Fun Things to do during your Christmas Break

                Christmas is officially here, do you have all your presents bought and wrapped? Christmas can be a very stress full time of the year, but we need to think of some things fun to do with the children and grandchildren. In a couple of days, they will have off for Christmas and will be very excited. So today I will give some easy little projects to do to keep them happy.

Make some Christmas cut out cookies, what child doesn’t like decorating cookies. Here’s my family recipe for Christmas cut out cookies. Every year as a child this was a family project where we each had a plate and a dish of frosting to decorate our favorite cookies.

White Christmas cookies

½ cup butter                                           1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

½ cup shortening                                  3 ½ cups flour

1 cup sugar                                            1 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs                                                     2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add baking soda, cream of tartar, and gradually add the flour to the creamed mixture. Chill for 2 hours. Roll out dough onto a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Take your cookie cutters and make as many different Christmas shapes as you like. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

Now that winter is here and has blessed us with a lot of snow, why not take the kids outside and build a snow man. My father was always in charge of this project. He would help us lift the heavy snow balls. What child doesn’t like building a snow man .  Have the kids make snow angels. Make a snow castle. Just getting them outside will help pass the time and have some fun in the process.

If you are religious, head to your church for the Christmas programs.  Let’s remember the real meaning of Christmas too. Besides the program you have a church family to celebrate with also.

Every year at this time my father would take us to the local park to go sledding down the hills. Some parks even have ice skating rinks. This was a favorite of our family. Being outside and laughing and having time together.

If you don’t want to be outside as much, try stringing popped corn to make a little chain for your tree or just to drape around a picture or door frame. I added a little twist to this to make it more colorful. Dip the tips of your popped corn in food coloring to add a little color.

There are so many different projects you can do in or around your house for little to no money at all. All that matters is that you are spending time together as a family and making memories that will last a life time. Christmas is about together time. These are a few easy things to do with your children or grandchildren while they are off for the Christmas Holiday. Merry Christmas from Suzie Homemaker.