Get Your Children Excited for Santa

Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 in Holiday

Christmas is just around the corner! The job may already be done for you, but there are a lot of things parents can do to help get their children in the Christmas spirit and excited for Santa’s visit.

Put Up the Christmas Tree
Many families put up their Christmas trees very early in December. This is a great opportunity to bond with children and involve them in the holiday process. Foster creativity by letting them put ornaments in unconventional places; an unused vase filled with shiny Christmas balls makes an eye-catching centrepiece for the table.

Start an Advent Calendar
Those chocolate advent calender, like so many other other aspects of the season, takes a christian tradition (in this case the days of advent) and mass-commercializes it down to a waxy chocolate treat. Arguments aside, opening a new chocolate decoration every day in the lead-up to Christmas helps to build anticipation and teach young children about the passage of time.

Presents are Surprises
In my family, whenever we give gifts to other people we keep them a surprise until the time they are opened. This was always one of the most fun aspects of the holidays, to me. When you’ve picked a present that you know the other person is really going to love, it’s almost as unbearable to not give it to them early as it is for them wondering what you might have thought of.

Some families don’t do the surprise presents – sometimes a gift giver is with the recipient when they make or buy their present! That is a great way to bond, too. There is no wrong way to celebrate the holidays, and no wrong way to bond with our loved ones. The priceless look on a child’s (or adult’s!) face when they open a gift they love but weren’t expecting can really make the surprise worthwhile.

Sing Songs
Even if you aren’t the greatest vocalist in the world, encourage song in your household. Children connect to music on many levels, and familiar Christmas songs build excitement for the big day as well as general good feelings. This works all year round, too!

Enjoy Each Other’s Company
This time of year is great for spending time with loved ones. There are more statutory holidays and often workplace-provided days off. Rather than using the free time to catch up on housework or shop for more presents, use it to spend time with the kids. It’s so easy to get lost in the moment that we don’t always take the time we should with the people who give us the drive to keep doing all that we do. Drop everything and play with the baby. There is nothing so important that it can’t wait.