You want to teach your children positive lessons regarding the holidays. However, you’re worried that society is sending the wrong message about what’s truly meaningful this time of year. Maybe your children have been talking frequently about the gifts their friends say they will get. Perhaps they’ve been asking for presents that you know are well outside of your budget range. Yet you still feel guilty about disappointing them.
It’s hard to avoid this kind of consumerist messaging around the holidays. You want to show your children that there is so much more to the holiday season than just gifts. Here are a few helpful ideas.
Volunteer as a Family
Volunteering can show your children that while the holiday season is all about giving, physical gifts are not the only thing we have to offer each other.
Look for family-friendly volunteering opportunities in your area. Through volunteering, your children will experience the sense of joy and purpose that comes from sharing their time on behalf of others. They’ll connect with people they might never have met otherwise. In fact, you might even find that you enjoy volunteering together so much that you decide to do it year round.
Uphold Traditions that Don’t Involve Gifts
Every family has their own holiday traditions. While gift giving is an important tradition in many households, your own traditions do not have to revolve around gift giving.
Decorating your home together, going ice skating, making your favorite hot chocolate recipe, visiting a local holiday attraction, and even baking certain goodies that you make every year can all be great traditions for your family! Many of these traditions will cost you little to no money in the long run. You can also invite close friends and neighbors to join you.
Let Your Kids Pitch In
Children like to imitate their parents — it’s how they learn! If your kids see you preparing for holiday festivities, chances are they want to join in somehow.
Give them an age-appropriate way to pitch in. They might want to help you out with decorating, baking, or setting out items for a get together. They’ll have fun spending time with you. While these tasks might take a little longer, it can create a sense of togetherness during the holidays.
Have Fun with Arts and Crafts
Doing holiday arts and crafts is a fun approach to celebrating the holidays without expensive gifts! Block off time to work on holiday craft projects. You can put on some seasonal music and snack on tasty treats, too.
Yes, you could give out these homemade creations as gifts to other people, or each other. But you could also hold on to them to decorate your home. Year after year, you’ll be able to put them up and remember the joy of holidays past.
Reflect on Gratitude Together
Finally, this is the perfect time of year to focus on what you’re truly grateful for. At dinner each night, you might want to ask each of your family members to state something that they’re thankful for. Even if Thanksgiving has passed, you can still use this routine!
This will encourage everyone in your family to reflect on the good things that have happened to them recently, even if they seem “small.” During this time of year, it’s all too easy to focus on what you don’t have. But this practice will encourage your family to focus on what you do.
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Do you feel like you’re struggling with consumerist expectations around the holidays? Therapy can help you make this time of year meaningful for your family. Reach out to talk about women or parent counseling.