It’s really easy for children to get caught up in the commercial aspect of Christmas – and sometimes for us as adults too. Here are some ideas for building holiday spirit with your family while fostering a love of giving – not just shopping & receiving.

#1: Start a Giving Advent Calendar

I love this idea of adding to a basket each day. You could do this with food items, or you could also use it as a way to declutter your kiddos’ stash of toys before they get a bunch of new stuff.

#2: Start an ornament tradition

You could buy ornaments, but it’s so much more fun and meaningful to see your child’s skills develop over the years. Make a new ornament each year and date it – and then reminisce each year as you decorate the tree.

#3: Get into the kitchen

One of my favourite things to do is cook and bake with my kiddos. The life skills they can learn are practically limitless (everything from math to taking turns to fine motor skills) and it even helps with their willingness to try new foods. Plus, making some holiday baking to give as gifts puts the focus on the gift of time and effort rather than something store-bought. Even if you’re not a baker, there’s all kinds of easy recipes that small kiddos can handle. Here’s a really simple recipe to get started:

#4: Get them making their own gifts

When my husband was a kid, his mom had him and his siblings choose a different project every year to make for their grandmother and great aunts as a gift. One of the main reasons that I started running Santa’s Workshop is to make sure that kids have the opportunity to do the same for their parents – not every kid has another crafty adult in their life that can help them with this stuff.

#5: Practice the art of giving

There are lots of ways that you can help your kids to think about others less fortunate during the holidays – choose whatever suits your family’s traditions and values best. One of my favourites is choosing an Angel Tree card for a child close to my child’s age and then having them take the lead in choosing an appropriate gift – this helps them to practice empathy and to think about what someone else might like to receive. You can find out details about the Angel Tree program in Lanark County, and where to get an Angel Tree card, here.

#6: Get out and do stuff!

If your kids sitting at home watching TV for most of December it’s a no-brainer that they’re going to be more likely to have the gimmies from watching all those tantalizing commercials. But if you’re out and about enjoying each other’s company, then it’s a lot easier to focus on other aspects of the season. Not sure what to do? Check out the Christmas Activity Calendar I made – it’s all local stuff, and all kid friendly!

That “chocolate” that comes in store-bought advent calendars is just awful.

I love the tradition… but not the taste. So several years ago, I bought my own reusable advent calendar with wooden compartments for each day in December so that I could put my own chocolate treats in it. (Yay for good chocolate!) Unfortunately, after we had Gaelan I quickly realized that the compartments were just too small for more than two people’s worth of chocolate.

This is a serious issue. I don’t share chocolate.

I started thinking about what I could reasonably fit in such a tiny compartment that could still be enjoyed by the whole family… and that’s when I came up with our family activity advent.

The family activity advent may not be full of chocolates (now Mommy’s stash is hidden elsewhere) but it certainly does have plenty of treats. I printed out a calendar for December and wrote a special holiday activity for the day on each one. (I used a calendar to plan them out so that the more involved activities would be on days when we would actually have time to do them – randomly doesn’t really work for this unless they are REALLY simple.) Then I put each one on a separate slip of paper, and tucked them into the truck.

(Hint: Number the slips of paper so you can get them back in the right order easily if you drop them. Or if your toddler decides to climb up on the table and pull them all out. Not that I would know.)

What exactly your activities are will vary by personal tastes and your family traditions, but here are some suggestions:

• Take out the Christmas mugs and pick your favourite! As of today, only Christmas mugs are allowed for beverages until Christmas.
• Make snowflakes for the windows.
• Write letters to Santa.
• Write Christmas cards.
• Make a Christmas pizza.
• It’s St. Nicholas Day! Check your shoes for candy. (Note: Dec 6.)
• Get the Christmas tree!
• Christmas puzzle day.
• Pick out a new Christmas cookie recipe.
• Christmas bubble bath.
• Make special hot chocolate.
• Plan a secret act of kindness.
• Make an ornament out of your kiddo’s hand or footprint.
• Make candy cane popcorn.
  http://www.livecrafteat.com/eat/candy-cane-popcorn/
• Find 5 things in the house to give to charity.
• Pick out Christmas outfits.
• As of today, all bedtime stories must be Christmas carols.
• Put on your jammies and go for a drive to look at Christmas lights.
• Make Christmas pancakes.
• Put out a Christmas treat for the birds.
• Roast marshmallows at the fireplace.
• Family Pajama Party, Game Night & Picnic under the tree!
• Read “T’was The Night Before Christmas” (Dec 24)

You can also pick out some special outings for certain days – like going to the Magic of Lights. Take a look at our Local Holiday Activity List and Family Event Calendar for some ideas!

Bami Ballen: European Surprise Ball

Are you looking for a project you can do with your child that can be given as a gift? Try a bami ballen!

Bami ballen are easy and fun to make, can be personalized super easily, and, depending on what you put inside, can be made very inexpensively as well.

Here’s what you need:

• crepe paper streamers
• clear tape or glue stick
• large sticker or to/from label
• ribbon
• one “main” gift (which can be a little bigger if you want it to be) and 10 – 15 other small items

How to make your bami ballen:

1. Start with your “main” gift or the most round of your gifts. If you can do so without damaging the item, tape one end of the paper streamer to it.
2. Start to wrap the streamer around the item. Crepe paper is stretchy, so make sure that you pull the streamer tight as you go, and rotate direction so that the paper criss-crosses in different directions. Do your best to keep the crepe paper flat.
3. Once the first item is fully covered, place a piece of clear tape so that your crepe paper won’t shift or slide. Then start adding in your other items, one at a time, as you wrap. Alternate which side you add your items on so that the bami ballen stays as round as possible.
4. Wrap the crepe tightly around the items as you go, and tape or glue it periodically so that if your hands should slip, you won’t unravel the whole thing. (Try not to use TOO often though, as this does slow down the fun of unraveling it for the recipient)
5. When you’ve got a nice sized ball (or have used up all of your gift items) wrap the crepe paper streamer around a few more times to make the ball as rounded and even as possible.
6. Finish it off with a large decorative sticker or to/from label. Tie a ribbon around and make a bow for decoration.* Note: These can be easily altered to your preference. Usually a bami ballen comes out about the size of a baseball. You can use larger and bumpier items if you want to but keep in mind you will need more crepe paper, particularly if you want the result to still be round!

Bami Ballen Gift Filler Ideas

• stickers or stick-on tattoos
• small gift certificates (you can get a real one from a store, or you can make your own with your kiddo, ie good for one free hug)
• small dollar store toys (a bouncy ball, tiny stuffy or similar toy make a great center item) for child recipient
• jewellery makes an amazing center item too! (hint hint dads)
• individually wrapped candy and chocolates
• a small jigsaw puzzle (each piece wrapped individually)
• balloons (uninflated, obviously)
• small arts and crafts or office supplies (eraser,
• not really a gift, but you can scatter in a little confetti if you want whoever cleans the recipient’s house to hate you (hint: you should not do this if YOU are the one who cleans the recipient’s house)

Think this sounds like great fun but you’ve got two left thumbs and limited crafting time? Let us do the crafting instead! Sign up for Santa’s Workshop and give your kiddos the gift of giving. 🙂

A Reindeer Food Buffet is a great way to make a custom mix that you can leave out for Santa’s crew! It’s a fun activity to do in the lead-up to Christmas and adds some extra magic to your Christmas Eve traditions. Here’s now MKDC does it:

Step 1: Assemble your ingredients
Magic Reindeer are pretty adventurous eaters, so you can use your imagination. (But don’t forget the flying powder!)

*Note: Always make sure that all of your ingredients are edible (especially things like glitter). You don’t want any birds or other animals choking on the leftovers.

Step 2: Get some nice clear gift bags ready.
You can get them at the dollar store. Make sure you get some twist ties too!

Step 3: Let each kiddo make their own custom mix!
When you’re done, make sure you tie the bag closed tight so it doesn’t spill!

Step 4: Follow the directions on the tag!

Happy Halloween to all our favourite ghouls and goblins!

Do the two trick or treaters remind you of anybody? Click on the colouring book page below for a printable PDF version and have fun

Wishing all of our camp families, past and present, a fun and safe Halloween!

Kristen

P.S. We’d love to see your artwork! Post your kiddo’s creation on FB or Instagram and tag us, and I’ll send them an extra special bit of loot in the mail! 😉

Here’s what’s coming up in Perth & area for Halloween:

• Candlelit Ghost Walks by Heritage House Museum ($)
  Oct 10 & Oct 17
• Haunted House @ Heritage House Museum ($)
  Oct 25 & Oct 26

  

• GROSSOLOGY 101 by The Mercantile & Cafe Whim ($)
  Friday Oct 13th, 4pm
• Pumpkin Party with Smiths Falls Child Development Center ()
  Friday, October 27 at 4 PM – 6 PM
• Lanark Library Halloween Party (FREE)
  October 28th 12:30-2pm
• Pumpkinferno 2017 @ Upper Canada Village ($$)
  Evenings until Oct 29
• Saint James Cemetery Stroll ($)
  Thursday October 19th at 6:30 pm & Saturday October 21 at 1 pm
• Haunted Halloween Walkthrough @ Toy Heaven (free)
  Oct 31st, 7pm – 9pm
• Halloween Costume Exchange @ Carleton Place Library (FREE)
  Week of Oct 23
• Bunker Buddies Halloween Hunt @ The Diefenbunker (by donation)
  Tuesday, October 31 at 10:30 AM – 3 PM
• Civitan Haunted Halloween Palace @ The Crystal Palace (CANCELLED)

Would you like to know when I post my next family activity round-up? Join our mailing list and get activity ideas in your inbox!

What a week full of surprises!

Our Heartwood campers chose between MishMash Arts and Zombie Apocalypse Survival this week. While our MishMash campers created a canvas art piece as well as wooden art houses, our Zombie campers played a new game Ron created called “Blackout” and learned to do their own zombie makeup – complete with 3D wounds!

On Wednesday, the whole camp was on high alert when we arrived to find posters all around camp warning us about possible big-foot sightings. After campers got their bigfoot hunting licenses, they were off on a hunt! We did meet a strange creature, but then we remembered that it’s always best to leave wild animals alone, so we pointed him in the direction of the forest and waved goodbye.

Friday was our first Colour War of the summer, and we confused everyone by having our first ever theme fake-out. Everyone thought it was a mad science theme, but it turned out that there was an accident in the laboratory, and the campers had to become superheroes in order to take down the supervillain that we accidently created. Despite some soggy weather, we were able to finish our superhero training, create the antidote, and turn the supervillain back into a regular scientist before any damage was done. (Congratulations, green team!)

It’s the same every year: the countdown to camp always seems to take so long, and then all of a sudden the first week has already flown by.

I am always proud of the quality of our staff but this year in particular they are just hitting it out of the park. I hear staff on the walkie asking “does anyone need help with anything?” I see staff staying after work on their own time to create special props for an epic all-camp event. I’ve given feedback to programmers who have asked how they can improve their activity planning, and I’ve watched a counsellor lunge out into the lake fully clothed (including shoes) to retrieve a camper who started to cry during boating. These people really care about your kids and are challenging themselves everyday to provide the best possible camp experience.

This week we got every age group out on the lake, had an epic game of Quiddich, played gaga, learned to start a fire, created a new sport, made stuffed peppers and cinnamon buns, had a crazy rubber-duck filled bubble bath, learned chords on the ukulele, played freeze dance yoga, kicked Ron’s butt in something called “Slam Ball”, did some old-timey games and crafts in honour of Canada’s 150th (real hand-dipped candles!) and so much more. Just check out these photos of your amazing campers in action:

“I love Maple Key because I know that my kids are genuinely understood, cared for and appreciated for who they are. Your staff takes the time to build relationships with my kids, which means my kids are more likely to take risks by trying new things and to laugh at themselves if something goes wrong. When I drop them off, the kids run off forgetting to say goodbye; when I pick them up, I am greeted by enormous smiles. What more could a parent ask for?” – Michelle B.

Social media. Body image. “Mean girls”. Low self-confidence.

It’s not an easy time to be a girl.

Somewhere in the “middle school” years (ages 10 – 13) girls enter a dangerous age. Their resilience starts to take a beating.

They start to see their failures as their fault, but see successes as out of their control. Statistics have shown they start to blame themselves more yet take credit for their successes less than boys their age. That’s a dangerous combination for self-esteem.

Some girls start to lose their “voice”. As a teacher that specializes in grades 4 through 8, I watch them slowly lose their power… their fire.

Why is this happening to our girls?

There are many challenges that pre-teen girls face – most of them centre around body image issues and social dynamics. They’re spending more time online and less time making meaningful connections.

Unfortunately, we can’t change the world they are living in. But.

We CAN change their attitude. We can help them to be more confident and resilient, so that they can stand up to negative influences when they encounter them. We can give them emotional armour.

“The most important thing a girl can wear is her confidence.” But where does that confidence come from?

Camp is an amazing place to build emotional armour.

1) Camp gets her outside.
It’s proven – kids who spend time in nature (not just outside, but in a true natural environment) are healthier than those who don’t. Particularly for a girl, outdoor activity helps her see her body as a source of strength and promotes healthy risk-taking. 
Spending time in nature also provides stress relief and promotes awareness of a world bigger than yourself – which is particularly important at an age where everyday problems, particularly social ones, can begin to seem larger than life.

2) Camp encourages a range of sports activity
There is a strong link between participation in sports (take this term loosely – it includes other regular physical activities such as dance classes) and a girl’s self esteem. Several studies have found a strong link between athletics and body esteem among girls, with girls who played three or more sports per year having the highest self esteem.
Participating in sports also reduces stress, increases physical fitness and strength, and promotes healthy competition – which is a positive outlook that can then spread to other areas of social interaction.

3) Camp is full of strong role models
Strong non-relative role models are extremely important during the pre-teen years, when children begin to create more separation from their parents and are simultaneously responding to more influence from peers. A camp that screens their staff carefully for strength of character will ensure that your daughter will be surrounded by confident, capable young women who will model the values you want her to emulate.

4) Camp encourages new and existing hobbies
Hobbies help girls develop a sense of belonging and self-worth by providing areas of increasing growth, accomplishment, and expertise, which in turn nurture their confidence & identity. Hobbies also provide another way to connect to new friends on a non-superficial level.
When your daughter has a safe environment (ie: camp) in which to try out a large variety of activities, she can develop more skill in things that interest her (like a specific sport, cooking, outdoor survival, or drama), as well as try out new things she may have never seen before (like slackline, corcl boats, or puppetry). Who knows what new life-long passion could be discovered at camp?

5) Camp expands your daughter’s social network
Especially when classmates tend to be the same from year to year, it’s easy to rely on the same small circle of friendships – and this enhances the sting a girl feels when acts of social aggression occur.
MKDC draws from a much larger population of kids, meaning your daughter can form new friendships with others from a range of backgrounds – not only different schools, but sometimes even different countries as well! Especially at this age, not having all your social eggs in one basket is an excellent safeguard against frenemies.

6) Camp explicitly teaches healthy social interaction.
One of the things that makes a camp experience special is the way that we actively cultivate family-like dynamics within each cabin group as well as through camp as a whole. With a cabin leader who acts like more of a coach and a big sister than a parent, girls are guided through their everyday interactions in a way that simply doesn’t occur in other settings. By having established group norms (such as the “no put down” rule) and time on the schedule set aside for sharing and discussion, girls learn to express their feelings, work out differences, and build tolerance in a more healthy, positive way.

Studies are showing a correlation between social media use and low self-esteem. We may not be able to remove social media from your daughter’s world… but by providing a better use of her time and building up her emotional armour, camp can help you minimize the damage.