It's Christmas, Hanukkah or Chrismukkah, for those families who celebrate both, and with the joys of the holidays come gifts, gifts and more gifts. But can it get to be too much for the kids? Cast your vote and share your tips for keeping things within reason this holiday season.
How seriously should we take children’s doodles? According to the AP, a Mass. school sent an 8-year-old boy home and ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation after the child – when asked to make a Christmas drawing – drew a stick figure of Jesus on a cross. The child’s teacher asked the class to “sketch something that reminded them of the holiday,” and the boy seemed to choose a more religious image than say, oh, Santa?
The father said in the days before the incident the family had gone to the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, where there are crucifixion statues."That was fresh on his mind," he said. "And that was a good thing that he saw."
The child’s father is currently waiting for an apology from the school, which he thinks overreacted. (The school, however, refutes the claim and insists the image circulated to the media is not the one they confiscated).
As parents we are often looking for ways to make the holidays a little less about getting and a little more about giving. One way to do this is to host a toy swap. It's a great opportunity to teach the lesson of giving, make the holidays greener, help children in need, and clean out your closets a bit — all through a fun event that brings your community together.
I recently teamed up with another blogger to host two toy swaps in our neighborhood. Although we did this on a large scale, publicizing the events through our blogs and the local media, hosting a swap is easy and can be done as simply as gathering a few families. Here are some tips for organizing your own holiday toy swap:
Choose a location A small swap can be done in a home or you can ask a local church or other community organization to let you use a room. Other than a room, all you need is some tables to put toys out on. Simple. We partnered with a great playspace, Kidville, to host our swaps. They generously provided the location, activities, and allowed participants to play in their gym, making the events an even bigger draw.
Invite your friends or community You can make your swap as small or as big as you like. It could be just you and your friends, or your school, or you can publicize it to the larger community. The bigger it is, the more variety of toys there will be to swap — and more to donate.
Need a good laugh amidst all the holiday chaos? Be sure to check out this hilarious site that captures the awkward and bizarre St. Nicks painfully taking gift orders from children (a lot of these mall Santas look more like ex-convicts than representatives of the North Pole). Our personal favorites are the ones in which the Santa seems to take much joy in making little kids miserable.
Holiday time means cookies, cakes and sweets galore! And even though we want the kids to have fun, too much isn't good. What's the secret to keeping it healthy without being a Scrooge? Share your secrets.
TODAYshow.com fans have submitted some great entries using our new Holiday Greeting Game. Please help us choose the best submission thus far by playing one or all of our five best entries submitted by TODAY fans (links to each game on the right). Tell us which one is your favorite and why in the comments below! Another option is to try your hand at our TODAY Show version of the game, or if you're feeling festive and creative, make one of your own to send to your friends and family (it's easy)!
Each year I'm faced with the challenge of buying multiple teacher gifts, and each year I struggle with ideas and how much to spend. What do you think is appropriate? Share ideas for fun gifts that don't break the budget.
Visions of iPods and Uggs are dancing in your kids' heads as they eagerly write their letters to Santa. But how many gifts are OK to list? Weigh in with your thoughts.
To host or to travel? Pick your poison or your passion. Thousands of experts have advice for how to do the holidays right, whether you're dressing the turkey and decking the halls or packing up the kids destined for long hours on the road or jammed in crowded airports. The question is, which would you rather do? Share your secrets and stories for keeping it all merry.
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Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:59 AM EST{"contentId":"3645587","headline":"Gifting gone wild: Can kids get too much at the holidays?","authorDomain":"community"}
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Wed Dec 9, 2009 8:23 PM EST{"contentId":"3612910","headline":"Pick Your Favorite TODAY Holiday Greeting Game Entry","authorDomain":"today"}
