5 Ways to Make the Holiday Season Memorable with your 0-3 Year Old. 🎄

It is officially my FAVORITE time of year! 😍

I said it last year, and I will say it again: the only thing better than being a kid during the Christmas season - is being a mom during the Christmas season.

If you have a newborn or toddler, it seems as though the magic of the season is amplified x 1,000. Everything that we love about Christmas as adults - the twinkly lights, the gift giving, the cooler temperatures, friends and family gathering together, and the overall sense of kindness and goodwill in the air - when seen through the eyes of a child, is just THAT much more special.

And, as amazing as this time of year is… it seems to always go by SO fast. So - to help make this holiday season with your little one as memorable as possible, I want to share 5 ways to make these next few weeks as memorable as possible now, and for years to come. \

🎄Instead of buying traditional gifts for family members and friends, consider creating a personalized gift using your child’s artwork. By utilizing a third party company like Artkive or Shutterfly, you can easily transfer a baby’s footprint or a toddler’s stick figures into a customized card, mug, book, or ornament. (This is what we are doing for some of our family members this year! 🤫)

🎄Make homemade ornaments and involve your child as much as possible. The process can be messy but I promise you - the homemade salt dough ornaments and finger-painted photo frame ornaments on our Christmas tree are my absolute favorites. And don’t forget to date them on the back!

🎄Start your own family traditions. Growing up, my family never utilized an Advent calendar. Gathre makes a really beautiful, minimalistic Advent Calendar, so this year I have decided to implement the Advent Calendar into our countdown to Christmas Day. These calendars don’t have to be all about gifts or chocolate, either. You can use the numbered slots to put experiential ideas for the whole family, Bible verses, or craft supplies. The opportunities are endless!

🎄 Let your little one have and decorate their own Christmas tree! Ok - hear me out on this one. Babies and toddlers LOVE to get into everything and anything that they aren't supposed to, LIKE THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE. So, if you have the means, find them their own small tree or - better yet - make one! Whether it's an actual tree, a felt tree on the wall, or a small countertop-style tree, invite your child to take ownership of their special tree by putting on and taking off the decorations as often as they would like.

🎄 Lastly, for those of you who celebrate Jesus’s birthday, read one chapter of Luke every day for the month of December. In the Gospel of Luke, there are 24 chapters, which makes for the perfect countdown to December 25th! Babies and toddlers love being read to, and reading the Bible together is a great opportunity to remind them of the reason we truly celebrate.

Have you done any of these things with your children? Do you plan to incorporate any of these ideas into your holiday season? If you have any other ideas for making this time of year even more special, I’d love to hear from you!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, friends! ❤️💚 Ann (& the rest of the Morris crew!)