5 Christmas Traditions You Can Start With Your Grandkids
It’s that time of year again. Sleigh bells are ringing. The neighbors are putting up an epic lights display or (for the less ambitious) a wreath and floodlight. And in elementary schools everywhere, little kids are counting down the days until Christmas break.
If they don’t spend all of their free time romping in the snow, this means more visits from the grandkids and more opportunities to start traditions and make priceless holiday memories.
From all of us at Seniormark, here are a few ideas to liven up those visits with spirited traditions to help others and have fun!
Bake Some Christmas Cookies—And Put the Grandkids on Decoration Duty
Blast a Christmas music playlist (perhaps one that the grandkids help create) and spend a wintry day inside the warm house baking. Then, when the cookies are all good and cooled off, ice them, and then break out the holiday sprinkles of all shapes, sizes, and colors for a decorating party. With the extra help, you can make enough for them to take home for their parents, themselves, and Santa.
My mom does this every year with the grandkids, and they love it. And, considering the fact that her famous sugar cookies rarely make it to New Years, I think it is safe to say the adults like it as well.
Go Out and Look at Christmas Lights—and Make a Scavenger Hunt Out of it!
Make some hot cocoa, hop in the car, and enjoy the light show one evening with your grandkids. The lights are beautiful to see on almost every house, but there are always those choice few houses that really make it spectacular (A.K.A. the try hards J).
You can even make it into a scavenger hunt with a checklist like this one. The first one to find a blow up peanuts character wins!
Put Together an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox
This is a great way to get your grandkids thinking about others this holiday season. Instead of always thinking about what their own gifts will be, it gives them an opportunity to think about what it might be like for other children who are not quite as fortunate as them.
With this organization, each of your grandkids can fill a shoebox for a child that is their same age. So take a few hours and head up to Walmart to do this with them. It will mean a lot to them, and it will bless a child in need. What a wonderful tradition!
Make a Special Ornament With Them
Every kid likes crafts, and ornaments that have memories behind them are much better than generic ones, so why not spend a few hours with your grandkids and make it happen. This buzzfeed article has a lot of great ideas for different ornaments you can make from clothespin reindeer to bottle cap snowmen.
You’ve Heard of Elf on the Shelf, But How About Kindness Elves?
The elf that gets into mischief has become very popular in recent years, but these elves suggest random acts of kindness as they move around the house during the night. Then, after the child completes his act of kindness, the next day the elves give the child a postcard to put in their “Little Book of Big Kindnesses.” This will work best if your grandkid lives close and comes over often during the Christmas season!
Just poking around the Internet, there are tons of other ideas out there. This post from theimaginationtree.com is my favorite collection of ideas. But whether you take one of our ideas, take up one from theimaginationtree.com, or invent your own, be sure to savor every moment of Christmas joy with your grandkids.
All of us at Seniormark wish you a Merry Christmas and blessed New Year!
Confused about Medicare and your options? Call Seniormark at 937-492-8800 for expert help at no cost to you!