Grandchilden can get antsy, even irritable, when looking for something to do during winter gatherings, while the family is cooped up indoors. Here's the ultimate list of things to do with the grandchildren to make the togetherness this season perfectly delightful.
1) Sure there's plenty of food around, but leave out one course of the family celebratory meal. Let the young sous chef know that the two of you will be preparing that special dish together.
2) Again, all the standards — the wreath, tree, menorah, candelabras — have already been put in place. But when the grandchildren arrive (or when you get to their house), roll out the crayons and paper and have them draw their own version of Holiday 2008. Hang up the artwork in a prominent place for all the guests to ogle. When the holidays are over, save the artwork for display the following year, adding the current year's masterpiece to the mix.
3) Drape a towel over a little one's arm and "hire" him as your very important finger-food waiter.
4) Traditions are in full force for the holidays, even TV traditions. Tune in to It's a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Miracle on 34th Street. Our personal favorite is Arthur's Perfect Christmas, a one-hour animated PBS special that covers Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa in one tidy package.
5) When it's time to lift the rumps off the couch, gather the grandchildren to shovel the snow. Then, instigate a snowball fight to keep it cardio.
6) End an evening with a round of age-appropriate board games. Pictionary is always a hit, or go for a competitive game of charades. Just make sure the grandchildren are on your team! One of our staffers plays a variation on Scrabble called Ruskymorf, where players could use made-up words as long as they have a definition that enough people think sounds about right or is funny enough to fly.
7) Teach your older grandkids how to properly carve a turkey, or a ham, or whatever lands on your table.
8) If you happen to live in a city with family fun runs, go for it. In New York City, for example, on New Year's Eve the Midnight Run in Central Park draws a generationally-diverse and fun-loving crowd.
9) Take a grand vacation this season with the grandkids: Keep it as simple as sledding in the local park, or walking and driving through town to look at the holiday lights or as involved as skiing or Caribbean cruising.
10) Make homemade honeycomb candles out of beeswax; no muss, no hot wax. Just roll the sheets of wax around a wick.
11) Create your own holiday heirlooms: wreaths, ornaments, candelabras, and dreidels. A couple of wreath- or tree-shaped Styrofoam forms, ribbon, old buttons, sequins, and some straight dressmaker pins to hold the decorations to the form are all you and your grandkids need. For dreidles, cut Styrofoam cubes to resemble tops, then decorate.
12) Make a bird-feeder from materials as handy as pinecones and peanut butter. Spread the peanut butter in the crevices of the cone. Tie the cone to a tree branch.
13) Design your own family greeting cards.
14) Publish the 2008 Family News and send it around to even the most distant relatives.
15) Make a popcorn or a cranberry garland. Gussy it up a little by alternating popcorn and cranberries.
16) Shop with your grandchildren for their parent's gifts. If they're really young, make the gifts together.
17) We hear that Santa is coming to town. Be the one who takes the grandkids to visit St. Nick when he hits your 'hood.
18) The best introduction to the ballet is The Nutcracker. For the littlest ones who aren't ready for a full-length performance, there are plenty of abbreviated versions around the country and even ones that tweak the storyline to make it more homespun.
19) Tea is a wonderful winter beverage. Find a tea salon in your area. If there aren't any, make one of your own and invite the neighbors. Have the grandchilden help you prepare finger sandwiches. Serve with your finest china.
20) Make up your own Family Winter Olympics. Think of easy, even silly, activities for the young ones, and tougher things for the older ones. Make sure everyone gets a prize.
21) Construct a gingerbread house. This could be as easy or as complicated as you want. Purchase some graham crackers, candy dots, and icing, and spend the afternoon making a one-of-a-kind house. Remember it doesn't have to look perfect, but it will hold together well if you mount the crackers on a small milk or juice carton, with the peaked top serving as the roof.
22) Go on a scenic sleigh ride. For example, the Adams Family Farm in Wilmington, Ver., offers Fondue Night Sleigh Rides on Wednesday evenings. The sleigh rides take you to a log cabin in the woods where you can sample some of the farm's traditional fondue, as well as other tasty goodies and cider.
23) Make paper snowflakes. Purchase a packet of construction paper, and spend the afternoon with your grandkids folding and cutting to make each unique snowflake to hang on windows and around the house.
24) Make edible sun-catchers. Melt different colors of Jolly Ranchers together in winter-shaped cookie cutters lined in aluminum foil. When cool, peel off foil, hang from a string.
25) Make homemade marshmallows. Cooking a batch is much more fun then opening a store-bought package.
26) Do karaoke. On a cold winter's night, it will warm your soul, no matter what pitch you hit.
27) Do something charitable: Make small gifts for folks in nursing homes, mail- carriers, firefighters, and police officers. Gift them with decorative picture frames, sachets, healthy treats, or handmade treasure or jewelry boxes. Alternatively, you can decorate the home of a person who can't get out and about.
28) Set up an ice-skating party for all your grandkids; allow the older ones to bring friends
29) Snooze. Nothing wrong with taking a nap. You and the grandkids deserve a break.
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