The Holidays are a great opportunity to have some Holiday themed fun with your family.  However, the season is short and there is a lot to do – gift buying, baking, wrapping, decorating, etc.  Don’t let the stress overwhelm you so that you forget to plan some fun. After all, the Holidays are all about family.

There are so many activities around the Holidays like plays, concerts, and parties to keep your family in the fun. But it’s also nice to just relax, stay in, maybe light a fire, admire your decorations, and rediscover your family room.  To inspire you, here are some fun ideas to try with your family to create memories and lots of smiles. Who knows, maybe it will become a tradition.

Holiday Game Night. Pick a evening, put your favorite Holiday jammies on early, and have fun playing some games. We like to set up the game by our Christmas tree to admire the ornaments while we play. You can give away prizes for the winners – candy canes, tiny stockings, or “coupons” to go shopping with Mom, get out of the dishes, or be the first to open gifts on Christmas Eve. Make it a tradition to play a new game every year.

Have Fun Giving Back. Teach your kids the importance of helping others, especially during the Holiday Season. Help pack Christmas Care Packages for the troops. Buy gifts for local families in need. Create cookie care packages for a local nursing home. Make bird seed “ornaments” with pine cones, peanut butter, and bird seed to decorate trees outside and feed the birds in winter. You can do the same thing every year or take turns picking a new charitable activity.

Organize a Neighborhood Caroling Party.  Remember how much fun you had Christmas caroling as a kid? Why not host an old-fashioned, fun Caroling Party for your neighborhood?  It’s easy and gets everyone in the Holiday Spirit. Pick a night, invite all of the neighbors to meet in someone’s driveway, print out some song sheets, and have wagons full of hot chocolate to keep everyone warm. Then after caroling, invite them in to look at your fabulous Holiday decorations and serve cookies.

Make a Gingerbread House. Every year my kids love decorating Gingerbread Houses. If Grandma and Grandpa are visiting, we always wait and do it with them. We usually buy the kits where the pieces are already made and all we have to do is decorate. (Saves a huge amount of time!) We have even used old Halloween candy as additional decorations for the house as a way to get rid of the “less than desirable” candy that the kids never ate. There are so many different shapes and kits these days that everyone can be as creative as they want.

Make an Ornament. If you are a crafty family, make a different ornament together every year. Put them on the tree or give them as gifts. Don’t forget to mark the year on the ornament. (If you make a different ornament every year, don’t forget to put the kids’ names and dates on somewhere. When your kids are grown, you can give them all of their ornaments in a box to decorate their own tree.)

I hope this inspired you to plan some fun to keep everyone in the family smiling and the Holiday stress at bay. Happy Holidays!

Want more ideas for Holiday-inspired Family Fun and Traditions? Check out  www.ChocolateCakeMoments.com.

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