December 02, 2009
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Christmas and Hanukkah Ideas
Toddler Ideas is the insightful ezine delivered to your inbox every month from clever-toddler-activities.com
December 2009 Issue 07
Featuring:
- Opening Thoughts – Announcing Our Brand New Feature!
- Q&A with Claire - How Can Toddlers Get Involved With Christmas Traditions?
- Cute Corner – Christmas Carols in the Eyes of Children
- Tip of the Month - Give Yourself a Valuable Gift
- Featured Page – How Toddlers can have Hanukkah fun!
Opening Thoughts
Announcing Our Brand New Feature!Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah! I hope your preparations for your family's highlight of December are going smoothly.
Need to pick up some pressies for your little one? Through my years of childcare I've seen many toys and sadly rather a lot of them are useless, to be frank.
Would you like to see which toys I have found to both entertain and educate toddlers? Check out the Toddler Developmental Toys page where you can choose from the USA or UK versions of our new store.
Our book reviews on Stories for One-Year-Olds, Stories for Two-Year-Olds and Educational Books for Toddlers will ensure you only give quality books this season.
Art supplies make perfect gifts for toddlers too! You can find the lowdown on the most toddler friendly types of art supplies on our Toddler Art page.
It's such a special time of year for little ones, isn't it? This family oriented season offers a great opportunity to do some festive activities with your little one. In this month's issue of Toddler Ideas you'll find plenty of ideas on how to make Christmas or Hanukkah even more special!
Q&A With Claire
If you have a question about toddlers, we'd love to help! Just use our handy contact form.How Can Toddlers Get Involved With Christmas Traditions?
Question: Hi Claire and Patricia,
First of all I'd like to thank you for the wonderful resources and ideas you have on your site! As a first time mum you have given me a great insight into the world of toddlerhood, which has proved to be very useful. I didn't realise the eye rolling statement of 'they grow up so fast' to be so true!
Secondly I was wondering if you could suggest some Christmas traditions that my one-year-old son could take part in now? I would also like them to grow with us as a family for a few years at least. Thanks :-)
~ Ann
Answer:
Hi Ann,
I agree, little ones do grow and develop fast! Just keeping up with their thirst for knowledge is a challenge in itself. I think starting Christmas traditions that grow with your family is an excellent idea! Here's a few fun things to do with toddlers that can easily be adapted for older children.
Decorating the Tree, Toddler Style
Now as you may have found normally Christmas trees and toddlers don't mix well. With a few adjustments (to your expectations as well as your resources) you all can have a happy Christmas.
Now, would you rather have a beautifully decked Christmas tree even if you have to tell your toddler to give the decorations back every few minutes, stick your Christmas tree in the playpen and/or set up a safe but less pretty Christmas tree that your toddler can be involved with and proud of?
Intrigued by the last option? Well, for this you will need: A small fake Christmas tree with relatively thin branches and safe decorations which toddlers can easily use. Since the latter are not commercially available why not make designer ones with your toddler?
Making Christmas Decorations
This can easily become a favourite Christmas tradition for years. Plus your family will have a wonderful trip down memory lane as you 'rediscover' the keepsakes when decorating the tree each year.
There's countless ways for children to make Christmas tree decorations. Today I'll focus on one that toddlers can have as much fun with afterwards as making them.
You will need:
- A few pieces of coloured card
- A pack of plastic bangles
- PVA (children's craft) glue
- Apron or old/cheap clothes for the messier options
- Paint in a pot with a chubby paint brush
- Paint on a plate or a lid with Christmas themed stamp(s) (which could be bought or made out of a potato or a sponge)
- Crayons, washable felt pens (markers), coloured pencils or chalk
Instructions
- Basically let your toddler paint, stamp or colour on one side of the card. Then if you're using paint, let it dry.
- Now it's your turn to do a little craft. :-) Turn the card so it's landscape and fold it in half lengthways so you have a long chunky strip.
- Draw and cut around the bangle about three times on the folded card ensuring that there is at least an inch of the folded edge intact. So you should have little mostly circular shaped 'Christmas cards' at this stage.
- Post one of the circles through the bangle so that the small bit that's still attached (folded) sits over the bangle with the two sides hanging down below the bangle. Then your toddler can glue the two sides together with your help.
If you have a normally trimmed tree as well, moods hopefully would remain merry as you guide him to his tree to be re-decorated instead wreaking the beautiful one.
Oh and a little tip, you might want to keep one of the decorations from being played with to keep for future years. After all, toddlers look with their hands as much as their eyes, don't they?
Visiting Father Christmas or Santa
Granted, this is an obvious one but I'd just like to mention that it may not be as toddler friendly as it first seems. As adults it's easy to forget just how weird and larger than life the hairy man in the bright red suit actually is for someone who can't remember seeing him before. Some toddlers might happily to sit on this stranger's lap, while others would rather receive their gift while still in your arms.
A few years back I watched children being called up to meet Santa at a church's Christmas party. I thought one Dad was very wise when he perched on Santa's lap with his one-year-old son on his. Even though he looked rather silly and there were laughs all round, his son was happy.
Baking Biscuits or Cookies
It's certainly a traditional Christmas activity to share with children in many homes. Many toddlers love to help bake too, especially two-year-olds!
Choose your favourite biscuit or cookie recipe, pull up a chair to the kitchen work top for your toddler to stand on, wash hands and enjoy the teamwork. Most toddlers can pour or tip pre -measured ingredients into a mixing bowl, grease a cookie sheet with a oil brush and help stir (even if it looks more like poking, they still feel like important helpers). With practise even some one-year-olds can roll dough with a child's rolling pin and cut shapes with cookie cutters.
If he's steady enough on his feet, your son might like to hand out a cookie on a plate to each family member. Leaving cookies for Santa feels extra special if the child helped bake them.
Reading a Christmas Story
A tradition in my family was for my mum to read the same book about Father Christmas each Christmas Eve before bedtime.
For more Christmas activities you could check out our Christmas crafts page.
I hope you find these ideas useful for your family. Feel free to ask us any more questions as they arise. Take care and have fun.
Warmest regards,
Claire
Cute Corner
Christmas Carols in the Eyes of ChildrenNo one can fracture a Christmas carol better than kids. Sing along with these new takes on old favorites:
- Deck the Halls with Buddy Holly
- We three kings of porridge and tar
- On the first day of Christmas my tulip gave to me
- Later on we'll perspire, as we dream by the fire.
- He's makin' a list, chicken and rice.
- Noel. Noel, Barney's the king of Israel.
- With the jelly toast proclaim
- Olive, the other reindeer.
- Frosty the Snowman is a ferret elf, I say
- Sleep in heavenly peas
- In the meadow we can build a snowman, Then pretend that he is sparse and brown
- You'll go down in Listerine
- Oh, what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hay
- Come, froggy faithful
- You'll tell Carol, "Be a skunk, I require"
- Good tidings we bring to you and your kid
Tip of the Month
Give Yourself a Valuable GiftThis can get within any budget. I know it's much easier said than done but... make some time for yourself, you deserve it! Sometimes when we give and give and give of ourselves we can burn out and then we're no good to anyone. By looking after and giving time for yourself, you're actually helping your loved ones since the fresher, calmer you can serve them better.
So organise things so you can take a leisurely candle lit bath, a quiet walk in the park, read a book, go on a date with your spouse/partner, do a hobby or simply chat with a friend. What would you like to do? And when? Enjoy! :D
Featured Page
How Toddlers can have Hanukkah fun!Celebrate Hanukkah? Introduce your little one to the Jewish feast of lights with our enjoyable Hanukkah activities. Either play simple versions of the traditional children's Hanukkah games, do some Jewish themed craft or what about Hanukkah Bingo? Why not have some holiday fun with your little one taking part in these Hanukkah activities!
What do you think?
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