Share The Gift Of A Christmas Story
Each holiday season, one of the challenges every family faces is finding a way to manage Christmas spending. As extended families grow, the pressure to spend more and more grows with each December. But many families today have chosen creative ways to give to each other, without spending money, especially at large family gatherings.
Of course, this trend is historically what the holiday season was all about-sharing the love and the joy of family, rather than expensive gifts, at a darkening time of the year. One way to renew that sense of family love and joy is to share with family members favorite tales and stories of the holiday season.
Such an event is something in which everyone, even the youngest family members, can participate; everyone has a holiday story or tale or song that's special to them. And such an event is not only exciting for everyone, it's also easier to plan than any holiday dinner.
Each year, the story-telling duties can be delegated to one nuclear family, or to all the teenaged cousins, or to all the adults, or names can be drawn for those who will share their holiday tales.
Most well-known holiday stories and poems are easily found on and downloaded from the internet. If your favorite is "'Twas The Night Before Christmas", for instance, print it out and insert it into a colorful holiday binder-unless you're confident enough to recite it by heart.
Practice reading aloud, a few times by yourself, in front of someone in your immediate family, to overcome any stage-fright you might have.
The youngest family members may need a bit of help, both with finding a holiday tale, and with preparing it. Parents can be a practice audience for their kids, offering pointers on volume and pronunciations. Many children may even choose to make up their own stories. This can be a really entertaining addition to any family party.
The perfect time for a family story-circle is after a big meal, when everyone is rested and ready to listen and be entertained.
One family member can be designated as the evening's MC, to keep things moving along, to introduce each piece, and offer encouragement to those cousins who may experience sudden shyness, in front of a group. Each story session should be a manageable length-forty-five minutes to an hour, tops. That way, no one gets bored and everyone looks forward to this tradition, at next year's gathering.
Sharing favorite holiday stories and poems and songs with your loved ones can turn into a highlight of each Christmas family gathering.
Of course, this trend is historically what the holiday season was all about-sharing the love and the joy of family, rather than expensive gifts, at a darkening time of the year. One way to renew that sense of family love and joy is to share with family members favorite tales and stories of the holiday season.
Such an event is something in which everyone, even the youngest family members, can participate; everyone has a holiday story or tale or song that's special to them. And such an event is not only exciting for everyone, it's also easier to plan than any holiday dinner.
Each year, the story-telling duties can be delegated to one nuclear family, or to all the teenaged cousins, or to all the adults, or names can be drawn for those who will share their holiday tales.
Most well-known holiday stories and poems are easily found on and downloaded from the internet. If your favorite is "'Twas The Night Before Christmas", for instance, print it out and insert it into a colorful holiday binder-unless you're confident enough to recite it by heart.
Practice reading aloud, a few times by yourself, in front of someone in your immediate family, to overcome any stage-fright you might have.
The youngest family members may need a bit of help, both with finding a holiday tale, and with preparing it. Parents can be a practice audience for their kids, offering pointers on volume and pronunciations. Many children may even choose to make up their own stories. This can be a really entertaining addition to any family party.
The perfect time for a family story-circle is after a big meal, when everyone is rested and ready to listen and be entertained.
One family member can be designated as the evening's MC, to keep things moving along, to introduce each piece, and offer encouragement to those cousins who may experience sudden shyness, in front of a group. Each story session should be a manageable length-forty-five minutes to an hour, tops. That way, no one gets bored and everyone looks forward to this tradition, at next year's gathering.
Sharing favorite holiday stories and poems and songs with your loved ones can turn into a highlight of each Christmas family gathering.
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