With the first Christmas adverts creeping onto our TV screens, festive window displays capturing your eye wherever you go and the trusty Christmas songs blaring out over the supermarket speakers, now is the time to start preparing for the festive season – and while you may feel like it’s still a little too early to worry about December, if you start planning now, everything is more likely to run smoothly.
It’s inevitable that if you flick onto the kids’ TV channels, you will be inundated with toy adverts that will just add to your child’s wish list. It would be understandable if you’ve had enough of hearing “I want that too, mummy!” already. While, for most families, budgets won’t stretch to cover all of these wishes (and, through fear of spoiling them too much, probably shouldn’t either), creating a letter for Santa is a great activity for youngsters for them to add all of their must-have toys to.
While there are plenty of hi-tech ways of contacting the big man nowadays (after all, he’s connected to the internet don’t you know!), a traditional pen and paper followed by good old fashioned snail mail will make the experience more special for your children and you.
Encourage your children to be reasonable with their requests – after all, Santa and his elves are busy at this time of year! Use coloured paper – red or green would be suitably festive – and help them to write a little note to Santa Claus explaining why they think they’ve been a good girl or boy this year. Alternatively, you can purchase some writing paper especially for the activity.
Ask the children to think long and hard about what they really want for Christmas, rather than saying the first toy that comes to mind. Adding to collections that they have already started is a good ideal. For example, perhaps your little one is collecting the Little People range and they’re missing the Little People House and Farm. Or why not invest in a toy that will last for generations to come? Perhaps your little boy would love a train set, or your daughter has been nagging you for a doll’s house for months?
Turn it into an arts and crafts afternoon by flicking through catalogues with them and cutting out the things they’d love. Glue them to their letter to Santa and decorate with glitter, stickers and sequins. Don’t forget the address in the right hand corner! Pop into a handwritten envelope and you can “post” it for them! There are plenty of companies that you can use, including charities such as the NSPCC who will organise a magical letter to be sent to your child for a £5 donation to their cause.
Mention to them that the elves are watching – leave evidence of their visits by hiding little notes in the tree, giving feedback about what Santa thinks of the kids’ behaviour. If they’ve been particularly naughty, a well-written letter from the elves can be all they need to pull their socks up and behave themselves. Well, it’s worth a try at least!
