Making The Holidays Magical

Dr. Greene's Answer

The holidays are here again already! Scenes from this time of year form many of my most vivid memories from childhood. The remaining days of this season will fly by ever so quickly. Making holidays magical is one gift we can all give our children with a little forethought and planning. I recommend taking a moment to decide what few holiday activities you definitely don’t want to miss in the rush of the season. And when holiday magic happens spontaneously, don’t be tricked into rushing on by and missing out.

Holidays with kids can be the most wonderful and the most exhausting time of the year. The key to making this a magical time is planning ahead.

(Note: Many of our readers may not celebrate Christmas, but the general principles outlined below can be applied to any holiday. The specific activities will, of course, be different, but that is what gives us rich cultural diversity.)

Tips for Making Holidays Magical

Make a list of all the things you would love to do this holiday season. Go ahead and dream big. (Since you mentioned that you were short on ideas, I’ve included some possibilities for your list).

Prioritize. If you could only do one thing, what would it be? Then if you could do one more thing, what would that be? Keep asking this question until you’ve gotten through the entire list. Have your family members do the same thing.

Compare your lists. You may find that there is something very important to one family member that you didn’t even consider. Be sure you try to look at things from everyone’s perspective. Maybe the thing a seven-year-old wants to do is see real snow (especially if you are from a warm-weather state like California), while a five-year-old may be delighted by a family trip to the movies.

Decide together how you will spend the limited time you have during this busy season. You will probably need to eliminate several things at the bottom of your list. You may decide that the most important thing for your family is a big feast. Since most of the work involved must be right before the meal, your family will probably have time to do some other things earlier in the month. Be sure to add at least one activity just for the adults in the family, even if it is brief — get a sitter and do something special for you.

Divide and conquer. Most of the planning and work involved with family holidays falls to the adults. It’s important to be realistic about how much time each adult can spend on extra holiday preparation and decide in advance who is responsible for what.

Putting together a dream list and prioritizing it is very important. One of the reasons we often feel overwhelmed by the season is that we try to do everything — everything doesn’t make the holiday special, but a few things can, if they are chosen carefully.

Dream List for Making Holidays Magical

• Have a professional family photo taken. Frame them and include them in the holiday decorations.
• Decorate the house with lots of evergreen so the house smells like a forest.
• Decorate the house with moving holiday displays.
• If you get a Christmas tree, drive to a Christmas tree farm out in the country and cut a tree.
• Play holiday music while you decorate the tree, and when you are done, have everyone stand around it holding hands, and sing “Oh, Christmas Tree”!
• String lights all over the outside of our house.
• Make homemade gift wrap.
• Have a crock pot of spiced apple cider going all month long, so you can enjoy a steaming mug whenever you are in the mood — plus it makes the house smell like cinnamon and cloves all the time.
• Send holiday cards to friends and family that you won’t have an opportunity to see during the holidays.
• Throw a pajama party.
• Bake homemade cookies.
• Make homemade pulled candy.
• Make a gingerbread house.
• Go to a big city and look at the store windows.
• Find a neighborhood that has lots of lights and go for a drive after dark (in your pajamas and bathrobes!).
• Take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.
• Have high tea in a fancy hotel.
• Wear ugly sweaters.
• Organize a group for caroling in your neighborhood.
• Build a snow-person (or even a snow-family) all dressed in holiday attire.
• Get a family photo taken with your snow-family.
• Go ice skating at an outdoor rink.
• Spend time with your extended families for holiday feasts.
• Take a picture of the kids in front of your holiday decorations every year. It’s amazing to compare how they change over time.

As I’m sure you have guessed, this list is a dream! With our busy schedules, there is no way we could do all of this in one holiday season. The important thing is to prioritize your list. With list in hand, here are some things we’ve found to make it all work:

• No matter how much you plan ahead, things will go wrong. So be ready to let things go — especially the things that are near the bottom of your list.
• It is especially important to have fixed, relatively early bedtimes for the kids during this busy season. They need the consistent sleep, and parents need a few extra hours each week. Everyone will be happier if you follow this tip!
• Create annual traditions. Kids love to have things to look forward to. Maybe your family has decided to build a snowman in front of your house each year, or perhaps it’s watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” on TV. In years to come your children will talk about, and look forward to, those traditions in ways you can’t imagine (unless you had traditions growing up as a child).
• Consider your children’s developmental levels when making holiday plans. Having a Christmas tree with pretty balls on it is asking for trouble with toddlers, especially if the tree is at floor level. If you have a climber, then putting things just out of his or her little reach isn’t smart either. You can do it, but you may spend most of the season saying, “NO!” This doesn’t make anyone happy.
• Pay careful attention to what your kids are dreaming of for gifts. Years ago my second son told Santa the only thing he wanted was Donkey Kong Country 2. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen until the week before Christmas, when every copy of the game was sold out in our area (does this sound strangely like a movie plot?). Well, you guessed it, I wound up driving to a small town two hours away (four hours round trip) to get the last copy of the game to be had. Since my son knew the game was out of stock everywhere, he felt especially loved by the gift, and it was well worth the drive — but this year I’m keeping my ear to the ground early! By the way, I’m sure parents started the tradition of getting kids to write letters to Santa just so they could find out what their children wanted.
• Include the kids whenever you can in your holiday preparation. Kids love art projects, so get them to make your holiday cards and decorate wrapping paper. Coloring can be very fun, or with some supervision, they can sponge paint snow flakes, Christmas trees, and other holiday symbols onto brown craft paper for an inexpensive yet festive look.
• Kids also love to get involved in the kitchen. Instead of making a complicated candy recipe (that even a talented cook has trouble getting just right and encourages over indulgence), choose a simple, healthier alternative. I like melting a high-quality dark chocolate (such as Green and Black, Dagoba, or Endangered Species) in a double boiler. When it is in a creamy state, help your little one dip about one third of a slice of dried apple into the chocolate mixture. Lay the chocolate-covered apples onto a sheet of waxed paper to cool. For extra fun, sprinkle chopped organic walnuts or pecans on to the chocolate while it’s are still warm. This recipe is very easy, healthy, and delicious!

Now here is the most important thing I have to say — holiday magic can’t be forced.

It comes at the most unexpected times and in the most unimagined ways. One year I experienced it when we stumbled on to the public lighting ceremony of a Menorah; another year it happened when the entire family joined hands to pray around the Christmas table. One year I experienced the magic of the holiday season while I sat alone in the cold waiting for a tow truck.

Whenever that moment happens for you, stop and enjoy it. The same principle holds true for your children — the magic of the season may happen for them in the middle of a busy mall when they see a holidays display, or when you plug in the lights on your tree for the first or the last time of the season, or when they open that special gift from you. If you are able to see a special sparkle in your child’s eyes it means something has just come alive. Drop your plans. The magic is happening in that moment — don’t miss it!