Christmas Round Up 2014

My son and I just drove past the first Christmas lights of the season in our town last night. He was so excited to see them!

And I gotta be honest- I might have been just a *tad* bit more excited than he was to see an official start to the Christmas celebrations. I LOVE this time of year! 

We've decided to be really intentional this year about building in some breathing room into our holiday schedule as a family. If we're not careful, we can start saying 'yes' to all sorts of fun things that sound fantastic, but they have the ability to sap the life right out of the season and make us too busy to actually enjoy it. This whole 'give-ourselves-a-bit-of-breathing-room' thing has kinda been the theme for us this year, which is why you've seen less content on this blog lately. Hey, when it comes to choosing whether to write a blog post or build a Lego race car with a cutie patootie, the cutie is going to win every time. 

But anyhoo- back to Christmas! In the spirit of getting things done early so you can enjoy December a bit more, I thought I'd round up a few Christmas ideas and resources for you now.

Plan the perfect class Christmas party:

Christmas Party {Games}

Christmas Party {Crafts}

Christmas Party {Student Gifts}

Christmas Party {Picture Books}

Ooo! Another super fun and simple party game is the Candy Ball. 

Teacher recommended Christmas gifts:

Here are some of my favorite gifts for I would LOVE to get I think kids would love to get this Christmas. Needless to say, I had a blast making these lists!

Toys That Get Kids Outside!

Toys That Get Kids Moving!
Toys That Get Kids Thinking!

Toys That Get Kids Creating!
Toys That Get Kids Reading!
Toys That Get Kids Imagining!
Toys That Get Kids Exploring!

{RAKs} Random Act of Kindness ideas for Christmas:

Each month, we did a random act of kindness in our classroom. Find out more about how to start a RAK club in your room.

Two RAKs you could do this holiday season:

   1. Create decorations to give away (see pic above).

   2. Collect food for a food bank.

Last minute gift-giving idea: 

Here's my secret to fool proof last-minute gifts! {Um, so if you are thinking of getting Your Teacher's Aide anything this year, refer to the aforementioned awesome gift.) ;) 

Enjoy the Christmas season!

So that should hopefully give you a little head start this holiday season. And remember: you don't have to do it all. 

----Store-bought cookies? Totally acceptable. 

----Saying 'no' to attending another Christmas party so you can stay home and read a good book by the fire and recharge your batteries. Okay too. 

----Every gift bought on Amazon while you sit in your PJs? (Um, this is pretty much what I do. Completely fine in my book.) 

(And I'm okay that it costs just a bit more for some gifts. We took the stress out of spending money at Christmas by creating a special Christmas account that we have an automatic amount drafted to each month. I know it's *really* our money, but it ends up feeling like bonus money by the time Christmas rolls around!)

The goal is not to do everything in a Perfectly Pinterest way or even to do everything at all... but instead try to fill up your plate with things that make you happy and leave you remembering the real reason for this meaningful season.