Christmas is more than just a time when we put out the Christmas tree and deck our homes with Christmas decorations. It is a time when families get together, exchange Christmas gifts and share Christmas treats! Truly, Christmas is all about thinking of others and bringing happiness to those around us.
Out of all the unique Christmas gifts that one can think of, the best Christmas gift of all is one that we share with those we love and care about.
What Christmas Celebrations Teach Children
It doesn’t matter if you’re breaking even a piece of Christmas chocolate with a friend, helping a sibling solve Christmas puzzles, lending a hand to your mom in crafting Christmas flower arrangements or singing traditional Christmas carols with your whole family. Christmas celebrations are about togetherness. This is the true spirit of Christmas.
If you are a parent who is planning your family’s Christmas celebration, you have probably searched for ‘Christmas ideas 2021’ or ‘Christmas activities at home’ on the internet.
Christmas day is one of the best times of the year to be with your children because the Christmas family traditions we practise year in and year out help to nurture good character and instill exemplary values such as selflessness, empathy and care from a young age.
If you are a parent to preschoolers, there are plenty of ways you can make your family Christmas day celebration more fruitful. Other than spending the day with a Christmas movie marathon, take Christmas time as an opportunity to sow the seeds of character within your child.
Have a more meaningful Christmas celebration with your family by doing these 5 meaningful activities:
Bake Christmas cookies
Preschoolers benefit more from activities that involve hands-on participation. Baking teaches young children many essential mathematical skills such as measuring, counting and estimating. So, invite your child into the kitchen and start baking your very own Christmas cookies!
Make it a more meaningful Christmas activity by asking your child to share the Christmas cookies with their friends, neighbours and the rest of your family members. Sharing teaches your child to be more cooperative, helpful and fair with others.
Make Christmas decorations
Other than baking Christmas cookies as a hands-on Christmas activity, your child can also make Christmas decorations at home! Decking your halls with homemade Christmas decorations gives your home a more unique, personalised feel. Contrary to popular belief, you can actually make almost every Christmas decoration at home — from Christmas wreaths to Christmas ornaments, the possibilities are endless.
Encouraging your preschooler to make their very own Christmas decorations at home teaches them to value and appreciate their hard work even more. When you make Christmas decorations together with your child, it makes this Christmas activity all the more meaningful. You get to teach your child the importance of patience, diligence and teamwork in completing a task.
Create Christmas crafts
Preschoolers love arts and crafts! Art and craft activities allow young children the room to fully explore their curiosity and express their creativity. Add meaning to this Christmas activity by encouraging your child to create Christmas crafts only using recyclable materials such as cereal boxes, plastic bottles and used containers. In doing so, you are teaching your child one of the ways to care for our environment which is by recycling and reusing!
Why not turn these Christmas crafts into Christmas gifts? Ask your child to make one Christmas craft for each of their closest friends and family members. This allows them to appreciate friendships and maintain good relationships with others.
Read Christmas story books
Every family looks forward to watching Christmas movies such as ‘The Grinch’ and ‘Home Alone’ together on Christmas day. Why not replace the television with books? Reading classic Christmas story books together makes a wholesome Christmas family activity too. More than that, reading is a crucial skill to have from a young age and through imaginative, whimsical Christmas stories, reading becomes a more engaging activity for preschoolers.
Since Christmas is all about giving back to those in need, how about inviting your child to donate their used story books to public libraries or to less fortunate children this Christmas day? This charitable act will nurture your child to be more empathetic and compassionate of others as well as to be more grateful for what they have. You can find a list of orphanages nearby here.
Donate to a shelter home
While donating books, how about including other provisions too such as food, personal care items and even cookware? Just as we celebrate Christmas with our loved ones, there are those who are less fortunate and unable to do so. So, let’s share our blessings and spread the joys of Christmas!
Bring your child to the supermarket, ask your child to help you pick out and purchase items to be donated. Then, visit a shelter home together and donate those items. Although this meaningful Christmas activity is simple, it is the most rewarding of all.
Celebrate Christmas the Q-dees Way
In conjunction with Christmas Day, Q-dees is also organising its very own Christmas celebration! This year, we reward our children for all the good that they have done throughout the year 2021 — from spreading environmental awareness to raising funds for orphanages, we applaud and celebrate our children for their kindness, compassion, hard work and effort in making 2021 a truly memorable year for all of us! Watch our end of year recap video to see how we made 2021 a year of being good and kind.