Do you have special Christmas traditions in your family, perhaps they are traditions passed down through your family or religious/cultural traditions explored at home and with your community?
Christmas is a time for giving, where acts of kindness are quintessentially ‘The spirit of Christmas.’ A meaningful way to give of yourself through handmade gifts, services and support. It is the process of unconditionally caring for another without expectation of something in return, and there are many ways we can explore this concept and share it with our children, building authentic human connections and restoring faith in humanity.
Remembering that we lead by example.
Creating mindfulness around Christmas for children can definitely be challenging in the face of commercial influences. Simplicity however, remains the best remedy for keeping joy alive in our everyday life and growing our family with mindful ways of living.
A beautiful way to bring meaning and focus back to your children during the ’Silly season’ is to make a plan together for the weeks leading to Christmas. Brainstorm ideas and activities you can map out on a calendar including baking, crafting, visiting, tasks, chores, and different ways to help others over the days and weeks ahead.
You may also like to acknowledge the 4 weeks of Advent in your planning, through the lighting of one candle at the beginning of each week (1-4) and adding little collections to your nature or Christmas display that correspond with the elements:
Week 1 is the mineral kingdom (crystals, shells, rocks) Week 2 is the plant kingdom (seeds, flowers, leaves, pods) Week 3 is the animal kingdom (add some little wooden or felt figurines) Week 4 is the human kingdom leading to the birth of baby Jesus.
Week 2 is the plant kingdom (seeds, flowers, leaves, pods)
Week 3 is the animal kingdom (add some little wooden or felt figurines)
Week 4 is the human kingdom leading to the birth of baby Jesus.
Below are some mindful ways to share handmade gifts and personal time this Christmas with friends, family, neighbours, teachers, homeless people and service workers/ volunteers that regularly help others. It is a way to say thank you and to let them know ‘you see them’.
*Bake biscuits (like gingerbread stars and shortbread treats)
*Make a flower or herb posy from the garden.
*Fill a basket with produce from your veggie patch or fruit trees.
*Make a candle holder from clay and decorate with foliage or crystals.
*Dry some orange slices with peel on and thread into garlands with cinnamon sticks and star anise.
*Decorate candles with coloured beeswax.
*Pot some seeds or plant off-cuts into little pots you have decorated.
*Squeeze lemons and make jars of cordial.
*Sew some tree decorations.
*Make your own Christmas cards.
*Offer to help out more at home or ask someone you know if you can help them with a job that need’s doing.
Kindness is not a seasonal display; it is for every day. Christmas can be a heightened and sometimes difficult time for many so a little extra kindness can really make a difference to the heart and hopes of another.
