Family activities for the holiday season come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are costly, but many are free.  You can help make this holiday season one that your whole family will remember for many years to come by taking advantage of some of the special activities and events in your community.

Ice Skating

Your local skating rink is likely an excellent place to go for some holiday fun.  Most places like this have holiday themed events and free skate evenings.  This is a fun and relatively inexpensive activity the whole family can enjoy.  To give your outing a more authentic feel, you may even be able to find an outdoor skating rink in the area.

Santa Photos

It sounds cliché, but paying a visit to Santa at the mall or other community center is a great way to get into the holiday season and create some special memories.  Kids of all ages can get a kick out of paying a visit to Santa, and you’ll have some very special pictures that you’ll all be able to look back on for years to come.

Light Tours

No matter where you live, you’ll likely be able to find a neighborhood or area where people decorate their houses or businesses very extravagantly.  You may not have the time, patience, or money to do this yourself, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go enjoy what others have done.  Piling the whole family into the car for an after dinner Christmas light tour is a cheap and easy way to spend an evening together.

Sledding and Tubing

If you live in a place that gets a lot of snow or if you live within driving distance of a ski resort, you’ll probably be able to find a place to take the family for a fun day of sledding this holiday season.  Some ski areas also offer a twist on the traditional sledding experience by letting visitors slide down the slopes in inner tubes.  No matter what vehicle you choose however, you’ll all have a great time playing in the snow.

There are plenty of other options too.  It’s a good idea to check out your local community center or look online to see what other events might be going on in your area.  It’s easy to lose the true spirit of the holidays in the hectic and stressful environment that usually surrounds them. But it really doesn’t take much time or money to put together a few special activities that your whole family can enjoy together.  You’ll all enjoy the much-needed break from the routine, and you may just wind up creating a new family tradition along the way.

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1. EyeClops Mini Projector

This is an exciting new toy that has won high praise and several awards for its innovative design and advanced technology.  It’s a hand-held device that can project an image to fit up to a 60 inch screen.  It works indoors or outdoors too, so there are really few people who couldn’t use one of these.  Kids love it of course, but it will provide hours of fun and entertainment for the whole family.  The EyeClops is also not as expensive as you might suspect.  Prices vary from one retailer to another, of course, but you should be able to find one for under $100.

1. Dinosaur Robots

There are quite a few excellent robotic dinosaur toys on the market at the moment.  You can find a remote controlled Brontosaurus by fisher price, an interactive T-Rex that responds to touch and motion, and a Triceratops that children up to 60 pounds can actually ride on as it ambles around the room.  Not only are these toys a lot of fun, they’re a great way to introduce kids to the wonders of dinosaurs and natural history.

1. FurReal Friends

Stuffed animals have always been a favourite gift for kids of all ages, but these great FurReal toys take this traditional toy to new heights.  All of the FurReal Friends are interactive animals that kids have a great time interacting with.  The various FurReal Friends available include Buscuit, an adorable puppy dog, and Butterscotch, a three foot tall horse that trots around and responds to his name.  And then there’s Squawkers McCaw, a parrot who imitates your voice, answers questions, and will even dance to music.  There aren’t many kids who wouldn’t love to find one of these under the tree this holiday season.

1. Rubik’s Touch Cube

This is a high tech version of the old-school classic.  By utilizing touch technology, Rubik has created a puzzle system that will provide any kid (or adult) with hours of fun and challenging stimulation.  Of course, you can also try your hand at the original puzzle on this device as well.

This is just a snapshot of the wide array of exciting, popular toys that will be on the market this year for Christmas. You will want to get as early of a jumpstart as possible on the upcoming holiday rush if you’re serious about making sure your children get the toys they really want.  You can also get some great deals on these toys by shopping online or pre-ordering them from online retailers.  This will save you a ton of time and help you avoid the crushing holiday crowds.

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Shop With Friends

You’ll get a lot of ideas for what to buy for friends or family members if you go shopping with them.  Obviously you won’t be able to buy their gift while they’re with you, but if you pay attention, you’ll be able to go back and pick out the perfect gift for all of them.  Plus, it’s always nice to have someone with you to help you pick out gifts for people you both know.

Pay Attention

Most people you spend any time with throughout the year will drop some good hints unintentionally, but you have to be paying attention.  It can be hard to start thinking about the holidays in March or July.  But if you can get in the habit of making a mental note whenever someone you know mentions a particular item of interest, you’ll be way ahead of the game when it comes to holiday shopping.

Take Notes

The only problem with trying to come up with ideas all throughout the year is that it’s really easy to forget them before it’s time to go holiday shopping.  This problem is easily fixed though if you just take a moment to jot down gift ideas whenever you come up with them.  You can even just make a list on your cell phone – really anyplace where you’ll have an easy time keeping track of them is good.  That way, you’ll have your list intact when you’re ready to use it and can edit it as needed throughout the year.

Start Early

Another option is to start buying gifts whenever you get an idea for someone.  There’s no rule that states you have to buy Christmas gifts only a certain number of weeks before Christmas.  Buying gifts early will have the added benefit of spreading your holiday spending out over a longer period of time.  This can make it much easier to absorb the added expense of buying all those gifts in a short amount of time.

The only potential problem with this approach is that some people may wind up going out and buying something for themselves that you’d already bought them but hadn’t given them yet.  This problem is generally avoidable though if you pick out items that you know your friend or relative would never buy for themselves.

Buying early can also cause you to miss out on some new items that hit the stores just in time for the holiday shopping season, so you’ll have to take that into account too when evaluating your gift ideas.  However you chose to go about it, holiday shopping isn’t nearly as hard as it seems.  You just have to go about it the right way.

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Stop Going to the Stores

Shopping online is a great option for most items on your holiday gift lists.  Buying toys, electronics, books, and novelty items online can save you time and money.  A lot of great deals can be found online.  This isn’t the best way to shop for everything on your list, but you can take care of a lot of holiday shopping this way.

Also, most online retailers offer free shipping on orders over a certain size.  It’s not too hard to meet these minimums, especially if you’re buying for several people at once.  If you’re buying gifts for people you’re not going to be seeing over the holidays, or who live far away, you can have their presents shipped directly to them.  Often you can even have them gift wrapped before they’re shipped.  Just make sure you place your orders early enough so that you don’t wind up paying extra for expedited shipping.

Get Christmas Lists Early

The earlier you know what those special people on your list want, the earlier you can go out and get it.  It’s as simple as that.  Getting the bulk of your holiday shopping done early will allow you to avoid those crazy holiday crowds, as well as significantly reducing your stress as the holidays get closer.  That way, you can sit back and enjoy the holiday season instead of fighting the crowds at the malls.

Skip the Big Shopping Days

Sure there are good deals to be had on the traditional major holiday shopping days.  The truth is though that there are often better deals available during one day sales and other holiday promotions put on by individual retailers.  In fact, most of the major deals on Black Friday are reserved for a few big items.

Plus, fighting the crowds to save a few dollars often really isn’t worth it.  If you’ve planned ahead and done a significant amount of your shopping online already, you can hit some one day sales later on in the holiday shopping season.  You’ll likely wind up spending less money overall because you won’t be making rushed and impulsive purchases just to get one more name crossed off either.

If you plan carefully, skip the busy, painful days in the stores, and stop worrying about getting that one ideal gift that your kids want, you will not only have a much happier Christmas, but your family will be able to relax with you and enjoy it that much more.

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Pine Cone Christmas Tree

One of the easiest Christmas decorations to make at home is a pine cone Christmas tree.  The only materials you’ll need are glue, a Styrofoam cone, any decorations you’d like to put on your tree, and, of course, pine cones.  Going out and gathering all the pine cones you’ll need is actually half the fun of this craft.

A hot glue gun is recommended, but not necessary.  All you have to do is assemble your pine cones and begin gluing them to the Styrofoam cone.  You’ll probably want to pick out the pine cone with the best shape to go on top.  Attach this one first, and then begin gluing the rest of your pinecones onto the cone.  Once you’ve covered the Styrofoam cone with pine cones, decorate your tree any way you’d like and display.

Nutty Christmas Creatures

While you’re out gathering your pine cones, you may want to grab some acorns or chestnuts as well.  That way, when you’re done with your trees, you can use these to make some cute little Christmas critters.  Hickory nuts work well for this too, and you’ll need walnuts still in their shell to make the bodies of your critters.  The only other supplies you should gather are glue, a wood file, and some scraps of fabric or other items to use for decorations.

File the point off the top of the walnut and glue an acorn or other small nut onto the flattened area.  Use paint or markers to create a face for your creatures and dress them with the scraps of cloth and other assorted decorations you have lying around.

Snowmen

All you need for this craft project are a few different sizes of foam balls, some glue, and the decorations of your choice.  Start by gluing three of the balls together with a large one on the bottom, a medium one in the middle, and a small one on top.  All you have left to do is decorate your snowman and set him out for all to see.  Because you can just stick your decorations into the Styrofoam too, you can use just about anything.  Cloves, for example, make great buttons.

Really, the only limit with any of these crafts is your imagination.  They’re not just a great way to decorate for the holidays either.  These easy crafts are a great way for your whole family to get into the holiday spirit together.  You’ll make some great decorations to be sure, but you’ll also create some lasting memories to cherish forever.

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