Small Memories

Christmas is a wonderful time to add to your family’s memories. Many families establish certain traditions that involve a particular holiday. This year, spice up your holidays with these 5 Christmas activities for your family.

Christmas Caroling - Christmas carolers are almost a thing of the past. This year, round up your family, dress them warmly, and go Christmas caroling through your local community. Be sure to visit your local nursing home. Many of the older folks love seeing and celebrating with you and your children. Not only will you make great memories for your family, but you will also remind others of their special times and loved ones.

Make a Gingerbread House - A gingerbread house is a very fun way to involve your family in a long-loved Christmas tradition. Bake the pieces to your gingerbread house, then let the entire family construct and decorate the house. As a surprise, get each person a gingerbread ornament to remind them of this special activity.

Share Your Childhood Traditions - Just before bedtime, grab holiday books from your childhood and read them to your children. They will love to see the different drawing styles. If your childhood books are long gone, try to find a used copy that can be purchased online.

Make Christmas Cards – Instead of buying your Christmas cards, make your own this year. You can purchase all the materials you’ll need at your local scrapbook shop or craft store. Buy blank note cards then decorate them. Insert your family’s Christmas photo inside each card before you mail them out to family and friends.

Lighting the Christmas Tree - Make lighting the tree a special occasion. Plan a special day of family fun. At the end of the day, gather your family to decorate and light the Christmas tree. Then, sit around your beautifully decorated tree and read the Christmas story while you sip on eggnog or hot cocoa.

Recommended:

Click on the gingerbread girl above  to get gingerbread keepsakes or check out our holiday gift section.

Make your Thanksgiving Day celebration more than a family meal. Thanksgiving is always a great time to take advantage of having your loved ones in one place. Here are some ideas to make your Thanksgiving Day special.

Thankful Cards – Make a card for each family member who is attending your Thanksgiving get-together this year. On the card, tell that person what you love most about them, and why you are thankful for them.

These cards can also be used as place cards. To do this, make sure you add each person’s name to the front of the card and keep the message short. If you use the thankful cards in this manner, consider making the cards small so they don’t take up a lot of room on the table.

Family Recipe Books – Have each family member bring the recipe for the dish they bring to your Thanksgiving Day celebration. After your celebration has ended, compile the recipes into a book. Print the books from your computer or have them printed at your local print shop.

To make these books extra sturdy, punch holes in the sides of the pages and add them to a three-ring binder with a nice personalized cover. These recipe books can be given to family members a week or so after your gathering or you can wait and present it to them as a Christmas gift. The choice is yours.

Family Scrapbooks – Ask family members, who attend your Thanksgiving Day celebration, to choose a recent photo of themselves; have a copy made for each family represented at the gathering; and bring the photos to the Thanksgiving celebration. The pictures can be a school picture, picture from work, or family photo. Be sure to have a digital camera handy for people who forget their pictures.

Purchase a mini scrapbook or photo album for each family attending. Consider buying stickers, markers, and various scrapbook supplies to help each family make their scrapbook special. This is a great family activity to begin after the holiday meal.

Family Recordings - Invite older members of the family to sit and talk about what Thanksgiving was like when they were young. Encourage them to give details and talk about loved ones who are no longer with you. Use a camcorder to capture the event or create an audio version to share with other family members.

Please keep in mind when recording that many older family members may not like to be “in the spotlight.” In order to make your “speaker” comfortable, you may have to do your recording out of their field of view. The key is to have them focused on the conversation rather than the camera or microphone.

Whether you choose to make thankful cards, recipe books, family scrapbooks, family recordings, or something else, do something to make Thanksgiving Day special for your family members. Older family members will love spending the time with everyone and younger members will have a memento of special people and times.