Need some tips for Decorating with Your Grands? Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Plan a time period and exactly what you want to get done. Are you decorating the tree, or mantle, or doing an individual craft project? Having a plan will help make your decorating time with your Grands a success. Remember young ones have shorter attention spans and decorating the whole house may turn into a frustrating experience when their interest wanes. If your Grands are teens, you may have a longer time frame but start with a plan, and if it works to keep going great. If it doesn’t, you’re not disappointed.
If you’re decorating some part of your home, have the Grands help gather the decor. It will be a help to you and they will learn about holiday chores and preparation in the process.
If you have a holiday craft project in mind, plan ahead and get supplies ready. I confess I'm bad about this step and tend to end up gathering at the last minute. It doesn’t always turn out as planned when something needed for the activity or craft is unavailable. Yup, I did this at Thanksgiving and missed an opportunity. I’ll do better next time!
As difficult as it is to clean up, think about finding a project with glitter. Everyone seems to love some sparkle on an art project. At one of the grandchildren’s birthday parties recently, her mama put together a craft table for the kids attending and each one got to decorate a small pumpkin. I noticed glitter was a HUGE hit and every pumpkin had sparkle. Winter holidays lend themselves so well to adding sparkle that it’s worth the extra effort. Kiss their besparkled noses when they get done and love the memory, forget the mess!
Have some take-home bags for crafts. It’s so easy now to get individual gift bags or cellophane goodie bags. Protect their artwork with a wrapper for easy transport home.
Buy a small tree and have the Grands make ornaments for it. They can help you decorate a special tree that is only for the ornaments they make. When it lights up, both you and the Grands will have a special tribute to the love you share during the holiday season.
Have fun and don’t let the mess of decorating, whether it’s the home or a craft, stop you from spending this time with your Grands. Confession time again. I’m much more tuned to teen and young adult activities so crafting and decorating with young children has always been hard for me. I have missed some fun times with both my children and Grands because of this. I get stressed watching the mess of young children's crafts unfold in front of me so I’ve avoided it. I need to do better and get some glitter going!