Christmas isn’t far away, which means many parents are scrambling to find the perfect presents, decorations, and food to make this one as special as ever. After all, when you have a little one, it’s natural to want to spoil them when the holiday season rolls around!
This Christmas, why not go above and beyond? By adding more magic to the holiday season, your little one is sure to give you the biggest smile yet. Read on to learn how to make it happen!
Send a Letter from Santa
For young kids, there is nothing more exciting than the idea of Santa Claus. He’s a magical, mystical man who delivers incredible presents every year while riding his sleigh – what’s not to love?
To make your child’s Christmas extra special, send them a letter from Santa. By choosing an online Santa letter service, your child will receive the personalized letter during the run-up to Christmas. As soon as they open it, they’ll get the best surprise all year! You could encourage your child to write back, letting them write a personal letter to Santa with fun Christmas-themed doodles. It will make the run-up to Christmas far more exciting.
Fill a Stocking with Goodies
Your kid is likely most excited about unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. While they will likely be more than happy with that, you could also add some extra excitement by filling a stocking with goodies. It doesn’t have to be costly – fill it up with inexpensive sweets, chocolates, a copy of their magazine, and perhaps some small toys. They will love it!
Watch Christmas Films on the Run Up
Watching holiday-themed films is an excellent way to get in the Christmas spirit. Each weekend on the run-up to Christmas, get some sweet treats, snuggle under blankets, and watch your and your little one’s favorite Christmas movies. Some of the best family-friendly ones are:
- The Grinch
- Home Alone
- The Polar Express
- A Miracle on 34th Street
- Elf
Make Food for Santa and Rudolf
Leaving a carrot and a mince pie for Rudolf and Santa is tradition. You could go above and beyond by making food specifically for them. Get in the kitchen and make reindeer treats with your little one before getting to work on homemade mince pies for Santa. Then, once your child has gone to bed on Christmas Eve, you can give the reindeer treats to your pet (assuming you chose a pet-friendly recipe) and bite into a mince pie yourself to make it look as if Santa has been.
Build a Gingerbread Home
A great bonding activity that will also get both you and your little one in the mood for the holiday season is building a gingerbread home! You can usually find gingerbread-making kits in shops, and they are not too tricky. Work together to create a house made of delicious gingerbread, and then work together on eating it all! Don’t forget to snap a picture before eating the last gingerbread piece.
Track Santa Claus’s Sleigh
Did you know that you can track Santa’s sleigh? The NORAD website allows you to see where Santa is in the sky on the run-up to Christmas, beginning on 1st December. Check the website together from time to time to inject some excitement into the day!
Make a Christmas Eve Box
You should reserve most of the presents for Christmas Day. That doesn’t mean you can’t create a treat for the whole family to enjoy on Christmas Eve, though! A Christmas Eve box is the ideal way to get into the holiday spirit the night before Christmas. Fill it with sweet treats, fresh pajamas, a Christmas movie, and a Christmas book. It’ll make for the coziest Christmas Eve ever.
Leave Santa’s Footsteps Behind
Another way to form a connection between Santa and your little one is to create Santa’s footsteps in your back garden. All you have to do is sprinkle a little flour on the floor and walk on it with big boots. The result will be magical footprints seemingly left behind by Mr Claus himself! Let your kid find them in the morning to make them even more excited about opening presents on the big day.
Decorate as a Family
Having a home full of twinkly lights, mistletoe, and a well-decorated tree is a perfect way to get in the Christmas spirit. If you really want to make it magical for your little one, make the time to decorate together. Even young kids can help! If they’re too little to reach that high, you can hold them up to place the star or angel at the very top of the tree.
Go See Santa
Most shopping centers have a day where kids get to meet Santa, so take your child for the experience! They will love seeing the ‘real’ Santa in the flesh and telling him what they want for Christmas. Your kid might even get a present before Christmas out of it.
Read a Holiday Book Together
To make Christmas truly special for your child, you need to think of ways to inject holiday spirit into the smaller moments of the day. An easy way to make nighttime a little more Christmassy is by reading a Christmas-themed book to them. Luckily, you have plenty of options! You could read:
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! – Dr. Suess
- A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
- The Polar Express – Chris Van Allsburg
- The Littlest Christmas Tree – Janie Jasin
- The Christmasaurus – Tom Fletcher & Shane Devries
Try to time it so that you read the last chapter together on Christmas eve. You’ll complete the story just in time for a magical Christmas day.
Making a Christmas special isn’t all about spending a ton of money. To get your little one excited about the upcoming day, sometimes all you need to do is sprinkle a little magic into their lives. When they are older, they will look back on your Christmases together and thank you for making them so special!