It’s The Most Wonderful Time of Year

Are you stressed, exhausted & excited all in one? It seems like each holiday season gets a little bit more challenging to keep up with. The shopping, parties and decorations easily distract away from the true meaning behind this funtastic holiday. What can we do to incorporate meaning along with all the fun?? How about stories, home-made crafts and sing-alongs.

Read Holiday Stories
Leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ birth an easy and fun way to incorporate the meaning of Christmas is reading holiday stories together. Why not de-emphasize some of the holiday programming and take a trip to the library for some holiday stories. An evening story time encourages togetherness, de-emphasizes some of the hype and is a nice reminder for everyone why we celebrate. A few favorite stories include: Room for a Little One, Who is coming to Our House, and God Gave us Christmas. You can read the story of Christmas online too, just click here!

Make-Your-Own Holiday Gifts
Encourage making holidays gifts for friends and family. It is a great way to remind each other that it is not the value of a gift rather the thoughtfulness behind it. There are so many wonderful homemade gift ideas, here are a few of my easy-to-make favorites! Click to read the full instructions for each. See photos above.

• Tip Junkies Cinnamon Vanilla Scrub: Simply mix together Pure sugar cane, light olive oil, vitamin E oil, cinnamon essential oil and vanilla extract in a glass container with a lid. 
• Martha Stewart’s Foolproof Holiday Fudge: This recipe doesn’t rely on a candy thermometer to get the texture just right. It’s simple enough for children to make!
• Martha Stewarts Pantry Soaps: Mix ingredients together and use common household items as your molds. 
• Family Fun’s Kids Art Magnets: A functional and creative gift. Great for the Grandparents.
• Family Fun’s Felted Sweater Coffee Cup holders: Who doesn’t need one of these!

Sing, Sing-along
Togetherness and goodwill can create special memories and wonderful traditions in your family. It may sound corny but family togetherness can also happen by singing along to holiday songs together. Visit Links2Love.com for an endless selection of printable holiday song lyrics! A few favorites are Away in a Manger, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Joy to the World, Come, All Ye Faithful. Keep in mind that fabulous holiday music stations can be found on Pandora and on cable music channels. 

No matter how you choose to bound with your family make it meaningful, have hot cocoa and take a ride to see the lights. That pretty much sums up my memories from childhood and I’m living it out again through their eyes. That to me is the true meaning of Christmas. Enjoy! 

Related Topics: Christmas crafts, Holiday Crafts, and holiday gift ideas