Page 36 2015 HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS MAGAZINE LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.COM NOVEMBER 25, 2015
Other activities
Read a Christmas
story together. There
are a number of
books like The Night
Before Christmas,
or Rudolph the Red
Nosed Reindeer,
with holiday
themes. Some families also
read the story of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2 as part
of their holiday gathering.
Watch a holiday movie together
If you are a family of movie buffs, there are
many holiday movies to choose from. “It’s
a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas Carol,” and
“Miracle on 34th Street” are timeless classics.
Movies like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” can be fun
for the whole family to watch.
Play games together
One website all about Christmas games
provides many ideas. A game that could
be played by a large group is Christmas 20
questions, in
which one team
tries to guess
the holiday word
from asking
the other team
questions.
Another game
is Christmas
trivia with trivia
questions
related to holiday movies, the Nativity, or
Santa Claus. You can also play Christmas
Song Scramble, in which your team tries to
be the first one to unscramble the words to
a song and sing it. Other families may enjoy
playing board games together during the
holidays.
Do crafts together
Provide graham crackers, icing, and candies
so everyone can make gingerbread houses
or even gingerbread nativity scenes. The
younger ones can turn ice cream cones into
Christmas trees decorated with icing and
candies. Kids can also make snow globes
using a jar, glitter, a plastic figurine, and
water.
In the evening, drive around as a group
and look at the lights. Pinterest has lists for
Christmas scavenger hunts you can do as
you drive around where you look for items
such as a yard with a nativity scene lit by
floodlights, reindeer or snowmen in the yard,
flashing lights, or a wreath on a door.
Holiday eats and treats
Christmas
dinner is often
an important
part of a holiday
celebration,
but planning
the holiday
meal can
be stressful,
especially if you are hosting a large group.
In the article “Easy Tips for Holiday Get
Togethers,” Becky Luigart-Stayner suggests
sharing the work. She says, “Come up with
a menu, prepare the main dish, and ask
other guests to bring the appetizer, sides,
and dessert.” Luigart-Stayner also said you
should “Think bigger: Plan for more food
and beverages than you’ll need. It’s better to
enjoy leftovers than to run out of either.”
If you are getting together on Christmas eve,
consider doing the Journey to Bethlehem
Meal, a fairly simple tradition Catherine
Wilson says she recently discovered. Wilson
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