How to Have Happy Holidays

When we are small we look to our parents to make our Christmas special. When we have kids, we tend to get so caught up in the holidays that we forget to enjoy ourselves. We over schedule, overeat, over shop, and just in general overdo to the point that we are glad for that break between New Year's and Valentine's Day.

Christmas break usually start the week before Christmas and goes to a couple of days before New Years. Plan to do special things with your family during this period that does not require lots of time and money. Work on creating your own family traditions and do things that will bring you closer together and learn not to resent the holiday season. Here are a few ideas for the holiday break that do not require lots of time and money.

December 24^th - Buy everyone in the house red or green flannel pajamas to wear to bed and open presents in Christmas morning.

December 25^th-Sometime during the afternoon take over a basket of Christmas cookies and write a thank you note to the guys and gals working Christmas day at your local fire station.

December 26^th- Call a relative or friend who lives far away. Many people do their catch up calls on Christmas day. Call the day after Christmas and you will have more time to listen and talk.

December 27^th-Go ice-skating if your child has never been at a local ice rink. If you cannot ice skate goes roller skating with jingle bells tied to your skate's laces.

December 28^th- Organize a Christmas past party and break out all of the old Christmas photos. Ask everyone to put what they did not get in a Christmas past and really wanted. Have an I wanted in Christmas Past gift exchange? Keep it inexpensive.

December 29^th- Go to the local library and get four Christmas classic movies and have a Merry Christmas Movie Marathon. Use food coloring to make red and green popcorn.

December 30^th-Give the birds in your yard some holiday cheer. Make birdie Christmas balls by spreading peanut butter on a pine cone and rolling it in bird seed. Hang the Christmas bird balls near a window so you can enjoy watching the birds have a winter feast.

December 31^st- Take an elderly member out your Church out for an early New Year's dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.

January 1^st - Have a New Year's brunch with family and friends. Have everyone exchange names and write a New Year's resolution for the person's name they drew. Keep it humorous and light.

Be creative and you can find a way to make the holidays happy and not just hectic.