Somewhere between “we should do something special for the holidays” and discovering that someone has used the last of the tape, December arrives.
Or November. Or whichever month your family’s celebrations happen to land in. The calendar does not consult us before becoming unreasonable.
There are things to plan, things to remember, and usually something we were supposed to bring. Someone needs a particular ingredient. Someone else has outgrown the clothes that fit approximately twelve minutes ago. And a child has just announced a wonderfully elaborate project that requires your immediate participation.
Do you want to build a snowman?
Honestly? Yes.
I just need to find the table.
A holiday season doesn’t have to look one particular way
Some families are preparing for Christmas. Some are celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Lunar New Year, or other holidays throughout the year. Some observe the winter solstice. Some enjoy seasonal activities without a religious celebration. Some households bring more than one tradition to the table.
And some families aren’t celebrating right now. They may be working, grieving, watching every dollar, or simply choosing a quieter season.
You do not have to explain your family’s situation to participate here.
I want our Holidays & Celebrations collection to make room for different families, beliefs, traditions, and ways of spending time together. Not turn one family’s celebration into the default and everybody else’s into a footnote.
You know your home. You get to choose what belongs in it.
We can make room for learning without assigning the entire holiday season
There is plenty to learn while preparing for a celebration.
Reading a recipe. Measuring ingredients. Figuring out whether doubling the recipe means we actually own a bowl large enough to hold it.
Writing a card to someone you love. Planning a budget. Learning why a tradition matters to your family, or listening respectfully while someone explains a tradition that is different from yours.
Those things count as meaningful learning.
But I’m not suggesting you stand over a child holding a cookie and ask them to identify three learning objectives before they take a bite.
Sometimes you can just make the cookies.
If a question comes up, follow it. If everyone is tired and the kitchen is covered in flour, perhaps we save the extended research project for another day.
Back to the snowman
There is something very appealing about a project with such a simple premise.
Make a snowman. Give him a face. Possibly a hat.
And then the children get involved, and suddenly there are architectural disagreements, a missing mitten, and someone who feels strongly that the snowman needs a pet.
I support the vision. I would like to know where the pet is going to live.
If you have snow, wonderful. If you don’t, a paper snowman is perfectly acceptable. So is a drawing, a little clay creation, or a snowman made from whatever appropriate supplies you already have.
We do not need to order actual weather.
For a child who wants more, you can experiment with shapes, measure how tall the snowman is, write a story about him, or investigate why snow sticks together.
For a child who wants to give him seventeen eyes and move on with their day, there’s room for that, too.
The goal is an activity your family can enjoy, not a centerpiece that makes everyone afraid to touch it.
Not every child wants the loud, sparkly version
Holiday activities can come with a lot of instructions disguised as fun.
Wear this. Try that. Sit here. Smile. Now everybody sing.
Meanwhile, one child is bothered by the scratchy outfit, another is overwhelmed by the noise, and somebody was completely happy until we announced that their happy activity was over because it was time for the next happy activity.
It’s okay to adjust.
A quieter craft might be a better fit than a crowded event. A familiar activity might be more welcome than a surprise. A child may want to watch before joining in, take a break, or make something entirely different with the same supplies.
And an older child may still enjoy a simple seasonal project without needing us to announce that they’re “too big for that.”
We can offer an invitation without making participation a test of holiday spirit.
Learning about a celebration is not the same as claiming it
One of the lovely things about learning together is discovering that people mark important days in different ways.
We can be curious without treating every tradition as interchangeable.
If you’re exploring a celebration outside your own family’s experience, look for books and explanations from people who observe it. Learn what the celebration means to them, rather than assuming we understand it because we found a craft with a similar-looking symbol.
And if your child asks a question you can’t answer, “Let’s find out” is a perfectly respectable response.
We don’t have to know everything before we begin. We do need to remember that these are real people’s traditions, not just decorating themes.
Pick the thing you actually have room for
Here is my very unofficial holiday planning advice: choose something that fits the family you have and the week you’re in.
Not the imaginary week where everybody slept well, the counters are clear, and you remembered to buy batteries.
This week.
Maybe you have room for a project spread out over several afternoons. Maybe you have twenty minutes before you need to leave. Maybe the best thing you can do is read together and let someone else handle the glitter.
A small activity done with some actual enjoyment is worth more to me than an elaborate plan that ends with everyone upset and a half-built village occupying the dining room until February.
Although if the village is already there, I’m not judging. Please pass the tape.
That’s the idea behind Holidays & Celebrations
I want this collection to be a place to look for books, projects, and learning resources that fit your family’s celebrations and interests.
You don’t need everything. You don’t need to recreate somebody else’s holiday. And you certainly don’t need to make your home look like a seasonal catalog before your children are allowed to enjoy it.
Choose something meaningful, something interesting, or simply something you think you’ll enjoy doing together.
And if that something is building a snowman, I’m in.
Let me move this stack of books first.