This Christmas, Quarantined Style
Christmas 2020
Quarantined Style
I am sure that we are all aware that the 2020 Holiday season will look a bit different than most. It’s unfortunate for me really because I love this time of year; and yes I hate cold weather.
But besides that, it’s a magical time to be amongst friends, family, love, hot cocoa and the gift of giving. What is there not to love?
I wanted to keep the magic of the holidays and incorporate some fun stay-at-home activities for us to do together.
MAKE CHRISTMAS CARDS
Every year, my family and I do our normal family Christmas portraits. I usually have them printed out on cards and mail to all our friends and family members. Since the budget is a little bit different this year and so many of our friends and family have been affected by COVID-19, I thought it would be a special idea to create our own cards - to write a special message to each one of our loved ones and remind them of how much we love and appreciate having them.
I got a few items from Crayola and turned it into a fun, crafty activity for the girls.
MAKE GINGERBREAD HOUSES
Making gingerbread houses is a classic Christmas tradition. Since the girls usually do theirs at school, I never cared to look into it doing it at home simply because I did not want to deal with the mess that comes along with it. I know how much my girls enjoy it, so we will be sure to incorporate this project to our Christmas to-do list.
MAKE UGLY SWEATERS
How many ugly sweater parties have you gone to in your day? But have you ever thought about making your own ugly sweaters with your little ones? I thought it would be a fun idea, especially considering I have girls and they are both little fashionistas. It will be a fun way to bring out their creativity and have some family fun. Make it interesting and turn it into a competition, choose a member of the family to pick the best one for a good old Christmas cookie.
BAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES
And speaking of Christmas cookies, bake your own! Amelia loves being in the kitchen exploring while Ariel and I are cooking and cleaning. I thought this would be a fun project for Amelia to take leadership on and bake the best cookies for the family. Since she loves to be in control and loves sweets, I figured she would love to take on this project and we all follow her lead (with mom’s help of course)
PUT UP THE CHRISTMAS TREE
Another classic Christmas tradition. I have seen family go out to the fields and literally pick the perfect tree, cut it down and decorate it. Its such a beautiful memory and/tradition to do with little ones. I wish Ariel would but unfortunately our family has an artificial that we put up each year. The good thing is that he lets me do different themes and colors every year so that the tree does not always look the same. However, this year, since COVID has ruined so much or us already, we convinced Ariel to take us out to pick out our very own real tree!
READ CHRISTMAS BOOKS TOGETHER
Amelia loves to read and I am so happy that she does. Reading Christmas stories will be lots of fun for her. This will be another project for her to take leadership in. I plan to have her pick out 3 Christmas stories and she can read it them to us the on Christmas Eve. Aylah loves listening to stories read by her sister.
COZY UP BY THE FIREPLACE
And lastly, I have every intention of cozying on up by the fireplace this holiday season. Connecticut gets really cold this time of year, therefore our fireplace is usually on a lot throughout this time of year. I am always sure to read books, journal and enjoy a nice warm cup of coffee by the fireplace. To make it special, this year, I will have the girls read stories to me while we enjoy hot cocoa together.
I can’t wait. Writing this post inspired me to incorporate all these different activities into our holidays this quarantined year. And even to bring them into future years, despite having the quarantine uplifted. It will be so fun to watch the children grow with the value of family and love.