The holidays have always been about people. We are so grateful for you, the people that make our community so special. We hope your holiday is season is bright. This year, 2020, to start your season off right our gift to you is Signing Time Christmas, available to stream for free on our My Signing Time app. The decorations, the food, the gifts – they were always supposed to be about the people we love. It’s about making them smile, enjoying the extra time with them, celebrating life with them. The memories and traditions are really about being together. People are what make the holiday season fun and special.
This year’s pandemic has certainly changed the way we do so many things, and the holidays are no exception. Public events look much different, or they have been cancelled. Parties are a big no-no. In one sense, this can be disappointing. But it can be a great change of focus for us if we look at it another way.
We have time this year to make our holidays into the very things we have always said they should be. Let’s make them a time to really value our people.
Do All the Holiday Things
Decorate all the way! Do the fun extra decorating you always wished you had time to do. Make a wreath with cuttings from your yard, or ask your neighbors for cuttings from their yards. Then, let your kids help tuck ornaments or bows or berries into the wreath to make it special for them too.
Cook all the treats! You have time at home now to really get into holiday cooking and baking. Maybe you and your kids could try some fun new food projects, like the super trendy hot cocoa bombs that are everywhere this year. Since we have more time at home this year, let’s go for it!
Do a Secret Santa in your own family this year. Or figure out a way to do it with another family or two in a safe way. Perhaps come up with one big family gift for something you could do together or a trip you could take. It would be fun to dream of a way to have an out-of-the-house adventure!
Listen to music, dance, have fun in your own family style to make the holiday season fun and special this year.
Do the Crafts
If you’re into crafts, go all out this year. Make gifts that will mean something to the people you love, and enjoy yourself.
If you’re not into crafts, maybe try one or two since you have time to do them without pressure. I tried making a bunch of gifts one year, and it left me stressed and pressured. But with some extra time, maybe it wouldn’t be so stressful. And if we tried making only one or two things, instead of everything, maybe we could enjoy it.
Let your kids do more crafts. They could make tissue paper stained glass window art like the ones here. Then there are always kids’ favorites like cutting out and hanging snowflakes or the traditional chain garland. Or you could get fancy and let them assemble ball garlands or pom-pom garlands.
Kids love to make little cardboard crafts, and they can make people, trees, or even buildings out of toilet paper tubes. Easy and fun! See if there is some way you can make this holiday season fun and special by creating something together.
Get Creative for Social Fun
Even though there are fewer events, there are virtual concerts and performances available online. Take advantage of these and make it an event at your house. You could still dress up and make it a big deal. Or you could enjoy it while you cozy up on the couch in your lounge wear.
We can’t have big holiday parties, but we could find ways to get together virtually. You could host a recipe exchange through Zoom, or even have a Zoom happy hour or cocktail party. Or consider having an online white elephant gift exchange, and then ship or deliver the final gifts after the online event.
Pay Attention to Feelings
The holiday season brings out all kinds of feelings in each of us. This is a great time to help our kids to both notice the feelings of others and to express their own feelings. Signing can be a safe way to express feelings for kids, and it can often be easier than trying to find the right spoken words. Check out this section of our Signing Time Dictionary for signs you can learn to express feelings. This is another great way to add something special, meaningful, and fun to your holiday season.
The main thing is to use this holiday season to really value one another. Let’s find ways to make each other laugh, to enjoy the season with our families in a new way, and to make these holidays into something really special.
Right now, you can watch Signing Time Christmas for free! And for more fun, educational programming, check out a MySigningTime digital subscription! You can try it with a 14-day free trial right here.