fun activities for families over christmas vacation

After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, the quiet days between Christmas and the New Year are a perfect time to have some fun with your little ones.  Below are a few suggestions that will help make the most of your holiday time together.
 
Snow Painting:  Snow is the perfect canvas!  Fill a few plastic spray bottles (smaller ones are available at most drug stores, and larger one can be found at hardware stores) with water and add a few drops of food coloring to each one to form your color palette.  You and your children can create quite a mural by spraying the different colors on the snow.  If you want to be specific in your artwork, use a ruler or a yardstick to draw outlines in the snow, and then spray the colored water to paint it.  Smiley faces and flowers will decorate your snow covered yard, reminding everyone that spring is only a few weeks away!
 
Family Beach Party:  If the weather cooperates, a December or January trip to the beach can be a novel and fun family activity.  Looking for seashells or playing paddleball or Frisbee on the sand in the winter might seem silly, but that’s exactly what little ones love about it.  If the beach in winter doesn’t float your boat, have a beach party at home.  Break out the lawn chairs, bathing suits, and beach towels and set up right in your family room.  Have a cookout with all the fixings, and eat it on your beach blanket.  You can even pick up a bag of seashells at a local craft store and hide them around your house.  Give you kids pails and let them go on a shell search. 
 
Make a Scrapbook of 2019:  As the current year draws to a close and we prepare to welcome 2020, create a recap of your family’s year.  You can do this digitally in a slide show, or you can make a hard copy.  As a family, look through your calendar and photos. Write down important events and print special photos.  Have your kids draw pictures or write about things that were special to them.  This can be as elaborate or as simple as you choose. The point is to reflect on what the year meant to your family and serve as a reminder of the special times you had together.
 
Enjoy this time with your children and Happy New Year!
 
Kelly McIntire is a children’s author who believes that magic and adventure should begin in childhood and last a lifetime.  Her books include Time Twistedand Adventures in Fairy Meadow.
Visit her website at www.kellymcintireonline.com for more information, or follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kellymcintirewriter/?ref=bookmarks.
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