Vacation days are the ideal time to create wonderfully happy family memories. Children love getting close to mommy and daddy when it’s cold outside and warm at home. They adore the chance to get to know their siblings even better in a low key setting at home or in a place that celebrates the holidays. There are lots of ways to encourage great family time even when kids are busy with plenty of school activities. Activities that let everyone in the family, both young and old, participate are ideal. These are activities that can be geared to the holiday season and allow parents to show how much they care about their kids.
Fast Road Trip
Think about surprising kids with a road trip. Kids love getting away from their daily routine. They appreciate the chance to spend a weekend or even longer away from home. Enough truck storage can make sure that all family members can take what they need with them. Consider places within a three hour car ride. This gives kids enough time to stretch out during the trip and enjoy looking out the window. Many communities have lots places that your children may not have seen before. Ask kids about the sights they’d like to see most. Their friends may have visited a local zoo or seen a national park in person. Lots of places hold special events during the holidays. Find out about such events in advance and plan the visit when they’re happening.
Game Night
Good old fashioned board games are a wonderful opportunity for easy family fun nights. They’re inexpensive. Adults can explain the rules and demonstrate what kids needs to do. Even young kids can learn to play games geared to their age group such as Candy Land. Older kids can have fun playing lots of different card games. Parents can set aside time once a week to devote to this activity. Let kids pick out the games they like best. Children may indicate they would like certain games they don’t have right now. This is a good opportunity to find out what the kids would like for Christmas or Hanukkah. Bring out hot drinks like tea and hot chocolate that kids can sip something delicious as they play with their siblings. Let kids accumulate points over time and reward each child for their participation with a small prize.
Baking Treats
This next Christmas, fill the house with great scents like ginger and cinnamon. Get in the holiday spirit and encourage kids to learn baking skills at the same time. Kids of all ages can make lots of fabulous homemade treats. Ask kids to think about the kind of treats they like best. They might love homemade brownies, gingerbread cookies or lemon bars. Help kids pick out ingredients in advance. They can learn to do math skills by converting cups to metric measurements and vise versa. Kids can also learn how to add their own special touches to the things they bake. Take time to visit the bakery aisle of the local grocery store or a specialty shop with different baking items like sprinkles they can add to the top of their finished bakery treats.
Charity Work
The holidays are the ideal time to teach kids important values like gratitude, empathy and sharing with others. Plan visits to places during the holidays that help kids acquire such feelings. Consider a visit to a nursing home, soup kitchen and homeless shelter. Kids can hand out toys to others who are not as fortunate, read a story to seniors and help serve good food to the hungry. Parents can feel great knowing they are part of an effort to make life better in their community.
Activities like these are activities that bind families together and make them feel part of a family and part of their much larger local area.
