Fun & Simple ways to Capture the Christmas Spirit All Month Long

Christmas is my favorite time of year. The lights, the sounds, the smells, the season seems to be all around us. From the Peppermint Mochas in every coffee shop to the twinkling lights in our neighborhoods, it is a time to rejoice and reflect on not only the passing of the current year, but the hope for the year yet to come. It’s a time for families to come together and celebrate.

It’s also the time of year that is easiest to forget why we celebrate Christmas. In between stressing over finding the perfect Christmas gift for our loved ones and decking the halls just right, we often forget that Christmas is also about families, being thankful for what we have and finding ways to spread the love of Christ to others. We are pulled in a million different directions all year-long. And if your family is anything like ours, we tend to be connected to electronics more than we connect to each other. It can be hard to pull the kids away from their phones and computers to spend time together as a family.

A couple of years ago we started a new family tradition, “25 Days of Christmas.” Starting December 1^st, we have one activity a day to do as a family. It doesn’t have to be something big, but it has to be something that brings us together. Even something as simple as enjoying a cup of hot chocolate around the tree or visiting the community Train Garden, it’s a chance for us to reconnect as a family and to capture a little more of the holiday spirit. The kids enjoy having a new task to do every night and we have started a tradition that I hope they can pass on to their kids.

Take a look at some of our activities:

1. Make paper snowflakes

2. Watch a Christmas movie and eat popcorn

3. Make a new Christmas decoration

4. Go ice skating

5. Make Christmas cards for the nursing home

6. Make cookies

7. Make gifts for teachers and friends

8. Have a camp out in front of the Christmas tree

9. Visit the Train Garden

10. Go to 34^th Street to see the Christmas lights if your in Baltimore. Or find a place that goes over the top with christmas lights.

11. Go out for a Christmas treat

12. Wrap Christmas gifts

13. Celebrate the winter solstice by making solstice lanterns

14. Make an ice wreath

15. Do a service for someone in need

NOW YOUR TURN : )

See how many you can do and I challenge you to come up with some of your own.

Stay random!

Karen