Is it just me or does it seem like this year flew by even faster than before? Hard to believe it’s December already. Even with the busyness of the season, be intentional to slow down and enjoy all the beautiful moments of the holiday month. Engage the family in festive fun throughout the December. Dance to Christmas music, sing carols together, drive around town to look at holiday lights, watch seasonal movies together, sip hot cocoa, wear matching pajamas, bake desserts, and play board games inside and sports games outside. In addition to the typical celebrations for December, include some of these odd, but real, holidays in family activities for the month.
National Mutt Day – Celebrate humankind’s best friend with books and movies about four-legged, furry treasures. Turn the day into a longer celebration and pick several of these offerings to enjoy throughout the month. Watch PAW Patrol, 101 Dalmatians, Air Bud, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Bolt, Lady and the Tramp, The Adventures of Milo and Otis, Balto, Dog Man, Homeward Bound, The Shaggy dog, Benji, Scooby-Doo, Beethoven, or Lassie. Read picture books If You Give a Dog a Donut, The Dog that Gave My Brother Words, Harry the Dirty Dog, Hot Dog, Good Dog Carl, The Adventures of Taxi Dog, Biscuit, I’ll Always Love You, Poky Little Puppy, or Wednesday and Woof series. Or read some of these chapter books: A Dog’s Purpose, Wish, The One and Only Bob, Because of Winn-Dixie, or The Incredible Journey. And here’s some inspirational titles: Faithfully Yours or PAWS-itive Inspirations.
Don’t Make Your Bed Day – Skip making your bed – temporarily. Pull the sheets off the bed, make a fort by tossing the sheets over some chairs or a table, and play together inside the fort. Then put clean sheets on the bed and snuggle together before heading to bed for the evening.
Wear Brown Shoes Day – Dig through the closet and let everyone pick brown shoes to wear. Turn on some Christmas music and dance in brown shoes together. Then, shuck the shoes and go outside for a painting craft. Tape large sheets of freezer paper together. Pour green, washable paint into a shallow disposable dish. Let each person dip one foot into green paint and make rows of footprints in the form of a Christmas tree. Start with one footprint at the very top (place heel at the very top). Row two, make two footprints. Row three, three footprints and so on until you reach the size of the tree you want. Make two brown footprints at the base for the stem. When the paint dries, add fingerprints for lights of all colors by dipping fingers into washable paints and pressing onto the green colors.
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day –Take a family trip to a thrift store and shop for ugly Christmas sweaters. Then wear them on a cold evening and take a drive around town to view Christmas lights.
Winter Solstice Day – Bundle up in warm clothes and take a blanket outside for an evening of stargazing. Look for falling stars and constellations you recognize. Talk about the fun things you’ve done this year as a family while you watch for falling stars. Share dreams and wishes for the rest of the year and the beginning of 2026. Take time to share blessings and gratefulness and sweet family memories. Enjoy the late evening together, then head back inside for a warm glass of milk before bedtime.
Enjoy every moment of December together as a family. Give thanks for the birth of a baby so long ago and remember the reason for the season. Merry Christmas and Happy December! memories.
Statesboro native Julie Lavender hopes you’ll enjoy both of her holiday books this month, "Children’s Advent Stories for Bedtime" and "A Gingerbread House."