(Our daughter wanted Pepe to eat oatmeal.)
When we decide to do an activity or craft, we do so because we want to not because we are keeping up with the Garcia’s, Jones’, or Ayala’s. We see a craft on line, hear about a certain activity, or are given an idea to do with our daughter, we modify the activity to best fit the needs of our child and the lesson we want to teach.
Activities such as Elf on a Shelf or Kindness Elves , a great alternative from The Imagination Tree, are here to bring a form of magic, creativity, and the life lessons you want to teach your children in a fun way. Follow Anna over at The Imagination Tree to see what her children and the elves will be doing. This alternative is right up our alley and that is why we are sharing what her family will be doing.
Giving to another Family during the Holidays
(Photo Credit Lillian Collazo)
If you want your family to learn a great lesson during the holidays or anytime of the year, read more about my childhood friend’s son Nick and what he has gone through these past 14 months. Lillian and Luis along with Nick, Aiyana, and Julian can certainly teach us a life lesson in perseverance, love, and fighting against childhood cancer. Not only is Nick a warrior against cancer, his older sister Aiyana is also a childhood cancer survivor. You can donate to his fundraiser by going to his YouCaring.com page. His mom Lillian updates the group on Facebook with what is happening with Nick and his progress to beat cancer. Lillian has taught me that as a mom you do what you have to for you children even if it is the most scariest thing to do! The community around them is amazing and fight with Nick everyday.
(This tree was made from recycled cardboard and the ornament on top from a letter from the Misfits Inc.)
Celebrate Everyday
Life lessons don’t just happen around holidays, they happen all the time. All year Daniela has made cards for our neighbors, crafts for decorating their doors during the year, we have made soup when they are sick or shared our favorite cookies just because we had more than we needed. We spent time with family visiting from the states and Daniela spent time with her cousin who taught her how to make “yellow rice” and pretend play.
For Halloween we even made muffins and bags of popcorn to give to our neighbors who organized the trick or treat event for our daughter and another little boy in our building. Our neighbor was surprised to receive some treats and her husband was happy for the pumpkin muffins we made. If our neighbor’s dog (who is 11 years old) is crying we send her a message to see if she is okay. Our daughter has seen all of these acts of kindness, giving, and doing for others during the year.
The month of December is a busy one for our family. My birthday, our daughter’s birthday, and the adoption day of our dog are all this month. Along with Christmas, New Years, and Three King’s Day, we are pretty exhausted by the time January seventh rolls around. But we make sure to spend time with our loved ones when the time allows (we also run a small business from home), give to those who need whether near or far any time of the year, and show our daughter that giving is better than receiving.
What life lessons are you planning to teach your family for the holidays and carry out through 2014?