Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays of the year for many families, and young and old alike enjoy the festivities of the season. While toddlers may not be able to take part in the same activities as older children, there are things parents can do with their small children to help keep them active participants in the holiday.
Create a Santa Countdown Chain
Waiting for Santa to arrive with his bag full of toys on Christmas Eve makes Christmas a magical time for children. Small children may not grasp the concept of days or weeks and may ask daily if Santa is coming that night. A fun way to help children recognize the amount of time that needs to pass before Christmas Eve is to create a Santa countdown chain.
To create the chain, parents need to get red and green construction paper. Twelve strips about two to three inches wide should be cut from each color. Parents can then tape the ends of the strips together to create a circle and link the strips together to create a chain. Parents can then tape the chain to a wall in the home.
Starting December 1st, the child can tear one of the links off at the beginning of the day with the last link being removed on Christmas Eve. As the chain gets shorter and shorter the child will see how close or far away Christmas Eve is.
Decorate with Coloring Pages
Toddlers may not be able to stay between the lines when coloring, but they enjoy putting crayon to paper and scribbling. Parents can allow their children to help decorate the home for Christmas by printing some Christmas coloring pages off the the internet for free and letting their toddlers color them with red and green crayons.
After the child has colored the picture, parents can hang them on the walls. Parents can also cut smaller colored pictures out, glue them to a piece of cardboard, punch a hole in the picture, put a piece of yarn through the hole and hang the picture on the Christmas tree.
Salted Pine Cone Trees
Creating snowy Christmas trees out of pine cones is a way parents and toddlers can make a holiday ornament together. The only supplies needed are pine cones, table salt, and clear drying glue.
- Parents should apply a thin layer of glue to the pine cone with a small paint brush
- Parents can give the toddler the salt shaker and allow them to shake and sprinkle the salt onto the coated pine cone
- Allow pine cone to dry and attach a string. The salt will make the pine cone appear as if shiny snow is on it and makes a nice ornament for the Christmas tree.
Sing and Dance to Holiday Songs
Children love to sing and even older toddlers might be able to sing along with simple holiday songs. Music can help children get excited about the holidays and is a great way for the whole family to celebrate together.
Toddlers are small and may not be able to engage in a lot of the activities older children can at Christmas time, but creative parents can find ways to include even their smallest child in holiday activities and make memories that will last forever.
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