Every Christmas Eve, my friend Chrissy lets her kids sleep by the Christmas tree. When I asked her how she does presents from Santa and stocking, she said she simply waits until they're asleep and then hides the presents from Santa under the tree so the kids wake up to them in the morning, a…
The following post is from Kacey of Next Level Mama: A couple of years ago, our family started hosting a cookie decorating party for the kids and their friends the Saturday before Christmas. I'd planned to do the same again this year. However, between Christmas shopping, traveling, holiday parties and everything else, everyone's December ends…
Last year, in an attempt to make the days leading up to Christmas special and memorable for our kids, we did our own "12 Days of Christmas" countdown. It's a way for me to make sure that we actually fit in all of our fun activities and traditions since I am able to take off…
Each week at our Classical Conversations homeschool group, we have a "family presentation" and one of the families in our group shares a little bit about themselves -- their heritage, a hobby they enjoy, a trip they've taken, etc. It's really a fun way to learn all kinds of interesting things, and it's one of…
The following post is from Kate of Modern Alternative Mama: Thanksgiving is coming. For most people this will be a joyous time, a time to gather with family members that maybe you don't see too often, and give thanks for all your blessings. This is great. However, for some, there's a bit of anxiety involved. Families…
One of our greatest hopes for our girls at Christmas is that they'll learn the joy of giving gifts rather than just focusing on receiving them. Thankfully, they do get more and more excited each year about the idea of choosing the perfect gift for someone -- whether it's a friend, Sunday school teacher or…
The following post is from Myra of My Blessed Life: One of my earliest childhood memories of Christmas anticipation is making a paper chain with my mom. We always used red and green construction paper and we made the number of rings correspond with the number of days until Christmas. This is something that my…
The following post is from Kacey of Next Level Mama: Does all the hustle and bustle of the holidays leave your family at a loss for what the spirit of Christmas really means? Or are you ever concerned your kids (and maybe even yourself) are way t0o focused on the receiving of gifts than the…
The following post is from Jennifer, a lifelong educator: It’s completely normal for children to be egocentric when they're born, but they aren’t supposed to stay that way. It’s our job as parents to help them cross the bridge from selfishness to generosity. The gift-giving traditions you embrace at Christmas can help move your kids…
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:13-14 Sometime tomorrow -- whether it's first thing in the morning or later in the evening, gathered around the tree or cuddling on…