Are your kids abuzz with anticipation over the holidays? Mine are. Even Madelyn seems to know something special is going on. All this excitement can make it hard for busy mommas to get anything done. Luckily I’ve been able to channel my little ones’ creativity. I don’t know about you, but I have a to-do list that is a mile long, so I need all the help I can get over the next few weeks.
Our top go-to activities right now:
Santa’s Workshop
All it takes is some in lumber from Home Depot, wood glue and craft
s from the craft store to turn my son’s tool bench into Santa’s Workshop.
Evan has spent hours creating Star Wars ships, necklaces and other creations. He dons his Santa hat each time he gets to work.
Felt Christmas Tree
Miss Madelyn loves rearranging the ornaments on this felt Christmas tree. I just cut a triangle out of green and multi-colored circles. I taped the tree to the wall and the felt sticks to itself, so she can move the ornaments anywhere she pleases.
I also made a felt nativity using patterns from the blog Under my Polkadot Umbrella.
Cooking
Admittedly, adding my kids’ help to kitchen activities means we spend more time accomplishing our tasks, but they enjoy the one-on-one time that can buy me time to myself a little later in the day. A great acitivity is making cereal treats, as I can have Evan measure and re-measure the cereal at least five times. This treat made with Chex cereal was fun to whip up with the kids.
Before the Internet age, pill identification was accomplished by calling a pharmacy or using pill identification books at the local library or bookstore.