A perfect holiday season, with a touch of learning!

Reading as a gift

Even though my kids already have a lovely, well-stocked bookshelf, I take the time to pick out a few titles for them related to the holidays. They'll find them under the tree a few days before Christmas; it's as if Christmas starts a little early!

Wishes for loved ones

It's always a big hit when we start making the greeting cards we'll send for Christmas. My kids choose who they want to send them to, draw and color their card, and that's it! If your child can't write yet, they can still try signing their name. If they're an early writer, even a beginner, they can have fun writing their own greetings and telling people how much they appreciate them. Often, when we send Christmas cards, lovely replies arrive in the mail in the following days, and kids love getting mail!

And what about Santa Claus?

If greeting cards are a must, the letter to Santa is even more so! My kids made a draft of their list with toys, assorted items and outings they want. Check out our printable template to fill out right here!

Family memories to treasure

Another lovely idea to put in place is a year-in-review notebook for the year that's ending. All you need is a notebook; decorate it however you like and write the year you want to celebrate on the cover. In this notebook, you ask each family member to fill a few pages with their favorite moments of the year. Each person will write down accounts of the key moments that marked the last 365 days. You can add photos or ask the little ones to draw pictures; you'll surely have a lot of fun pulling out the notebooks from previous years and rereading your accounts during the holidays to come… Moments of nostalgia guaranteed!

Letters and names

You can work on handwriting very easily by asking your child to write the names on the Christmas gift tags. Little ones tend to take care and be more perfectionist when there's an intention behind the act of writing. They'll surely be very focused on the task to please the people they love. They could also decorate the tags and will be very proud to have contributed in their own way.

Who am I? What am I?

Guessing games are great for working on children's comprehension and inference skills. Give clues to your little one and ask them to guess Christmas-related characters, objects and places. It can also be interesting to ask the child to give us clues so that we guess the word ourselves. Here are a few suggested words to guess.

Don't hesitate to add more guessing ideas and even to involve your child by asking them to come up with some too. Guaranteed fun!

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