Keeping the Holidays Fun & Festive

Each year we try to do something a little different for the holidays. I try to mix things up and brighten our home. Plus, with kids, they are always willing to help out to create new and fun holiday arts and crafts! So, without further ado, here are 14 ways to make the holidays fresh and festive!

1. Create homemade decorations- Places like Michaels have great holiday arts & crafts for all ages. Let your kids go crazy painting and decorating some cute crafts to display on the mantle.
2. Search for Unique Holiday Photo Cards- I always look for new cards each year. We don't get to see many of our friends and family members so, sending photo cards each year is a great way to keep in touch and show off the kiddos!
3. Throw A Party – What better time of the year is there to have a party? Get together with friends and family and celebrate life! Plus, it gives you a chance to show off all of your kids arts and crafts.
4. Creating Holiday Invitations – We usually have a holiday party or get together each year. This year, instead of buying invitations at the last minute, the kids and I are going to make them ourselves! This makes them fun, festive, and more of a keepsake than a regular invitation!
5. Try A Unique Dessert Recipes – Change things up and try a savory pumpkin pie instead of the usual sweet pie. Use garlic and onions to create a delicious dessert that friends and family will not soon forget. I promise, it's delicious!
6. Volunteer At A Soup Kitchen – Take a moment from your life to give back to others who are less fortunate. Volunteer somewhere to help spread love and joy for the holiday season. You can even create or put together a nice gift for everyone, too. How about gift bags with goodies?
7. Take A Trip To Cut Your Own Christmas Tree – One of my favorite childhood memories is going out to a tree farm and cutting our own Christmas tree with my Dad. Search for a tree farm near you OR plan a weekend trip or day-trip. In GA, many people go up to the mountains for the weekends to get a tree.
8. Making Treats For All – Each year, Josiah and I make holiday cookies for our family members. They are so fun to make. Josiah loves making and eating cookies, of course, and family members love seeing all of his hard work. Last year he wanted to use the Halloween cookie cutters and decorate them with sparkle icing so, they are always a little different, too.
9. Christmas Caroling – I used to go Christmas caroling as a child and, this year, we are getting together a group to go door to door and sing. Okay, so we can't sing very well or in tune, but it sure is fun and the kids have a blast. Then, we go back to someone's house for hot cocoa!
10. Make a Potluck Christmas Dinner- Our family always gets together on Christmas Eve for a huge dinner, just like many other families do on Christmas. Change it up this year and have everyone bring a different dish. That way you don't end up having to make everything and you get to try some new dishes.. not to mention, if someone is a bad cook, you only have to endure one thing by them. :)
11. Visit Relatives – Take time this year to go see that relative you haven't seen in a while. For us, we are going to visit my grandmother who lives about 2 hours away. We rarely get to see her and always talk about going. So, this year we are actually doing it. She will be so happy to see her great-grandchildren.
12. Downhill Sledding – Sledding with the kids is always fun, but what about in a garbage can lid? That's how we did it as kids! You kids will get a big kick out of it, but sanitize it first, please!! The, race each other down the hill. We have the perfect hill in our neighborhood for a nice race.
13. Photo Ops – Need a great picture for your holiday cards? We've done several different ideas, including all wearing red pjs and sitting by a Christmas tree. This year I'm going to let Josiah pick out his own clothes, from head to toe. I know that will make for a great card.
14. New Ornaments- Each year I let the kids pick out a new ornament for our tree. They love picking from all the new ornaments and getting to hang them on the tree. It's one of our family traditions! You could also make new ornaments. I think we are going to try to make handprint ornaments this year.

It seems like we come up with something new each year. It's not really that we try as much as it just happens. The kids are growing older and into everything so, you never know what is going to happen around here. It's so fun and exciting around the holidays! What do you and your family do each you to keep it fun and festive?

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