My friends and I were gathered at a friend’s dinner party recently and Bing Crosby’s “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas”came on. All at once, we started talking about Christmas and how fast the year has gone by. We reminisced over the captivating Christmas movie, Home Alone where the young starring, Kevin, had to celebrate Christmas alone since his family had been stranded overseas.
One thing’s for sure, we will not be having a white Christmas – well if you are in Kenya that is – but we certainly hope that you will not be celebrating Christmas alone. If you have little ones around, expect them to tag at your clothes for days on end to make sure that the house starts looking ‘like Christmas’ any time now.
The best way to ensure that they get to experience this merry season and to create lasting memories is to involve them. There are tons of fun activities that you can do. With readily available materials such as manila, yarn, ribbon, glue, scissors, colors, and cotton balls you can make this Christmas a memorable holiday for them.
Send homemade Christmas cards
Rather than buy a dozen of Christmas cards for your friends and/ or neighbors this Christmas, why not ask your children to gather around and help you craft some? Be sure to cover the table with brown paper as your little ones get down to work as it can get messy. Use various manila colors and allow your kids to be as creative as they can. You will end up with many different designs to choose from. Write your Christmas wishes and drop them off to your friends personally.
Source (https://spoonful.com/crafts/handmade-christmas-tree-card)
Get decorating!
A little creativity and a couple of little hands will help you save money and have lots of fun while at it.
Paper Christmas Trees – It is amazing how much you can do with paper. Keep the kids busy by asking them to create miniature paper trees. There are many ways to do this. You can use recycled wrapping paper or just cut out colored paper. Hang them on the Christmas tree or on different areas in the house.
Source (https://leslieashe.blogspot.com/)
Source (https://www.pinterest.com/megarobertson/christmas/)
Christmas Baubles – You can buy these from local retail shops and ask your kids to help you hang them up. If you want to get them more involved, print out these stencils on white paper and ask them to color them in different shades. Not only will this be a fun activity but they will also add their personal touch to the tree.
Source (https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas-bauble-colouring-page)
Don’t forget the garland – Cut letters out of bright manila cards and use glue to stick them on a ribbon or punch two holes on the top of each letter and use a string to hang the garland over your mantel, wall, or a window.
Source (https://www.pinterest.com/maryann2013/pins/)
Twinkle twinkle (not-so-) little star – This is a great Christmas tree ornament. A real simple design would be to cut out a star shape from the manila paper. You can add some pizzaz by covering it with silver glitter. Help your little ones secure it to the tree with some tape.
Source (https://www.pinterest.com/AlmaraShop/)
Light it up!
Bring on the magic by adding Christmas lights to the tree. Go for the pack that has many light bulbs, it will make your tree look more colorful and make your space look brighter. Ask your kids to help you hang the lights.
Sing your heart out
No better way to get the Christmas mood up than by singing. Gather the kids, family, and friends together and sing your hearts out to celebrate Christmas!
