1) A big part of making Christmas special is just spending time with the kids. Go ahead, do a gingerbread house, decorate the Christmas tree, take them to look at Christmas lights. Everything helps.
2) Tradition. With my family, the kids get new pajamas Christmas eve to wear, but it could be a certain Christmas book or a special movie you all like to watch together. Starting a tradition can lead to some of the best memories you'll ever make.
3) Recently, I found this great site called Reindeer Cam (http://reindeercam.com/) 24/7 you can watch Mr. and Mrs. Stix, two wonderful reindeer, live in their pen. Usually an elf comes out to feed them, but right now SANTA comes to feed them three times a day! Also, if you send them a letter, you can get your child's name up on their "Nice List," which is a little electric sign that hangs on the barn. It's fantastic when Santa waves at your child, and it's completely free! I can't wait to show two of my siblings, Maggie and Walt. They're gonna love it!
4) This year, I also become acquainted with a little guy called the Elf on the Shelf. The premise is simple, Santa sends out an elf to every house to help him keep track of who is being naughty or nice. Every night, the elf goes back to the north pole to do his report, and every morning the elf is found hiding in a crazy place! I'm so excited to do this with the kids this year!
5) Watching Christmas movies. Watching Christmas movies with my family has become one of my favorite things about the season. There's something truly amazing about gathering together all in one room and just enjoying each other's company. Some of the best ones to watch with kids (in my humble opinion) are the Polar Express (I love the moral in it. You come away feeling like you really learned something,) Elf with Will Ferrell, who is one of the funniest guys of all time, and, an all-time classic, The Christmas Story (I like this one because everyone can relate to the hectic family trying to make it through Christmas. It puts a funny light on the stresses we all have to go through every December.)
6) Take them to spend time with their elderly relatives. Maybe they won't understand the significance now, but years from now they'll be really glad they had the opportunity to.
7) Teach them about what Christmas is really all about. Even if you're not super religious, go to church Christmas Eve, or at least read them a book about it. CHRISTmas, isn't about getting gifts or eating food or any of that, it's a Christian holiday.
8) Decorate the Christmas tree together. This is definitely one of the things kids love. They get to feel like they're really DOING something for the family, not just shoved aside so the adults can do everything.
9) Sit down and write a letter to Santa together. It reaffirms their faith in the big guy and it gives you ideas for what they might like for Christmas. Whoever thought of this is brilliant. Oh, and make sure you write one too. And before you mail them, write down what the children want on another piece of paper.
10) Donate some of your time to a charity. Even if money is tight this year, your church usually has something you can do, or you can find a shelter, or you can find a place they feed the homeless. Or, better yet, you could feed the homeless yourself. My Key Club at school did a huge burrito making party, then they all went around and gave them to people on corners asking for food. You never really appreciate a meal until you see someone who has had to go without.
11) Write some Christmas cards. Even if they're just the cheap pack from the Dollar Store, people genuinely appreciate getting one in the mail, and relatives (especially ones too far away to see very often) adore getting school pictures of your kids in them.
12) Use the Official NORAD Santa Tracker. On December 1, you can start tracking Santa's planned progress across the globe. It really helps with the "How can Santa get to all the children?" questions.
13) Make Christmas cookies with your kids. Or at least some kind of treat. Whether you give them to family and friends or keep them all to yourself, time in the kitchen around Christmas is definitely fun, easy family bonding time.
14) If you happen to be in a place where you get a white Christmas, go out and play in the snow. Bundle up super warm and build a snowman and have a snowball fight. Not only is it gorgeous, but kids get so excited to be playing in the snow, and you can get some great pictures, too!
15) Most importantly, just have fun with your kids, because they'll be gone before you know it.
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