Christmastime is ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’   While giving and receiving gifts is highly anticipated and remembered at Christmas time, there are many more activities that families can enjoy together to  make Christmas memorable and wonderful.

One of these activities is decorating the Christmas tree.  The Christmas tree occupies a central spot and is the most visible display of Christmas in most homes.  Soon after Thanksgiving, families will begin their search for the perfect Christmas tree.  Bring the whole family along on your journey to a tree farm and encourage the children to help find a great tree.

Once a tree is selected, the real fun begins!   Help the children make special decorations and label them with the child’s name and the year.   It then becomes a tradition to make a new ornament each year to be placed on the Christmas tree with the previous years’ decorations.  This is a fun way to see how your child’s interests change from year to year.

Another activity that can help to create special memories at Christmas is baking cookies.  Choose your family’s favorite recipes and spend a chilly afternoon baking in your warm kitchen.   Based on the ages of the children, they can help by measuring and mixing some ingredients, or decorating the finished cookies with colored sugar or icing.  Helping in
You can even sneak in a little math by talking about measurements and fractions.

Children may also enjoy filling fruit or treat baskets to give as gifts to friends and family or for charity.  Gift baskets make especially wonderful Christmas gifts because they are home-made. Add in some of the cookies you baked for a special treat.

It is very important to reach out to family, loved ones and friends during the Holiday Season.   The Holidays give us a chance to catch up with distant friends and family.   Many families choose to write a Christmas letter to send with their Christmas cards.  You can easily involve the children with the letter writing.  Ask each child for his/her favorite moment or event from the past year and include it in the letter.

Then there’s probably the most anticipated activity of Christmas – finding out what wonderful gifts Santa brought on Christmas Eve. Parents sometimes go to great lengths to keep the Santa Clause tradition alive for their children.   The carefully planned actions to hide Christmas presents and then to magically place them under the Christmas tree to be found on Christmas morning is one of the most wonderful ways to create unforgettable  memories for children at Christmas.

I’m sure there are plenty more ways to make the Holidays memorable for our children.  The most important thing is to avoid as much stress as possible, relax, and enjoy your family!

What are your favorite family traditions?

Congratulations, Hannah C. of Idaho!

Hannah will be enjoying a fun, warm pair of new socks for the Holidays!

We have a pair of Solmate socks from Socklady to give away!  These beautifully quirky socks are made in the USA from recycled cotton yarn.

The recycled yarns used for Solmate socks are certified by Made in Green (www.madeingreen.com) and Oeko-Tex (www.oekotex.com).   “This means that the materials we use are certified to be free from harmful substances (i.e. toxins like formaldehyde), made with respect for the environment and with respect for human rights.” *

One lucky winner will receive a pair of Primrose Solmate Socks in size Medium – A $16 value!

Keep them for yourself or give them as a gift to that hard-to-buy-for person on your list!

All ANM newsletter subscribers and Facebook Fans are automatically entered!  If you’re not already a fan or subscriber, visit our Connect With Us page and get connected today!  Any purchase from our product store between 12/1 and 12/12 will earn you extra entries!   You can also earn entries by Tweeting this giveaway.  Just post a comment here with the link to your Tweet.  A winner will be drawn at random on Saturday, December 12th.  Winner will be notified via email and announced here on our blog.  This contest is short to ensure you receive the prize in time for gift giving.

Also,  don’t forget!  The Naturity’s Holiday Raffle begins today!  One lucky ANM customer who purchases $25 or more in Naturity products will receive a Bath and Body gift basket!  See our previous post for details.

We hope you’re having a wonderful December.  In all the hussle and bussle of Christmas time, we hope you can find some time to relax and enjoy the season with your family!

Congratulations to Cara P. of Rochester, NY!  Cara was chosen as the winner of Naturity’s Holiday Raffle!  Enjoy!

A $65 retail value!

Naturity is an organic personal care company offering body-bath, pregnancy, and baby care products. All products are comprised of 99-100% certified organic ingredients.  They are Leaping Bunny certified and Full Member of the Campaign for Cosmetics.  Naturity intends to set a new standard in the personal care industry, while simultaneously educating consumers. They think the combination of both will lead to a healthier industry and a consumer base making better choices not only for their own self-preservation but also for th