making the most of holiday clean-up

The holidays have rushed in and rushed out over here, and despite a 7+ hour ride home from Pennsylvania and two people down over three days with the stomach bug, we had an amazing season.

And now that we’re home and trying–desperately–to reclaim our home and have a little fun, rather than throwing the kids in front of the tv or wii for the next few days, my husband and I really feel it’s important to use this time with our little ones as best as we can, appreciating this fleeting time while our kiddos are young and actually want to hang out with us.

Over the years, we’ve done a bit of this and that to make the most of holiday clean-up, so I thought it would be worthwhile to share some of the ways we try to sneak in some learning and family fun over holiday break.

Rather than just ball it all up and toss it in the trash, take a second to use what you’ve got!

Here’s the skinny:

• Feed the Birds (and Backyard Friends): Don’t trash any of the food that you can save for your backyard furry friends!  Get a little creative and crafty, and the birds and squirrels will be so happy–and your kiddos will have a blast watching them feast on the leftover cookies and bread.

Cut, cut, cut that wrapping paper!

• Use Wrapping Paper (and Bows!):  Even the teeniest pieces of holiday wrapping paper can be saved and used for fine-motor practice for the little ones.  Grab a folder or a gallon ziplock bag and keep some pieces of the paper for kids to cut during the long winter months.

And bows, ribbons, and gift-wrapping fancies are so fun to use for decorating dollhouses, racetracks, or for just about anything. Or let the kids tear apart some of the bows for more fine-motor practice.

Check out my friend Allie’s Gift Wrap Pattern Sorting game–so fun and so easy!–but super for kiddos!

 

Candy Canes = F.U.N

 

• Keep the Candy Canes for Science Fun: We always end up with a ton of candy canes at the end of the season, and I’m not sure why. But last year we rocked it out in the kitchen, playing with candy canes in ways we had never imagined.

I totally cannot wait to play with candy canes again this year–we’ve got a few fun ideas up our sleeves!

Sensory Box = F.U.N!

• Use those Cardboard Boxes!! Though they are sometimes tricky to keep because of their size, cardboard boxes of any size can be so fun for kids–especially when their parents show them cool ways of using them.

It can be as simple as turning a boring box into a Sensory Box or a little bit more involved and turning a shoe box into a Shoelace Box.

Or check out the amazing Rachelle of TinkerLab’s Cardboard Box Creative Challenge for a ton of awesome ways of using cardboard boxes, or head over to crazy-creative Valerie’s Frugal Family Fun Cardboard Cafe for some totally fabulous ideas.

 

• Teach them Game-Playing Etiquette:  Most likely, your kids ended up with a few new games this holiday–I know mine sure did.

There’s no better time than the present to teach–and practice!—game-playing etiquette. It may sound corny, it may take time, but our kiddos cannot grow up to be sore losers, right? Time to shake hands, offer up a good luck, and start playing!

 

And that’s it! Happy post-holiday clean-up, my friends!!