7 Ways to Show Your Kids You Care this Holiday Season

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So I’m sitting here this morning writing a list when I realized that I must really enjoy creating lists because I do it quite often (and share them with you!) I guess it’s my way of staying somewhat organized and it helps keeps my thoughts in order.

This morning was the unofficial start of the holiday season in my opinion, being December 1^st and all, and I knew that I wanted to do something special for the kids to ring in this magical season, so I threw together a little surprise box with Hallmark Northpole items that I found at Walmart. They have a cute new storybook called “Once upon a Northpole Christmas “(Have you seen the movie on the Hallmark Channel yet?) Fun little magic snowballs that light up when you throw them, Find Me Snowflakes that mesmerize kids with the changing colors as well as let Santa spot the right house to stop by when children hang them in their window.  The item that was my children’s absolute favorite though was called The Northpole Communicator. Every day from December 1^st- 25^th the kids can ‘call in’ and talk to someone from the Northpole. Noah was SO excited today!

 I was glad I bought these sweet gifts to get everyone excited to countdown for Christmas, but there are so many ways to get everyone in the holiday spirit and show them that you care this season, so  we do a variety of traditions each year,  and here’s a few of my favorites:

7 Ways to Show Your Kids You Care This Holiday Season

1. Friday night dance off parties // It’s really just an excuse to blast Christmas music and drink eggnog, but the kids love being able to show off all of their fancy footwork and see mom and dad get silly.

2. Leave little notes // Create a sticky note trail, or a scavenger hunt for them to discover after school with a holiday surprise at the end (hot cocoa and cookies perhaps?) Putting a little creativity and thought behind simple holiday treats will help make them more memorable.

3. Handmade ornaments // The kids have SO much more fun decorating the tree when it has ornaments they've created - in fact we made some salt dough ornaments a few days ago and they are patiently waiting to place them on a tree.

 4. Holiday game night // Many people have holiday movie nights, but you can also do a themed game night for the kids! The Peppermint Ring Fling and Rooftop Drop are a couple of fun ones to get your started.

5. Christmas light drive // Once a year we load everyone up in the care with candy canes and stop at a local coffee shop for peppermint mocha's and cocoa, then we take an hour and explore, hunting for lights and displays. The kids say "Oooh" and "Aaah" and then we all vote on our favorites.

6. Storybook countdown // Just one more way to get the kids excited for the big day, plus the holiday stories get them excited about reading. The Lights on Lights Off storybook and The Northpole City storybook are good ones to add to your collection.

 7. Show more affection // Sometimes it gets so busy this time of the year that we forget that it's often the smallest acts that have the largest impact. I dare you to run up and kiss your kids to no reason or make a point to say "I love you" a little more often - your actions are the best present they will ever receive!

Here's a short video with a little more information about the new Hallmark Northpole story and products:

~Melissa