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Jogging With Your Child is Healthy For Both of You!
May 7th, 2010One of the best exercises for losing weight and staying healthy is jogging. This can be rather difficult when you have a young child. The child isn’t old enough yet to ride their bike next to you and they are not in school all day, giving you free time to go jogging on your own. You really have no way to go jogging unless you take your child with you. Believe it or not, this is a good thing. Your child will love the time they get to spend with you as they ride. This can be your special time. You can chat about what you see as you are jogging. Maybe your child can point out different colored cars or types of trees. You can chat about what you did that day or what you want to do. The fresh air is also very good for your child. More time out in the fresh air, even when it is chilly out, will keep your child healthier as germs do not breed well in the open air.
For you, the health benefits of jogging with your child are numerous. By jogging you are burning calories and increasing your metabolism. You are raising your heart rate and giving your muscles a much needed workout. By jogging you will burns calories and lose weight. You will be breathing in fresh air and lots of it. Besides the health benefits there are benefits as a parent as well. This is some extra special time for you and your child, because there are no other things taking up your attention. There are no televisions on, no work to be done; it is just you and your child and your baby jogging stroller. You will need to keep the conversation up to keep your child from being bored. This conversation time can help you bond. You will be surprised by just how much your child will look forward to your jogging time.
Alright, so you have decided you would like to give jogging a try. What now? Well, you will need a baby jogging stroller, or if you have more than one young child you’ll need to check into double jogging strollers made especially for twins. You will want to pay close attention to the weight limits on the strollers as well as safety features. A jogging stroller will likely have a basket, maybe cup holders, a harness and more. There are many features that come with a baby jogging stroller, however the most important is to be sure it is comfortable. You will want to be jogging regularly, so your child will need to spend a good amount of time in the stroller. If you are looking at double strollers be sure there is plenty of room for each child and that your children together do not exceed the maximum allowed total weight. This is important when looking at any baby strollers.
Jogging is a wonderful way for you and your child to bond.. You will get the workout time you need for a healthy body, and your child will get fresh air, as well as time with you which they need to be healthy as well. Jogging with your child will open a whole new world for you. You will be surprised by how much your child tells you while you are jogging. Your child will likely be a chatterbox about all they see. What a wonderful way for you to spend time together. Take advantage of special times like this while your child is young. They grow up so quickly. You won’t want to miss a moment. There can be numerous special moments while jogging. All you need is a jogging stroller to get started!
Jerbob Johnson owns the Cheap Baby Jogging Stroolers with great real reviews of baby joggers. For real reviews and information and great bargins, visit http://www.CheapBabyJoggingStrollers.com and you will enjoy the reviews about jogging strollers you are interested in and find some great deals.
When Should Kids Move Out Of Their Parents House?
March 14th, 2010There isn’t an exact age for when children should move out of their parents home. However, leaving the house is something that normal and healthy most young adults think about at this stage. The age at which a person moves out of the house is really dependent upon the emotional state and financial wherewithal of the new adult, as well as the relationship between the parent and young adult.
If you situations there are difficult family types in which the teenagers and parents don’t see eye to, and this tends to create an unnatural and on healthy situation for everybody involved.
A typical occasion for young adults from healthy families to move out seems to be around graduating from high school followed by moving away to live in a dorm at college. For most students in college this is the last and final move from the family’s home. For others students they attend college but stay living at the family house because it’s necessary to do this so that the student can go to school, work and saves money for when they graduate college. These days the cost of living and other expenses are much, much higher than they’ve ever been before in recorded history. In general, the average income of college graduates and others in a number of experts fields has not kept up with the rising cost of inflation and living expenses.
Some college and university graduates achieve degrees and advanced fields. Most of the students are able to achieve this while living in their own home. The situations for other graduates might make staying in that family home a thing that will enable them to achieve their graduate degree.
Regardless if high school grads attend university, college or other job market training, there still are other factors which play a role in the age of which a young adult leaves the family house. Some young adults just require a little extra time to generate enough money through part-time jobs to become stable enough to move out of their home. Most of the jobs that are available with little to no work experience tend to offer only entry-level pay which increases the amount of time it requires to save money. In addition most young people also have the matter of finding a roommate. When young adults and their parents have a solid healthy relationship there’s a lot less of our hurry to find a roommate who is reckless and over party. On the other hand, young people often wish to have a significantly different style of life from what they know with their parents and tend to move away much sooner.
Young adults who choose to live in their parents home does not generally give them a sense of living independently. However just because children still live at home with their parents does not mean that they live as young children in their parents home. There are still parents who encourage independence, and there are young adults who follow it, and are able to live in their parents homes as young adults. This requires common sense, understanding people, and teamwork; however it is achievable.
Some young adults once they have hit a certain age need to move out right away. They often don’t even mind finding the least expensive condo in a poor neighborhood and share the expenses with anybody who will be their roommate. While others still choose to wait until they can afford something decent they can be proud of in a much nicer neighborhood without the hassles of having a roommate. Most children who are raised in nice safe neighborhoods or even higher-end urban areas will often prefer to wait until they can financially achieve living away from high crime and dirty areas. Most of the parents of these young adults are thrilled to allow their children to live at home for as long as it takes for this very reason.
Some kids even feel some sort of sense of responsibility to help the parents and stay at home for a little while longer. Young adults whose parents have become recently widowed or divorced or have had recent financial upsets sometimes choose to stay at the house sometime longer so they can help out.
Parents are also different. Some folks are thrilled to have their kids even though they’re grown stay at home as long as they choose to. They’re also very much aware that moving out of the home is still a normal and healthy thing for kids to do. Some of these folks living under the same roof as one thing different from being otherwise independent. Others can swing the other way and have all the responsibilities for their kids such as doing their laundry or filling out their income tax statements for their kids just as if they were not adults. Furthermore, there are another group of parents who feel that their children should leave the home as soon as they have completed high school. Out of this group most believe that their children should have no assistance whatsoever. While others still from this category might be more than willing to have their kids come home for assistance with financial matters, job seeking opportunities or even assistance with lending a free laundry machine.
There is no exact age at which children must grow up or must leave their parents home. The factors are dependent upon all the people who are involved in the entire situation. In reality most young people want to move at their own pace but ultimately into their own place. In many typical parents do encourage independent living away from the family home. These days, however, we are all living in a time where expenses and costs of living are much higher than many new starting out people can afford and it’s becoming increasingly common for college graduates to stay home for a while even after graduation. The thing that’s most important for establishing a time for when a young person is ready to move out isn’t necessarily a set age that is expected, the most important thing is that without feeling pressured everybody is on board with moving at the pace is best for everybody and without feeling the pressure to apologize to anybody.
Lorne W. MacInnes is a managing partner of Ferguson Moving & Storage Ltd which is one of the oldest Vancouver movers in the moving industry and is an expert in the Vancouver movers relocation sector. http://www.fergusonmoving.com
Considering a Move to Vancouver, BC
March 13th, 2010Are you considering a move to Vancouver? Are you being head hunted by a company that really wants you to move to Vancouver? Do they earnestly want you to join their firm? Are you interested, very interested, flattered, but something is giving you red flags and causing you to be cautious? Have you viewed every option? What is it that you’re missing from your to do list?
Let’s take a moment to look at things logically and separate the gut from the mind. Here it is that you got an offer on the table in front of you. You have some numbers to look at. You’ve had some time to look at things such as the cost of living in Vancouver, the benefits of living in Vancouver, and relocation assistance from Vancouver movers. All of this information you will have to work through and feel satisfied after asking a lot of questions.
Money is important and you need to think if this relocation to Vancouver fixture financial Realty as well as all of your personal financial goals. Perhaps we are now you’ve become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Is this a lifestyle that you would choose to maintain or are you willing to choose some things to sacrifice in order to be able to move to Vancouver? Take a look at your paycheck that your prospective company is putting on the table just to make sure that the figures translate properly and to after-tax dollars. This is the money that you’re actually going to have in your pocket. You also need to understand the base costs for housing in Vancouver, local transportation, meals, clothing, movies and other entertainment as well as everything else. Check the Internet to see what types of costs that are associated to things that you need to purchase a Vancouver. Go online and check some of the newspaper articles, go to the online version stores and pretend to shop for food, clothes, paying the rent, and going to a movie plus purchasing popcorn. Is your after-tax income going to be enough to provide for all of these things? Or perhaps it is more than enough and you will be able to tuck away more money into your savings account?
Aside from the income, review about how much this move is going to cost you. Is the company that you’re thinking of moving to going to pick up the tab for your movers to haul all of your items to Vancouver? Are they considering putting you into some type of temporary location just until you are able to find how about covering miscellaneous incidental costs? When you’re moving across the city, much less to undo part of the country, this costs a lot of money. In a lot of respects, you are going to be starting over plus you going to have to possibly get a new car, phone, cable, as well as many other new items. You must calculate how all of these onetime expenditures are going to affect your savings and cash flow.
When you’re moving to a new part of the country as a whole new set of cultural customs and normal everyday reality. A lot of things will be new to you even if you are from Canada. Things like provincial tax systems are completely different than they are in other provinces such as Alberta even things such as the BC medical coverage which is available to all residents of British Columbia only after a three-month waiting period. Your new company may cover a portion, a percentage, or none of the premium costs. Your company is likely to have its own benefit plan will complement the provincial medical coverage.
This is possibly one of the most stressful situations that you’ve been in and it most definitely life-changing. The decisions that you make will have an emotional impact on your entire family and all of your friends. Everyone’s tolerance for personal change is a different level and you will need to consider yours. Plus if it’s not just you how about the tolerance of your spouse and children? You really want to sell them into the idea of moving to a new place.
With all of the things that Vancouver has to offer, such as being a world-class city, home to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, home of Expo 86, and many other events which make Vancouver a cosmopolitan metropolis, there is a lot to decide. It’s just really important to know that the cost of living in Vancouver is the highest of anywhere in Canada.
Lorne W. MacInnes is a managing partner of Ferguson Moving & Storage Ltd which is one of the oldest Vancouver movers in the moving industry and is an expert in the Vancouver movers relocation sector. http://www.fergusonmoving.com
Things to Purchase Before Moving Overseas
March 9th, 2010Things to purchase before moving overseas.
When you think about it this advice goes against everything that is rational when moving overseas. When you’re moving internationally should be getting rid of stuff not buying more things! Well my mom wished that she had purchased more items. She realize this is very first week that she walked into her new condo and was faced bare store shelves, or a store employee that says we don’t carry that. She even tried a few of the other German stores, however the price was either really high, or they just didn’t have what she needed either. So now what was she supposed to do? We’ll talk to her the most was thinking about her pet cat, it was tracking litter and self all the way up and down the stairs she’s already on her second litter box. Only a high-quality cat litter box will do for this cat apparently and much to my mom’s dismay, every store that sells these types of clever litter boxes in Canada does not ship to Germany because it is so big. I thought about using various shipping companies, but this litter box is already oversized and it would not ship because it must still follow USPS guidelines. But this is only a sample of lots of things she wishes she would have purchased or had brought over.
OUR BEDFRAME. I’m not talking about the mattresses or the box spring. She got rid of the old rickety one before she moved and figured that she would be able to purchase a new one overseas after moving. One of the main reasons, is that the German beds are completely different sizes. An additional reason, selections at the local furniture stores is very limited and the movers are very pricey even for delivering beds.
Miscellaneous items and hardware. Yes, the basic stores have the nails in screws hammers and basic hardware. But try to find those special clips that are for Canadian beds or entertainment centers it’s nearly impossible and very frustrating.
Comforters blankets and sheets. If some of your old bedding is trashed, then you have to prepare to purchase these types of things on sale before you move. Again the basic stores in Germany are very overpriced with these types of things and they never seem to go on sale, plus they even add on shipping costs on top of the purchase price because none of them are made locally. I want even start to discuss the poor choice selection either.
All of those special products for your pet that you took for granted. Overseas, they are mostly unavailable or again very expensive because of the German economy. Does your pet take prescriptions rushing mark tried to get your prescription filled or by as much of it as you can before you leave. Most of the vet stores will charge you an arm and a leg. Just another thing that you have to think about bringing overseas input into your moving budget.
All of those favorite 110v appliances. This one’s fairly obvious to most people, the electrical system in Germany is completely different than Canadian electricity. And depending on the weight and the size of the item, it might be too cost prohibitive to transport or it might even be over to Canadian requirements for weight and or size.
Talking to some of our fellow neighbors who had movers transport their furniture and belongings overseas, I’d say 50% or more of them shipped over to Germany as if they were minimalists. Most of their stuff is in storage back in Canada. Most of them wish that their stuff was with them instead of being in storage. Actually when they add up the costs of the shipping versus all of the time that they spend purchasing new items causes them to regret thinking they could save money by leaving it in Canadian storage. Most of them were scared away by the movers quotes for shipping overseas and I suppose it is expensive when you look at it. But it’s like most things in life you don’t realize the costs until it’s too late. Looking back I would say to get rid of most of the furniture that was purchased at shopping sprees at places such as IKEA. But most of the things that you really took for granted such as sofas, couches, dressers, desks, bicycles, books, dining room sets, beds and bedding etc. makes you realize how much work you have ahead of you to purchase new items to replace the things that you’re paying to sit in storage. It seems like everything that is purchased is only the cheapest furniture to avoid wasting money because everything else is sitting in Canadian storage. The other problem is that you feel like you’re living as a poor person because the furniture is mostly substandard and overpriced.
Anyway those are the highlights of my mom’s experiences… and she had to do everything over again there is her list. I hope you can learn from her experiences and everyone else is if you can.
Lorne W. MacInnes is a managing partner of Ferguson Moving & Storage Ltd which is one of the oldest Canadian movers in the moving industry and is an expert in the Vancouver moving and storage relocation sector. http://www.fergusonmoving.com
Moving Into a New Home
March 1st, 2010Moving into a new home can give mixed emotions of stress and excitement. There is a lot of work ahead but don’t let it be a downer on your excitement. There are many reasons for a move whether it is your first home, relocation for work, down sizing because you children finally moved out etc. It is very important to prepare for you relocation in advance to reduce and levels of stress. In preparation for a self move we have attached a check list helping you to prepare your self for a new relocation.
Plan in advance: Contact truck rental agencies well in advance to inquire about rates and book your moving truck as early as two to three months in advance. Be sure write confirmation of all your expenditures and have a complete detail of your move.
2 Months Remaining: Go though you home carefully and make the big decision on what you are going to bring with you to your new home and what you are going to throw away or donate to charity. A great idea to earn some extra money and purge items you no longer want is to have a garage/yard sale.
Schools: If you are moving your children into a new school, arrange a school transfer as early as two to three months before your move.
Packing: Create a list of the items that will need extra attention or careful packing, such as TV’s, china, computers, etc. For your fragile packing items be sure to pack them in bubble wrap, packing paper/newspaper to minimize any damages that may occur.
1 Month Remaining: The time has arrived to start packing your belongings. Start with the items that you don’t regularly use everyday. To make unpacking easier be sure to label and number the boxes. When packing, take note of your valuable items such as flat screen TV’s or stereo equipment.
New Address: Don’t forget to fill out a change of address form with your new address; this can be done at your local post office. Be sure to contact your bank, telephone and cable providers, credit card companies, insurance companies, doctors or dentists of you new address.
2 Weeks Remaining: Call the truck rental agency to confirm your reservation. At this time you may want to cancel or transfer any magazine or newspaper subscriptions you may have.
1 Week Left Until Move Day! By this point most of your packing should be complete. Remember to pack a travel back containing the items you and your family will need on moving day. Common things to pack are; change of clothing, tooth brushes, medications, soap, toiletries and paper cups and plates.
Be sure to do a thorough checking of everything to ensure that you are not missing on important details. Moving to a new home you’re bound to experience some transition anxiety so prepare yourself and your family emotionally and morally. For children it is good to mentally prepare them for what lies ahead of them at their new home.
Lorne W. MacInnes is a managing partner with Ferguson Moving and Storage. Ferguson Moving & Storage are Vancouver Movers that have been around since 1916. http://www.fergusonmoving.com
Moving Seniors Into an Independent Facility
March 1st, 2010Taking care of a loved one in their golden years is something we all hope we’ll never have to face. In the back of our minds, we logically know that our parents will age and become less independent, but it still seems so un-natural. All of our lives, they are the ones that took care of us. They do everything from changing diapers, to walking to school, to cooking dinner and teaching us how to drive. The thought that they may need us in similar ways is a foreign concept. I think for most people it sneaks up gradually. At first we see the change and go through the three stages of denial, anger and finally acceptance.
I’ve seen many families just struggle through the whole procedure and it can cause a great deal of stress. Estate planning and moving to a new facility or moving a parent into your home affects everyone and everyone has feelings and expectations.
The best way I’ve seen for people to deal with this, is to hire an estate planner. Estate planners really strive to ensure that your parents are well taken care of. Not only that, but they do this every single day and have the expertise to guide everyone through the minefield of aging seniors.
Some of the services of a good planner include selecting appropriate care, choosing attorney’s to deal with the estate, selecting services such as movers and organizers, talking with the senior in a respectful manor and easing them as best they can.
Truthfully, it’s an emotional roller coaster no matter how you deal with moving a senior from independent to dependent. But you’ll handle the whole process a lot better if you’re surrounded by experts who care.
From the beginning until the end, you’ll be much more relaxed, approachable and available to put out an emergencies that come up along the way. This will also give your loved one a more peaceful transition. Worrying is contagious and so is remaining calm. If you think about it, isn’t a peaceful transition for seniors what everyone wants in the first place? If you’re unsure about the costs of hiring a planner, interview a few of them. There are also websites about estate planners that will give you much more detailed information. Isn’t it nice to know you’re not alone? It’s really the same thing from when your parents had you. Perhaps they were unsure of what to do. Certainly they were afraid, but others came in to help. So you should not feel embarrassed or ashamed now that it’s your turn to deal with something new and scary. Ask for help, there’s plenty of it.
You just really want to begin by getting a journal and keeping notes about everything you are doing. One of the key mistakes most people get into is that they try to do everything from memory. Well guess what, your memory will certainly fail you at key moments. Especially stressful times when you need to get a hold of someone right away and you can’t recall the phone number. If you had it recorded, you could remain calm and simply retrieve the phone number.
Writing down key points also de-clutters your mind. Why would you want all of that information floating around. Perhaps you have to keep appointments with touring independent care facilities, or meeting with various moving companies representatives or auctioneers to give you appraisals for antiques nobody in the family wants. If you don’t write it down, you will forget and forgetting and not doing equals stress that you really don’t need.
Lorne W. MacInnes is a managing partner with Ferguson Moving and Storage. Ferguson Moving & Storage are Vancouver Movers that have been around since 1916. http://www.fergusonmoving.com
The Ultimate Car Emergency Kit Checklist
December 31st, 2009As winter approaches, so does the threat of snow and ice. Every year people die because they lose control of their vehicles and their car disappears off into a ravine or into a snow bank where no one can find them. The best way to increase your odds of survival if this happens to you is by having an emergency car kit ready to go in your vehicle. Here is a list of things you should have to make your emergency car kit more efficient.
1.Battery-powered radio. This is important for keeping up-to-date on the weather, and maybe even finding out if there are groups of people searching for you.
2.Flashlight. A flashlight is great to have, especially if your car dies, and it can also be used a night to send out an SOS.
3.Blankets or sleeping bags. You will use these to provide warmth, because even if your car still starts, because of carbon monoxide it is not safe to run your car for long periods of time. You should depend on your blankets/sleeping bags for a primary source of warmth.
4.Bottled water. You may just want to put a whole case in the back of your car, especially if you have small children. They will use more water than adults do, especially if one or more of them are bottle-fed.
5.Non-perishable, but high-energy foods. You should choose foods that can be kept in storage for a long time, but that are still healthy. You should choose foods like: crackers, beef jerky, granola bars, peanut butter, etc.
6.Extra clothes, coats, hats, mittens, and scarves. This will come in handy if you get wet or to layer for extra warmth.
7.Portable, hand charger for cell phone. This will come in handy if you car dies and won’t start, because you will still be able to charger your phone. Most of them even come equipped with a flashlight and radio that can also be hand charged.
8.Cell phone. If you don’t carry a cell phone, you might consider getting a pay-as-you-go one just to keep in your car. You should check to see when your minutes expire, if they do, because it might just be worth getting the phone and the card for the minutes and activating the minutes only when you need them.
9.Flares and reflector kit. These can be used to send out an SOS or let people know that someone needs help.
10.Coffee can, matches, and candles. These things can be used to melt snow to use as drinking water if your bottled water runs out. You should be sure to have a metal cup available to use to melt and drink the water.
11.First-aid kit. Be sure to include all the essentials, but to also include important medications that you or members of your family may be taking. You should also include bandages, sterile gauze, absorbent compresses, tweezers, and even a first aid handbook to help you in your time of need.
An emergency car kit should be an important part of anyone’s winter preparations. You will never know when you may need it, but if that time comes, you will be so glad that you are prepared.
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What Every College Freshman Needs For Dorm Life
December 31st, 2009College is an exciting, yet nerve-racking time. Most college freshman have a very faint idea as to what they need to bring to college such as XL twin sheets, flip-flops for the shower, lots of snacks, and of course, money! But, there are probably a few things you haven’t thought about that will leave you with a “that would have been nice to know!” feeling. But, don’t worry you’ve come to the right place. Here is a list of everything you will forget, but wish you had.
1.Flashlight. Do you know what happens when the electricity goes out in a dorm building? Nothing! Because it’s too dark! A flashlight will really come in handy for maneuvering around a dark dorm building, as well as for walking to any night classes or school functions, like football games, that take place at night.
2.Fan. While most dorms are equipped with window air, dorms can get really stuffy, even when it’s cold outside. A fan will help to circulate the air and keep things feeling fresh.
3.First aid kit. You really begin to underestimate how important your mom’s first aid kit is, until you don’t have it. So, before you head to school, have her put together a mini-version of her first aid kit equipped with Tylenol, ibuprofen, cold/allergy medicine, cough syrup, band-aids (in different sizes), antiseptic spray, antibiotic cream, alcohol wipes, tweezers, etc. Your mom will know what else might be useful!
4.All-purpose cleaner. Living in a dorm is a messy situation! You never know when you might need to wipe down your desk or clean up that sink before you decide to use it! An all-purpose cleaner will come in handy for all those quick clean-ups.
5.Dry-erase/bulletin board. I’m sure you’ve seen them at the store. They have these bulletin boards that are half bulletin board and half dry erase board. These are extremely handy for leaving notes for your suite mates, jotting down important appointments or test dates, and tacking up your class schedule, so you don’t lose it!
6.Adhesive hooks/poster mounting tape. No college appreciates it when you leave a ton of holes in their walls, so go for adhesive, yet easy to remove versions of these. Adhesive hooks will provide extra space for hanging things, and poster-mounting tape will come in handy when you want to decorate your room.
7.Suction hooks. This kind of goes along with the adhesive hooks and mounting tape, but they are more useful in the shower. Community showers in dorms don’t really have a lot of places to set or hang your stuff besides the floor. So, these will come in handy for keeping all your things off the floor and dry.
8.Bathrobe. This will be nice to have when you are going to and from the community showers. For one, it will keep you from having to carry all your clothes with you and two, it will keep your from traipsing to and from the shower in more than just a towel.
9.A chest or footlocker that locks. This will really come in handy for storing valuables like money, jewelry, and all those valuable quarters you will use for laundry. As much as you may trust your roommate, its better to just eliminate the temptation by locking your valuables up.
10.Surge protector/power cord. Dorm rooms have extremely limited outlet space, and a surge protector/power cord will provide extra plug-in space and keep you from fighting with your roommate over the outlets.
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Fun Ways to Count Down to the Holiday With Your Kids
December 2nd, 2009Kids love Christmas but waiting for the big day to arrive isn’t so much fun! Little ones who don’t yet understand counting days can get frustrated when they don’t know when Santa is finally going to arrive.
One way to make the count down to Christmas a little easier is by finding fun ways to count down the days in a way they can understand. For really young kids, it is better not to start the countdown more than two weeks before Santa’s arrival. This is enough to seem like an eternity to them—and it will keep them interested and involved with the holiday planning.
There are a number of Advent Calendars available on the market so that you can mark each day leading up to the holiday in a special way. One truly creative one is the building block Advent Calendar that has you combine smaller models into a bigger one once every week until Christmas in addition to opening a new door each day.
You really don’t have to spend money on an elaborate advent calendar when you can easily create one of your own. All are built on the same principle whether it is opening a door, taking a piece away, adding a piece, or anything you can do on a daily basis.
To make your own simple and enjoyable advent calendar, use a piece of green construction paper and cut out in the shape of a Christmas tree. You can let your child use other colors of paper to create decorations or just use as is. Glue individually wrapped pieces of candy, like peppermint discs onto the tree, one for each day until the holiday. Each day your child will take one piece of candy from the tree and when they are all gone, the holiday is here! Not only is this a helpful way for little ones to count down to Christmas, they also get a treat every day.
Another way to count down to Christmas that is fun for all ages is “The Twelve Gifts of Christmas”. Go to your local dollar or variety store and choose twelve small age-appropriate gifts for each child. Wrap them up in little boxes and top with small bows. These can be placed under the tree with the other gifts or on the tree as cute decorations. Your child will be permitted to open one gift each day until they are all gone and the big day is here! This is a great way to extend the joy of opening gifts without spending a lot of money!
Print out color sheets for The Twelve Days of Christmas and let your child color one each of the last twelve days. These are easy to find on a variety of sites and you should find them with the right difficulty for the age of your child. Find a place to display the art work as part of the Christmas decorations. Children love to contribute their own art work to any holiday and they will know when they get to “1” that they have made it to their favorite occasion!
You can also make a paper chain, but instead of using it for a decoration, make the chain based on the number of days until Christmas. Every night before bedtime, tear off a piece, and count the remaining links. Even small children can tell at a glance how many days are left if you use this method.
Whatever method you choose, make your holiday countdown a fun part of the festivities, and you will both look forward to the big day!
Denise Sanger is the owner of NewCoolToysOnline.com which features a fantastic selection of outdoor toys including ride-on toys and battery ride on toys. The company is located in Sunny Florida and may be reached at 877-950-7665