, if you always go to see the Christmas Carol play, try the Nutcracker Ballet this year. If you’ve never had a real Christmas tree, try cutting one down this year and see if you like the difference. If your kids are a little older now, try going to Midnight Mass. Invite other people to your Hannukah celebration to teach them about your traditions. Try making your menorah this year instead of using the family favorite. Or, buy a candle making set and have the whole family make candles this year for the Celebration of Light. (I’m not Jewish but I asked my friends about their traditions and looked and online for ideas. I found a really fun article on family Hannukah traditions to do with your kids at SheKnows.com. Let me know what you think.)
Need some fun ideas to say “Thank you” and “Happy Holidays” for your kid’s teachers this year? Helpful neighbors, sitters, or co-workers on your list? I try to be creative and come up with something unique or homemade, but many years I give gifts that I think they could really use, like gift cards or books. I am fortunate enough to have 6 teachers living in my neighborhood so I asked them what they like to get at the end of the year from their students. Here were their top answers, ideas from my readers, as well as some of my own ideas for thoughtful ways to say Happy Holidays.
CLASSROOM GIFTS:
Book Gift Cards – Many teachers have to buy their own books for the classroom so gift cards help to cover that expense. You can also donate some of your favorite, gently used books for the classroom as another thoughtful gift. Here’s a cool way to “wrap” your teacher’s gift card that I saw at RoomMomSpot.com – make a snow globe.
School Supplies – A reader last year told me she gets a canvas bag and fills it with extra school supplies and chocolate. Something for the teacher and something for the classroom. (more…)
What? It happens! It’s the Holiday Season. There’s so much to do – gift buying, wrapping, decorating, baking, and if you’re lucky, parties. You’re tired from a long day and you forget to move the Elf. The kids are going to be crushed. Now what?
How many of you have snapped awake at 4 a.m. and had to get up to move the Elf? We’ve all been there!
Well, after doing the Elf on the Shelf Family Holiday Tradition for the past 5 years, I’ve done everything wrong you possibly can … and survived. The Elf on the Shelf hide and seek tradition is supposed to be fun after all, not stressful for Mom and Dad. But the “magic” all depends on Mom and Dad, so here are some tips and tricks to recover from “magic” malfunctions.
What to do if you forget to move the Elf:
Pretend the Elf was tricky and stayed in the same spot to fool them. I’ve used this excuse at least once almost every year. The kids now expect our Elf to try and trick them by not moving at least one night.
Say that the weather near the North Pole was so bad that he couldn’t fly so he stayed put. This works well if the weather is really bad in your area. The kids can “see” that the weather was bad. If it’s not bad by your house, blame it on the Arctic Winds in the North Pole.
Guess that the Elf really liked that spot and decided to try it again another night.
Tell your kids that you were up all night – couldn’t sleep, too much work before Holidays, sick, etc. – so the Elf couldn’t leave because not everyone was asleep. Santa can’t come if you aren’t sleeping so it should be logical that the Elf can’t fly away if someone is awake. Tell your kids you’ll try to better tonight.
What to do when you forget to move the Elf two nights in a row:
I hope this never happens to you but it did to me once. One year I forgot to move our Elf two nights in a row and my daughter was devastated. “Oh, no! Our Elf is dead!” Hardly the spirit of Christmas, right? So we figured that maybe someone had accidentally touched him and he lost his magic. Here’s how we fixed it after many tears and me being overcome with Elf guilt. Write a letter to Santa. I told my daughter to write the big Man and ask him to give our Elf his magic back. We put the letter in an envelope addressed to Santa at the North Pole and put it in the mailbox.
I then wrote myself a note and set my alarm clock at 11:00 p.m. to go off to remind me to move the Elf before going to bed. That night there was a “Christmas miracle” and the Elf moved, so my daughter was thrilled that Santa got her letter and heard her plea. It actually ended up making her even more invested in the tradition and our Elf’s welfare.
Note: While I don’t really condone lying to my kids, I do want to fill their life with magic and joy, so a little fib here and there to keep everyone smiling is OK in my book.
Any other ideas? What has worked for you when you forget to move the Elf?
The Chicagoland area has some wonderful family-oriented activities to help you celebrate the Holidays and have fun together. We have a whole list of activities that we want to do each Holiday Season to take advantage of all of the cool happenings in Chicago. Chicago shines during December and whether you live here or are just visiting – take advantage of the fun.
Here are a few well-known and lesser-known local Holiday favorites that my family loves to do. Many of these have become Holiday Traditions that our kids look forward to every year.
Winter Wonderland at John Hancock Building – The Christmas tree is beautiful, the train exhibit inside is delightful for kids, and get a free photo with Santa every weekend from 12 – 4 p.m.
Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza – This is my family’s favorite thing to do every Christmas. We have been 3 times already this year. The hot sausages, German pastries, beautiful ornaments from Germany and the Gluhwein make it a hit for parents and kids.
Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theater or Joffrey Ballet Nutcracker - we alternate these two shows every year. This year we’re going to the Nutcracker Ballet. Joffrey’s version is the BEST. I’ve seen it 6 times. Last year, the kids LOVED the Christmas Carol. The stage and the special effects were incredible.
Nutcracker Tea at Seasons of Long Grove or Holiday Tea at the Drake Hotel is a special moment for the whole family or a Mom, Daughter and Grandmother event. I met a friend for Holiday Tea at the Drake Hotel this past weekend and the decorations were spectacular. So many adorable little girls in fancy dresses!
Ice Skating Millenium Park – Rockerfeller Plaza doesn’t have the mighty Bean sculpture behind it, now does it? Friday nights in December there is caroling in front of the Cloudgate sculpture (aka the Bean) at 6 p.m. Haven’t gone yet but I’m sure the photo ops are incredible.
Any Age:
Carriage ride on Michigan Avenue – Grab yours by the Water Tower
– We go every year. It’s amazing. This year it is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 17th at 2:30 p.m. Save us a seat, we’ll see you there.
Shop windows at Macy’s on State Street, then see the beautiful, decorated Christmas trees at Water Tower Place, 900 North Mall or NorthBridge. There is supposed to be an incredible, 5 story Grinch display in Water Tower Place so check it out.
No matter what you decide to do this year, create some memories and have some Happy Holiday Fun with your family!
What are your favorite things to do in Chicago during the Holiday Season?
We have a special Holiday tradition in our house that we do every year with the kids and Grandma and Grandpa. We decorate a Gingerbread House. We usually buy a kit where the house pieces are already made and all we have to do is decorate. (Saves a huge amount of time!) We eve use old Halloween candy as additional decorations for the house to get rid of the “less than desirable” candy that the kids never ate.
If you are looking for recipes to make the gingerbread pieces yourself, different gingerbread kits or tips on how to best tackle a gingerbread together, try the Fork & Bottle site or the Wilton site. They both have a nice round-up post of all things Gingerbread. If you want to see some incredible gingerbread houses for inspiration, check out Sweetopia, How to Cook That, or Better Homes and Gardens.
One year we branched out and made a gingerbread stable since my daughter loves horses. We’ve also made a gingerbread train. You can find the gingerbread train kit here. We even found a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Gingerbread House Kit. I love the Bumble! If you know of any other cool gingerbread kits out there, let us know. We’re always game for trying a new twist on a favorite family activity.
However, if you want to avoid the sticky mess and try something new this year, we found this great idea on the Alpha Mom site to build a cardboard Gingerbread House. Very cute!
Do you decorate a gingerbread house every year? Do you eat the gingerbread house when you’re done?
There are so many Holiday family traditions that I look forward to every year. But, you know, Holiday Traditions don’t always have to be about family. One of my favorite traditions is a Mom’s Night Out with friends. For a few years now, three of us girl friends have been getting together in December to have Holiday Tea. We relax, reconnect, and kick off the Holiday Season. So civilized! Chicago has some amazing places for tea – the Drake Hotel, the Peninsula Hotel, the Russian Tea Room. We meet, drink, eat and exchange some gifts. I dig the champagne, exotic teas, and the cute little sweets tray. I look forward to it every year and I’m excited for our tea party next weekend at the Drake Hotel.
Tea parties not your thing? Here are some other ideas for outings with your bestest Mom friends. Take some time for yourself during the Holiday Season to unwind and recharge. After all, if Mommy ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.
1. Shopping Spree – Kill two birds with one stone and organize an outing to get your Holiday shopping done. Head on over to that new Mall you’ve been dying to visit. Or take the train and go to the big stores downtown. It’s always more fun when you have someone helping you shop for those impossible people on your list.
2. Cookie Swaps – Do you and your friends like to bake? Get a cookie swap going this year. CreativeMama.com has all the tips on How to Host a Cookie Swap. Stand around the kitchen with some cookie dough martinis and bake up a storm. Put on some music and dance while you’re at it. (Make sure your husband takes the kids to the movies. You don’t want them to die of shame while you boogie and sing.)Lauren McKinsey has some very cute printables you can buy to add some style to your Cookie Exchange.
3. Holiday Wine Tasting – Do you have a local winery or gourmet wine shop in your area? Call and see if they will give you a tour or a mini wine tasting class. You can tell your hubby that you are going to find the perfect wine for Holiday dinner but we all know you are going for the fun. They may even have little snacks. Bonus! If you can’t find a place to host your wine tasting, don’t be afraid to have it at someone’s home. TLC and TheDailyMeal.com offer tons of tips and ideas to make it easy.
4. Enjoy the Arts - I love the Nutcracker Ballet. We are lucky in Chicago to have the Joffrey Ballet perform the Nutcracker every year. I’ve seen numerous versions and noboby does it better than Joffrey. This is the perfect excuse to get together with the girls and get your sugar plum fairy fix. If Ballet isn’t your thing, check your local entertainment guides to see what Holiday shows are available. Don’t forget to check some of the churches or auditoriums who might have the Canadian Brass or other Holiday music concerts. Start planning now and get your tickets ahead of time.
5. Cooking Class – Another option for a fun evening out with the girls is a cooking class. If you don’t already have a favorite place for cooking classes, ask your friends what they recommend or look online. Some Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table stores have Holiday-themed cooking classes. You can even have a private chef come to your house and teach the class in a more comfortable setting. Learn how to make killer Holiday desserts or New Years Eve party appetizers.
My kids are so psyched for the day after Thanksgiving when we start up our Elf on the Shelf Family Holiday Tradition. They have been asking for days when “Jack” is coming. We’ve been playing this fun Hide ‘n Seek game every Christmas for the past 4 years now. Now that my kids are older (9 and 11) and we’ve been doing this for awhile, I needed some creative ways to have even more fun with our Elf this year. Here are a few ideas that I thought up, that we tried last year, and some other fun ones I found online. I’ll be adding more as I get inspired throughout the next few weeks as we count down to Christmas.
Watch the Video
The creators of Elf on the Shelf put together a super cute video on how the Elves get ready for the Christmas season. You can watch it with the kids here.
Catch them in the Act
These Elves are photogenic. While the kids are sleeping or at school, take some funny photos of the Elves raiding the fridge or peeking in the wrapped presents or sleeping with the cat. Take them off center and close-up so it looks like the Elf took his or her own picture with your camera.
Elf Letters
My daughter loves to write letters. She writes some for Santa, Rudolph, Buddy from the Elf movie, the Tooth Fairy, the Pumpkin Fairy and our St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun. So have your kids write a note or letter to your Elf and maybe he’ll answer overnight. Want to make it even funnier – write the letter in an “Elf” language that no one understands or have the Elf write backwards so the kids have to hold the note up to a mirror to read.
The Elf was Here
Leave clues around the house that show that the Elf was moving around. A cereal box tipped over, Christmas cards out and on the floor, little footprints on the kitchen table or even have the Elf write his or her name out using raisins, Cheerios, legos or in some spilled flour. Here’s a cute idea – spill some flour out on the counter and then have the Elf make a snow angel in the flour.
Bake Up Some Fun
When the kids come downstairs for breakfast, won’t they be surprised to find a fresh batch of Christmas cookies on the kitchen counter that the Elf “baked” overnight?
Here are some very fun ideas I found online that would appeal to older kids or teens to keep the fun going.
Don’t Let the Elf Drive the Car
I read that a family would put their Elf in the driver’s seat of the car up on phone books or books so it looked like he was joy riding at night. Park the car in a crazy position, backwards, or out on the street to show that the Elf was out on the town and really shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
Elves are Socially Savvy
I read about some families setting up Facebook, Twitter or email accounts to talk with their teens or tweens or keep a Cyber “eye” on who’s naughty or nice online. Your Elf can also find funny Christmas inspired sites to email to the kids.
Fun in the “Off” Season
My kids always joke about what “Jack,” our Elf, does on his time off. What does he DO the other 11 months of the year? I think it would be a blast to give the Elf to friends or family you know who are traveling and ask them to take a picture of the Elf in that location. You know, like the gnome in the movie Amelie. The Elf can then send postcards or photos to the kids to keep the fun going all year long.
Elf on the Shelf season is approaching! Did you purchase an Elf on the Shelf set or receive one as a gift this year? Not sure when to start this fun holiday hide ‘n seek tradition? Don’t worry. Every family does it differently and here are some things to consider before the Elf makes his or her first appearance of the year.
When Does the Holiday Season Officially Start for Your Family?
When does the Christmas season officially start in your house? The day after Thanksgiving? The 1st of December? Christmas Eve? When do you get your Christmas tree? In our house, the Elf makes his first appearance the day after Thanksgiving. We traditionally switch gears to Christmas mode the Friday after Thanksgiving. (Really, right after the turkey dinner, it’s bring on Christmas!) It has been a tradition in our house to get out the decorations and go get our live tree that weekend, so it made sense for us to see the Elf at the same time. (Also, the kids drive us nuts asking where the Elf is way before Thanksgiving. While their constant queries can be annoying, I love that they are so excited about a tradition! We start as early as we can.) You can tell the kids that the Elf doesn’t show up until the decorations go up because he can only visit a decorated house. Whatever rationale works for you, go for it.
Key Dates Can Help You Remember
It’s easy to remember when to start this tradition if you tie the Elf’s first appearance to another key date in December. Start on December 1st when all of the advent calendars kick in. Or, a friend of mine starts her Elf on the Shelf fun on December 6th, which is St. Nicholas Day. Someone else told me they start December 13th because it is 12 days before Christmas.
What is Your Level of Enthusiasm?
I’ve had some friends say that they just can’t remember to hide the Elf or come up with a new hiding place every day for a month. It adds stress to an already stressful time of year. If that is the way you feel, start 5 or 10 nights before Christmas so the tradition doesn’t become overwhelming for you. (If you need ideas on where or how to hide the Elf, I’m starting a new series on creative Elf hiding places. Check back for some inspiration.)
Bottomline, there is no right or wrong answer on when to start the Elf on the Shelf tradition. Have Ziggy or Petunia or Mr. Twinkle Toes come out when you are ready for some Holiday family fun. If the kids are excited about the tradition then give them a date to look forward to. Anticipation makes it more fun!
When do you start your family’s Elf on the Shelf tradition?
Don’t throw out your Christmas cards yet! There is still joy and fun to be had with them. In our house we tend to be so busy during the Holiday Season that when the Christmas cards come in I open them, glance at them, and then put them into a container to read later. (I have to open them to make sure I haven’t missed anyone new for our Christmas card list.) After Christmas my husband and I go through the pile and spend time catching up on the news our friends and family share in their cards. Finally, they hit the recycle bin.
Last year, a gentleman at one of my speaking engagements told me about a great tradition they do in their house with their cards. They have an art show. He said his family tapes all of the cards up on a wall in their house and then they vote on their favorite card for the year. I know I tend to open the cards quickly and say “Oh, that’s cute” but I don’t really stop to look at the cards as a piece of art and I should, because some are amazing. Even the photo postcards can be admired for the composition of the card or the photography itself. He said that the winning card gets put in a box with the other year’s winners so you have a showcase of the “best-of-the-best” in Christmas-themed art. You could also make a scrapbook or my daughter had the idea of making a story book using the winning cards as the illustrations. I’m totally digging that idea and she is on it.
Here’s an idea to make the voting easier. Have everyone in the family pick their top 3 favorite cards. Take down all of the rest off the wall. Now you have a smaller selection. Then have everyone choose 3 favorites again. Keep whittling it down until you have 3 cards total on the wall. Have everyone explain what they like best about their favorite card and why it should win. For the final vote, have everyone write their favorite on a piece of paper so it’s an anonymous vote and crown the winner. If it is a tie or no one can agree, then Mom’s pick wins. Why? You shouldn’t even have to ask.
Here’s another great idea to recycle and get more out of your Christmas cards. Aubrey at The Mother Huddle blog had a great idea for making a Christmas card photo collage. Read her post on how to do it.
Any other ideas of what to do with your Christmas cards?
I was thrilled to be invited to WGN-TV today to share my ideas for a Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Party. Watch the video and let me know what you think. What do you normally do for New Year’s Eve? If you stay home with the kids, how do you celebrate?
For more information on my party ideas, check the write-up on the WGN site or my last blog post.
Now that the kids are out of school on Winter Break, are you looking for some activities to keep them amused? I found some really cute craft, cooking, and computer ideas that I wanted to share.
While I usually spend most of my time keeping my son off of the computer, there are some very cute sites where the kids can enjoy some Holiday Cyber Fun.
In today’s day and age of GPS and microchip tracking technology, you’ll be glad to know that even Santa can’t stay off of the grid. Have fun with your kids tracking Santa as he makes his way across the globe at www.noradsanta.org. You can play games online and even check the weather at the North Pole. Want even more fun? Sign up for Facebook or Twitter updates of what Santa is doing. You can even download an App to track his progress on your phone.
Finally, send your kids a personalized video from Santa. This site is so cute!
The Chicagoland area has some wonderful family-oriented activities to help you celebrate the Holidays and have fun together. Here are a few well-known and lesser-known local Holiday favorites that my family loves to do. Many of these have become Holiday Traditions that our kids look forward to every year.
Younger Kids:
Wonderland Express – Holiday Train Exhibit at Botanical Gardens
Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza – This is my family’s favorite thing to do every Christmas. We have been 3 times already this year.
Christmas Around the World at the Museum of Science & Industry – While the exhibit is nice and has a lot of great history, I would go see the Jim Henson exhibit before it closes and then also check out the decorated Christmas trees. The Gingerbread Museum in the lobby is AWESOME!
Ice Skating Millenium Park – Rockerfeller Plaza doesn’t have the mighty Bean behind it, now does it? Friday nights in December there is caroling in front of the Cloudgate sculpture (aka the Bean) at 6 p.m. Haven’t gone yet but I’m sure the photo ops are incredible.
Any Age:
Carriage ride on Michigan Avenue – Grab yours by the Water Tower
For those of you who live in the Chicagoland area, I will be conducting a workshop at Make A Messterpiece in Glenview tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. and next Wednesday, December 15th at 6 p.m. on How to Create Fun & Enduring Family Holiday Traditions.
Here’s what I will be covering:
The Holidays are a great opportunity to start new family traditions or rediscover long-held family Holiday traditions that you and your kids will look forward to every year. Traditions are the glue that bind a family together but more importantly, provide opportunities for fun.
Sue Kirchner, Family Fun Coach, will share ideas on how to strengthen existing and start new family Holiday Traditions to create memories and laughter. She’ll share tips on conducting research on your family’s Holiday traditions, identifying which traditions mean the most to you and your kids, and ideas on updating long-held family traditions. She’ll also share some great ideas for new Holiday Traditions as well as favorite Holiday activities that the Chicagoland area has to offer.
Workshops are about 30 minutes long, free and you can bring your kids. If you haven’t been in to see Make A Messterpiece yet, definitely come and check it out. Your kids will have a blast in the various creative studio stations.
Contact me at sue (at) chocolatecakeclub.com for more details. Hope to see you there. It will be fun!
To make a holiday tradition more fun and memorable, don’t forget to “Make it a Party.” No one said that you have to limit family traditions to just family. Some of our favorite Holiday traditions involve our best friends or neighbors:
Every Christmas, we have a gift exchange with some of our closest friends. It’s like Christmas Eve Lite.
We always try to invite friends to our Holiday meals who might be home alone that year.
We also meet our best friends every year for the Fourth Presbyterian Church Holiday Concert (http://www.fourthchurch.org/concerts.html#december)in downtown Chicago. We have gone for several years now and the kids love it. We head down to the Church for their Tower Brass concert and then walk around Michigan Ave. looking at the lights before grabbing dinner. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the season and experience the beauty of the city during the Holidays. (This year the concert is Dec. 18th at 5 p.m.)
Our neighborhood had a tradition of having a house decorating contest with a snowman theme. Each house on our block tries to decorate with as many snowmen as possible. We would all meet for a party at a neighbor’s house. During the party the whole group would put on their coats and march around the block in the dark and the cold, voting on which house had the best snowman “spirit.” Try it with your neighbors this year and let the competition and laughter begin.
Last year, one of the neighbors organized a Caroling party for some Holiday fun.
Every year two friends and I meet up for a Girls Night Out Holiday Tea at a swanky hotel downtown. While we might not pull it off every year, it does get us talking and reminiscing during December, so we don’t lose touch. I look forward to the thought of Holiday Tea just as much as actually having it. (more…)
Looking for a way to spice up your family’s Holiday Traditions this year? I suggest you Be Creative and Try Something New to add a little variety to your Holiday Season and make it more fun this year.
While we all love traditions and look forward to them every year because they provide a foundation for the family’s Holiday activities, it doesn’t mean you can’t adapt or update the tradition or try something new entirely. Variety is the spice of life! What’s the worst that could happen? You don’t like the new activity and you don’t do it again next year.
So, instead of putting on your Santa Hat, put on your thinking caps and get the whole family to brainstorm some creative ways to amp up your existing Holiday Traditions. If your family has a tradition of cutting down a real tree every year, try wearing Santa Hats or dressing like lumberjacks this year to give the event a little silliness and flair. If you all bake Holiday cookies together, be adventurous and try a new recipe or one that sounds really wild. Do all the girls in your family get together for Holiday Tea? Ask everyone to wear an audacious hat to make the affair more elegant and/or goofy.
If your family seems a little burned out on the tried and true family traditions, be adventurous this year and try a new activity that you’ve heard or read about. Who knows? It may become a new favorite. So, if you always go to see the Christmas Carol play, try the Nutcracker Ballet this year. If you’ve never had a real Christmas tree, try cutting one down this year and see if you like the difference. If your kids are a little older now, try going to Midnight Mass. Invite other people to your Hannukah celebration to teach them about your traditions. Try making your menorah this year instead of using the family favorite. Or, buy a candle making set and have the whole family make candles this year for the Celebration of Light. (I’m not Jewish but I asked my friends about their traditions and looked and online for ideas. I found a really nice article on Hannukah traditions to do with your kids. Let me know what you think.)
Our Elf on the Shelf Family Holiday Tradition started up again yesterday. My kids were so psyched. They have been asking for days when “Jack” was coming and so we officially started December 1st. We’ve been playing this fun Hide ‘n Seek game every Christmas for the past 4 years now. Now that my kids are older and we’ve been doing this for awhile, I wanted some creative ways to have even more fun with our Elf this year. Here are a few ideas that I thought up and some fun ones I found online. I’ll be adding more as I get inspired throughout the next 20ish days.
Watch the Video
The creators of Elf on the Shelf put together a super cute video on how the Elves get ready for the Christmas season. You can watch it with the kids here.
Catch them in the Act
These Elves are photogenic. While the kids are sleeping or at school, take some funny photos of the Elves raiding the fridge or peeking in the wrapped presents or sleeping with the cat. Take them off center and close-up so it looks like the Elf took his or her own picture.
Elf Letters
My daughter loves to write letters. She writes some for Santa, Rudolph, Buddy from the Elf movie, the Tooth Fairy, the Pumpkin Fairy and our St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun. So have your kids write a note or letter to your Elf and maybe he’ll answer overnight. Want to make it even funnier – write the letter in an “Elf” language that no one understands or have the Elf write backwards so the kids have to hold the note up to a mirror to read.
The Elf was Here
Leave clues around the house that show that the Elf was moving around. A cereal box tipped over, Christmas cards out and on the floor, little footprints on the kitchen table or even have the Elf write his or her name out using raisins, Cheerios, legos or in some spilled flour. Here’s a cute idea – spill some flour out on the counter and then have the Elf make a snow angel in the flour.
Bake Up Some Fun
When the kids come downstairs for breakfast, won’t they be surprised to find a fresh batch of Christmas cookies on the kitchen counter that the Elf “baked” overnight?
Here are some very fun ideas I found online that would appeal to older kids or teens to keep the fun going.
Don’t Let the Elf Drive the Car
I read that a family would put their Elf in the driver’s seat of the car up on phone books or books so it looked like he was joy riding at night. Park the car in a crazy position, backwards, or out on the street to show that the Elf was out on the town and really shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
Elves are Socially Savvy
I read about some families setting up Facebook, Twitter or email accounts to talk with their teens or tweens or keep a Cyber “eye” on who’s naughty or nice online. The Elves can also find funny Christmas inspired sites to forward to the kids.
Fun in the “Off” Season
My kids always joke about what “Jack” our Elf does on his time off. What the heck does he do the other 11 months of the year? I think it would be a blast to give the Elf to friends or family you know who are traveling and ask them to take a picture of the Elf in that location. You know, like the gnome in the movie Amelie. The Elf can then send postcards or photos to the kids to keep the fun going all year long.
There are so many fun things to do this Holiday Season. Make sure you and your family plan to spend time together during this crazy busy time of year. For some inspiration, check out the post I wrote on 5 Simple Ideas for Holiday Family Fun over at the Parents Tested, Parents Approved blog.
I’ll be adding more ideas here on my site as the season progresses.
Let me know what you and your family will be doing to have fun this Season.
When Does the Holiday Season Officially Start for Your Family?
When does the Christmas season officially start in your house? The day after Thanksgiving? The 1st of December? Christmas Eve? When do you get your Christmas tree? In our house, the Elf makes his first appearance the day after Thanksgiving. We traditionally switch gears to Christmas mode that Friday after Thanksgiving. It has been a tradition in our house to get out the decorations and go get our live tree that weekend, so it made sense for us to see the Elf at the same time. (Also, the kids drive us nuts asking where the Elf is way before Thanksgiving. While their constant queries can be annoying, I love that they are so excited about a tradition! We start as early as we can.) You can tell the kids that the Elf doesn’t show up until the decorations go up because he can only visit a decorated house. Whatever rationale works for you, go for it.
Key Dates Can Help You Remember
It’s easy to remember when to start this tradition if you tie the Elf’s first appearance to another key date in December. Start on December 1st when all of the advent calendars kick in. Or, a friend of mine starts her Elf on the Shelf fun on December 6th, which is St. Nicholas Day. Someone else told me they start December 13th because it is 12 days before Christmas.
What is Your Level of Enthusiasm?
I’ve had some friends say that they just can’t remember to hide the Elf or come up with a new hiding place every day for a month. It adds stress to an already stressful time of year. If that is the way you feel, start 5 or 10 nights before Christmas so the tradition doesn’t become overwhelming for you. (If you need ideas on where or how to hide the Elf, I’m starting a new series on creative Elf hiding places. Check back for some inspiration.)
Bottomline, there is no right or wrong answer on when to start the Elf on the Shelf tradition. Have Ziggy or Petunia or Mr. Twinkle Toes come out when you are ready for some Holiday family fun. If the kids are excited about the tradition then give them a date to look forward to. Anticipation makes it more fun!
When do you start your family’s Elf on the Shelf tradition?
Here’s another day’s worth of fun ideas to do with your family this Holiday Season. Good tidings we wish to you, but no figgy pudding.
Watch: It’s Friday night and the kids can stay up so you can watch a longer Christmas show, so let’s start with a classic – Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Nothing reminds me more of Christmas as a kid then sitting in front of the TV waiting for the theme music saying that a special presentation was coming up and then watching Rudolph. In today’s age of DVDs and DVRs, kids don’t feel the same sense of “need” that we did growing up to not miss when the show was airing on TV. We had to stay home and be glued in front of the TV when this all important show was on. I think I can recite all of the lines to this one. My favorite character is Yukon Cornelius, of course. “Put some heart into it boy!” But I also love the Burl Ives score as he sings Silver and Gold. Leave a comment below and tell me about your favorite scene is.
Read:The Grinch. Enough said. (We’ll recommend watching it too in a different post but it is definitely worth reading the book as well.)
Bake: My second favorite Christmas cookies, that also remind me so much of my youth, were Spritz Cookie-Gun Cookies. (They call them cookie presses now but we always called it a cookie gun growing up.) My mother made these every year and I love them. However, I haven’t made them as an adult because I can never find a good cookie press. My brother made them last year when our family visited last Christmas and I think I must have eaten 4 dozen of them they just reminded me so much of childhood. We loved decorating them as kids. My favorites were the little flowers with the cinnamon hearts in the center. Grab a cookie press, check out this recipe and introduce your kids to the magic of squeezing tasty dough out of a tube into shapes. They are muy tasty.
Craft:Make these adorable Penguin Christmas ornaments, which we found over at Kaboose. http://crafts.kaboose.com/penguin-pals-ornaments.html
Pure Fun: More computer fun for the kids. Go to http://www.northpole.com/ and see all of the games and Christmas related activities. We liked the dancing Santa.
Leave us your ideas on how to have fun with your family during the Holidays or tell us what your remember about your childhood Christmas.
OK, I missed getting this post out yesterday and I apologize profusely. We were slammed with orders yesterday and then I had a Holiday party to go to in the evening, which is when I usually have the time to write. I had a few glasses of wine at the party and when I got home I decided to follow the wise advice of “Don’t drink and blog.” I think we are all safer that way. Anyway, here are my ideas for today.
DAY 3 – Holiday Family Fun Ideas
Watch: Another favorite of ours is Santa vs. the Snowman. Whether we watch this funny movie with 3-D glasses or not, I love the pop culture references in the movie. Elves battling snowmen with super jets in the North Pole appeals to the goof ball kid in me. I love Jonathan Winters and he makes a great Santa. Note: We took my son to see this movie in 3-D at an Omnimax theater when my son was 3. Big mistake. He freaked at the enormity of the screen and the 3-D objects hurtling at him in the movie. Watch it at home without the 3-D glasses if you think your kids might get a little nervous.
Read: We read Russell’s Christmas Magic by Rob Scotton before bed last night. The illustrations are so cute in these books. The red color for Santa and the “fixed-up sleigh” just jump off the page. Even though this is more of a toddler book, my kids still love to read it just for the illustrations.
Bake: When I was a kid I loved it when my Mom made Cornflake Marshmallow Wreath Cookies. They were gooey, had cinnamon hearts and turned your tongue green. Loved every bite! Here’s the recipe for these ultra-fun, kid-friendly, Cornflake Wreath Cookies from Kellogg’s.
Note: Send us your favorite Holiday cookie recipe and we’ll include it in one of our future posts.
Craft: How about this Stuffed Felt Santa Ornament, that we found over at Kaboose. This would be a cute gift for Grandma and Grandpa, friends at school, or even teachers.
Pure Fun: In today’s day and age of GPS and microchip tracking technology, you’ll be glad to know that even Santa can’t stay off of the grid. Have fun with your kids tracking Santa as he makes his way across the globe at www.noradsanta.org. You can play games online and even check the weather at the North Pole. Want even more? Sign up for Facebook or Twitter updates of what Santa is doing. Now who’s who to see who’s been naughty and who’s been nice?
Send us your favorite ideas and we may include them in one of our future posts. Check back later tonight for Day 4!
I hope you were inspired by our ideas yesterday to start some Holiday Family Fun at your house. Here are some more ideas to get the family smiling and saying “Wow, you are the coolest Mom on the planet!” (OK, maybe that’s a stretch but the Holidays are for dreams, right?)
DAY 2 Holiday Family Fun Ideas
Read: Tonight we read Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner. This fun board book is not only cute, but inspires some ideas for outdoor, snowy fun. Who wouldn’t love to see snowmen come to life at night and cruise around town?
Note: We just came across a great idea at another Mom’s blog site and thought we would share. Over at This Girl Loves to Talk, their family has a tradition of wrapping 24 Christmas themed books. Starting December 1st, every night the kids get to unwrap a book and read together. Pure genius!
Watch: We didn’t have time to watch any Holiday shows tonight but if we did, we would have watched A Charlie Brown’s Christmas. The dance scene is too funny, (come on, do your Linus Dance!) but the best part is when Linus explains the true meaning of Christmas. In fact, this year since our house is all ripped up for renovations, we have no room to put up our Christmas tree. The kids were really bummed until I went out and got the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. We now have it sitting in our family room waiting to be dwarfed by wrapped presents.
Bake: Our most requested cookie in the Kirchner household for the Holidays are classic Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies or Peanut Blossoms. (I personally don’t eat them, but sometimes you have to bake one for the team.) There are a million recipes out there for this cookie but our family seems to prefer the one in the Gooseberry Patch Old Fashioned Country Cookie Recipe Book. Definitely get the kids involved in baking these. They love doing the stuff that I find mind-numbing like unwrapping the kisses and rolling the dough into little balls.
Craft: AmazingMoms.com has a very cute idea to make Reindeer Candy Holders. Very cute and you can immediately fill them with Chocolate when you are done for a truly Chocolate Cake Moment with the kids.
Pure Fun: If you live in a fun neighborhood, organize a Neighborhood Decorating Contest/ Party. One of our neighbors came up with the idea a few years ago of encouraging everyone to decorate the outsides of their houses with Snowmen. Then they threw a party inviting all of the neighbors. The night of the party, we all had to walk around the block in the cold and vote on which houses had the most “Snowman Spirit”. It was a blast and we continue to do it every year. It’s so funny to see a neighbor put out a new snowman decoration and everyone runs over to check it out and ask where they got it. True Holiday bonding.
Please share your ideas or other great ideas you have seen on other sites. We love to see them and share. Check in tomorrow for Day 3.
There are so many ways to have fun with your family around the Holidays. However, it’s very easy to get caught up in the stress and crazy-busy schedules during the Holidays that we forget to stop and have some fun. (What do you mean we forgot to get a present for your Spanish teacher? Why has the cat eaten all of the curling ribbon? I can’t wait for that gift to come out. Where did I put the Christmas cards that I bought last January on sale?) So, as a way to remind myself to plan some fun for the family every day during the Holiday Season and not become the Grinch, I will be sharing some fun ideas every day. From reading Holiday-themed books before bedtime to watching your favorite Christmas specials to finding that perfect craft or cookie recipe, I hope I can inspire you to do something every day to keep your family smiling during December. Smile and wave kids … smile and wave.
DAY 1 Holiday Family Fun Ideas
Read: Tonight we read Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. While my kids are a little too old for this picture book, it is still a Holiday favorite. The illustrations are too cute and the rhyming words are perfect for lulling everyone to sleep. (I want some of the cookies that Bear makes his friends!)
Watch: We didn’t have a lot of time to watch anything after dinner and homework but we snuck in one of my all time favorite Christmas shows – Ziggy’s Gift. I was a huge Ziggy fan growing up and the first time I saw this Christmas special I was bawling. Guess what?After watching again tonight, I’m still tearing up. I love this story about the true meaning of giving and forgiveness at Christmas. My kids love the thief. Go figure.
Bake: We are in the process of renovating our kitchen and haven’t had an oven for about 6 weeks now. Because I can’t bake, I have been dreaming about homemade Holiday cookies for several nights now. But if you have an oven, go ahead and make these with your kids. They love rolling the cookies into a ball and then rolling them in powdered sugar. Sure, it makes a mess. Sure, these cookies are pure butter. But that’s why I love them. Here’s a recipe that is close to how we make them, only we use ground pecans because the kids don’t like the texture of nut pieces in the cookie.
Craft: I’ve been on the hunt for some really cute but really easy Holiday crafts to do with the kids. You know the kind where I don’t need to spend all day shopping for supplies, doesn’t take three days of drying time to complete, and actually looks cute when finished. Well I found a fun site called Homemaking Fun and I liked their idea for making Magical Reindeer Food to sprinkle in the snow. If you are lucky, you’ll have everything you need in the house already.
Pure Fun: If your family has adopted an Elf on the Shelf, tonight is the night to start. At least in our house it is. (Some people start the day after Thanksgiving, some on December 6th which is St. Nicholas Day, and some on the 15th because they only want to hide the Elf for 10 nights.) You choose. Never heard of Elf on the Shelf? Well, this post explains it all.
We’ll be sharing ideas every day for 25 days but we’d love to hear your favorite way to have fun during the Holidays. Please share them by leaving a comment here. Check back tomorrow!
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