Search Results for: blog celebrating christmas at school

How Not to Go Broke Celebrating Halloween

(All treat no trick) You don’t need to be a parent to know that celebrating Halloween is not cheap. These days dressing up as a naughty nun and gorging on 100 Grand bars can really set you back, and not just spiritually. The cost of costumes, candy, decorations and fillings for cavities caused by giving into your Laffy Taffy addiction is scary expensive. And, if you have multiple kids to costume and provide school treats for, the total cost of the holiday can be even more frightening. In 2011, Halloween surpassed Valentine’s Day as the second most expensive holiday celebrated … Continue reading →

Is Christmas Perfection Costing You Money?

The whole “Christmas is getting too commercial” mantra has been going on for a while. everyone seems to admit that it is true, but very few do anything to change the way that they consume during the holidays. Related to the commercial issue is the perfection issue. So many of us dream of the perfect Christmas with all of the right trimmings. Instead of homemade ornaments, popcorn, cranberries, gingerbread and paper chains, we have to have glittery ornaments that are color coordinated in silver and blue or gold and burgundy. Instead of a few candles in the window or a … Continue reading →

Celebrating Human Rights, Preschool-Style

My pregnancy announcement to a group of my friends was a little obscure. For many years, I’ve been involved in human rights work, and about five years ago I stood up at a group of friends and announced that we’d have a new member joining our group the next June. They were a tad baffled, but since 2005 my daughter has been involved in celebrating and working for human rights. She’s drawn many pictures for people around the world, and the occasional letter of the alphabet as well. Many people think that human rights work. It isn’t, really. Whatever your … Continue reading →

Simplify Your Preschooler’s Schedule This Holiday Season

I love winter – it’s the season of cozy fires, snow, and hiding from holiday engagements. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas or another winter holiday, this season can be overwhelming in the number of opportunities to socialize. The year my daughter was two, we said “enough”! If you’re like me and you’d prefer to hibernate in the warm wool blankets, what can you do? I recognize that the holidays are inherently busy. To plan for this, I don’t enroll my daughter in anything during November and December. She’s in preschool, but that’s it. This affords us some time to do those … Continue reading →

Month in Review: Adoption Blog, December 2007

I began the month with a book review that tied in to my November series on coping with discrimination and racism. The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate is based on an inspiring true story of how a town in Montana came together when Jewish and African-American families were terrorized. Then I ran Part One and Part Two Part Two of Is It Okay to Be Choosy? regarding the comments adopting parents often get that if they “really wanted to help”, they’d choose the most needy child or the one with the most special needs–and sometimes we lay this … Continue reading →

The Day After Christmas

The day after Christmas can be a little depressing. The cookies are getting stale, some of those much desired toys looked a lot cooler on TV, regular food is boring after all those holiday feasts, the tree is starting to droop, and all the pretty wrappings are in the garbage. Here, it’s even too cold to be outside. Here are some of my ideas for putting smiles back on those sad little faces. Top off mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream. Add a few sprinkles of colored sugar to the top. If you want to go all out give … Continue reading →

Celebrities and Their Christmas Charities

It’s better to give than receive… at least that’s what some Hollywood stars are learning this holiday season. Celebs from Mel Gibson to Marcia Cross are spreading the Christmas spirit with donations to their favorite charities. If you are searching for a last-minute gift idea for your loved ones consider perusing the following list. It’s Christmas Eve after all, the perfect time to make someone else’s life a whole lot merrier. Feed the World. Marcia Cross and Teri Hatcher gave their co-workers FEED 1 bags this holiday season. The bags are designed to benefit the United Nations World Food Program’s … Continue reading →

Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas

For the past week my twins have been sick. One even wound up in the hospital due to dehydration and digestive complications. He is fine now, but we had a scary and tiring week. Until the illness and hospitalization hit us, I was feeling very organized about Christmas. I’d cleared my calendar to have four days alone in the house for house cleaning, finishing up the shopping, getting some meals made ahead, and mailing presents. We did manage to get the presents sent before the hospitalization, and I don’t have too much more shopping, but oh the house. We have … Continue reading →

Options for School Christmas Gift Exchange

In my article yesterday I discussed having Christmas parties at school. I also talked about the complications that can come with exchanging Christmas gifts among the students in your classroom. There are other options for teachers who wish to continue to carry out the tradition of student gifts but feel that a variation is needed from drawing names or bringing boy or girl gifts for exchange. One such variation is asking parents to send a small item for each child in the class. For example if your classroom has 18 students, each child will bring 18 of the same items. … Continue reading →

School Christmas Gift Exchange

Most teachers and schools have some type of Christmas party for their students. Due to a recent urge to encourage students to eat healthier, many parties throughout the year are not planned. However, Christmas is a special occasion and almost every celebrates the last day before Christmas vacation. In younger grades, Christmas parties are thought to be equipped with a gift exchange set up by the teacher. Older students usually bring gifts for friends and create their own gift exchange among groups of students. Some students may receive several gifts. This can be bad for students who do not receive … Continue reading →