Holiday Chores with Kids

While in the Kitchen Cooking Your Holiday Feast....

• Open a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Christmas shapes and allow them to string the shapes on red yarn. Older children will enjoy gluing the shapes to colorful construction paper.
• Preschoolers love to stir cake mixes, put cupcake papers in tins, and stack cans in categories of vegetables or fruits.
• Even toddlers can help decorate the Christmas cookies by putting on sprinkles or a little frosting.
• A dish of colored cereal makes a fun game of sorting by color or shape. Kids can even eat their mistakes.

Gift Wrapping Fun

• Extract the brown paper tubes from inside the wrapping paper rolls. Cut the tubes into different lengths and have your child sort in order of ascending heights, or cut two of each size and have them match sizes. Tubes are also fun to look through and talk into.
• Allow your preschooler to wrap his favorite matchbox cars or blocks in your awkward size scraps of wrapping paper. Kids will enjoy cutting out shapes of the snowmen or other characters pictured on the paper. Let your children draw holiday scenes on the inside of grocery store paper bags or freezer paper. Then wrap presents with this personalized wrapping paper.
• Grandparents will love receiving this special artwork.

Surviving an Extra Pair of Small Hands in Your Holiday Chores

• Lower your expectations. Don't expect to complete an entire task at one time.
• Allow yourself additional time. It will certainly take you longer to do a chore with a child at your elbow.
• Expect interruptions and you'll be pleasantly surprised if they don't happen.
• Focus on the memories you are creating for your child and you'll find additional joy in the chore.
• Remember, your child is always watching your response and reactions. If the holidays stress you, he will associate the stress with the holidays as well.