The Day After Christmas. Now What?
Santa has come and gone. Presents and wrapping paper lay strewn around the house in equal amounts. The anticipation for kids has worn off. And parents are just plain worn out. So now what? Here are just a few ideas to keep the spirit of the holidays.
1. Give back — Teach the spirit of giving to your kids by having them pick out several old toys (in good shape) that they don’t want anymore. Wrap them up and, as a family, take them to a local homeless shelter or children’s home.
2. Get out — With all the egg nog, extra sweet hot cider, and 85 varieties of cookies, the kids are bound to be bouncing off the walls. Get the whole family and go play outside for two or three hours. Go sledding if you have snow, go for a walk, play a game of touch football. go to a park, go skiing. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it’s out in the fresh air.
3. Start a tradition — For many families, the holidays continue after Christmas has passed. Kids often don’t start school for another week. Keep them busy and continue to make this time special by starting a tradition your family can do every year.
4. Encourage gratitude — Have your kids make and write (if they can) a thank you card for Santa. You can share with them the fact that many children didn’t receive presents, so your little ones should feel fortunate and grateful that Santa stopped by your house.
