Remember the Reason for the Season

As the parent of a young child you may already know how your skills of focus, patience and empathy are needed on a daily basis! Did you know that research has shown that long-term stress can in fact override these parenting efforts and significantly impact children?

With holiday seasons can often time come stress.  These can include coordinating travel, planning for relatives or just having spouses and kids home for an extended period of time!  Luckily, these stressors are short-term and there can be many ways that parents can avoid becoming over-stressed during holiday breaks.  One easy way is to add activities or excursions to your plans.  Changes in schedules as well as the lack of a daily structure can be hard for kids that have settled into the rhythm of preschool or school.  As you look ahead to the next few weeks of unscheduled time look back over our blog posts for ideas about reading, crafts or other activities (below are just a few).  Adding a few extra minutes to plan something can help you and your children to take time to enjoy each other and offer positive ways to fill downtime, which both can help make family time as stress free as possible.

Local activities

Personal Gift Idea

Game/Craft Idea

Looking for some special ways to mark the holiday season?

Yes, indeed, December is a busy month for most families, but if you're looking for some special activities to enjoy together--and perhaps create new traditions for your family that aren't about "the gimmes"--here are some ideas your children might enjoy:

• Explore the theatre: The vibrant Triangle theatre scene puts on many wonderful shows for the holidays. Introduce your child to the theatre with Raleigh Little Theatre's Cinderella, Carolina Ballet's The Nutcracker, or Theatre in the Park's fun, family-friendly take on A Christmas Carol.
• Enjoy some art: The NC Museum of Art scored a major coup with the opening of their historic Rembrandt exhibit, which is a must-see for art lovers. But the museum offers a whole lot more than that for families this month: Family Fun Saturdays, music programs, an evening of holiday fun, and more.
• Get some fresh air: Pullen Park has impressed local families with its grand re-opening following extensive renovations. Stop by to see what the fuss is all about!
• Give back: Holiday gift, coat, and food drives abound. Teach your child the value of sharing by participating in collections of both necessities and treats for the less fortunate. A quick Google of holiday drives will help you find your connection to the area's charities and foundations.

Do you have some other suggestions? Please share, using the "Comment" function below!

Holiday activities for you and your children

Now that the holidays and cold weather are right around the corner, it is time to think about getting you and your children in the spirit. Whether you are a crafty family, a movie watching family, or a family who likes to cook together, here are some activities that might become new family traditions.

Looking to have some fun? A fun game that your children will love is “Tic-Tac-Snow.” This quick two-person game is easy enough for young children offers enough strategy to be played by older children as well.

Draw the board shown on a piece of paper, marking a dot at each intersection (eight around the edges and one in the middle). Older children may enjoy helping you make the board, and it is a great opportunity to practice measuring and artistic skills. Game pieces can be made from cotton balls glued to pennies and marked with dabs of paint in two contrasting colors will do just the trick. Give each player 4 pieces. As in tic-tac-toe, the object is to get three pieces in a row. To begin, Player 1 places a piece on any dot, then Player 2 goes and they continue alternating until all the pieces are down. If no one lands three pieces in a row, on the next turn a player may slide his or her piece to the next dot, trying to make a row of three. Play continues until one person makes tic-tac-snow. Repeat as many times as you like for family enjoyment.

If your family is more into cooking, and your children always want to take special treats to share at school or with a special friend, a great idea is to make “Snowman Soup.”. Learning to follow step-by-step directions has been proven to help children develop self-care skills.

Assemble in a small zipper food storage bag mix the following ingredients:

1 individual pack hot chocolate mix

3 Hershey's chocolate kisses

10-15 mini-marshmallow                        

1 small candy cane

Have your child write the poem below, then staple the tag to the top of the Snowman Soup baggie.

Was told you’ve been real good this year. Always glad to hear it!

With freezing weather drawing near, you’ll need to warm the spirit.

So here’s a little Snowman Soup, complete with a stirring stick.

Add hot water; sip it slow, it’s sure to do the trick.

For more holiday fun ideas, go to familyfun.go.com and you will find many more activities and recipes to enjoy the season with your children.