For most families, ornaments are more than decorations; they’re memories in miniature. Especially the homemade creations, whose cockeyed charm so perfectly captures the creativity of your child at a particular moment in time.

This year, why not take the idea a step further and let your kids put a little bit of themselves into the decorations–literally. Each child gets to choose a photo of himself or herself to incorporate into an ornament, which can be as simple as a Popsicle-stick frame or as sophisticated as a decoupaged Styrofoam ball. The only requirement is that the finished product reflect the personality of its maker (and include the year in which it was made). Your kids will have fun comparing their faces over the years, and you’ll love seeing your tree transformed into a virtual family album.

It’s no wonder that lights are part of every winter celebration. Twinkling againstthe backdrop of winter’s darker days, they stand out as festive and cheery, especially on the longest night of the year–the winter solstice (December 22). Marking this day with a simple celebration of light is not only a nice way to teach your kids about the seasons, but it can also be a calming break from the hectic holiday pace.

Keep your celebration down to earth–a candlelit dinner or trip into the backyard to stargaze is ideal. But to really banish the darkness, set aside an hour or so to make luminarias–decorative paper bags filled with sand and small candles. To make one, decorate a brown paper lunch bag by tracing a simple pattern in pencil on one side, then punching out your design with a hole punch. Fill each luminaria with about 2 inches of sand and sink a votive candle or tea light in the center. Place the luminarias along a walk, patio or deck, light them (a grown-up’s job) and bask in the glow.

Here’s a tradition that will put your little elves to work and, in the process, redirect their preholiday energy toward giving as well as getting.

Set aside a day during the holidays to transform your playroom into Santa’s workshop. Unlike the original at the North Pole, yours won’t be turning out new toys but recycling old ones–all those outgrown, no-longer-beloved playthings. Have each of your kids select a few old toys to rejuvenate and give to a needy child. They won’t be doing any major surgery; truly broken toys should be given a solemn farewell and tossed in the trash. But for the rest, have on hand a damp dust rag (for spiffing up grimy plastic), a bottle of white glue (for attaching googly eyes to a puppet or severed arms to an injured nutcracker) and a hairbrush and ribbons (for dressing up old dolls). Using zip-top bags, your kids can collect small items like doll clothes and action figures and even assemble special themed packages, such as an outer space set made up of miniature aliens, toy rocket ships and glow-in-the-dark stars or a rain forest pack of plastic jungle animals.
When all the toys are groomed and ready to go, arrange to donate them to kids in need. Contact local shelters, church groups and civic organizations to find out how. Your kids will take pride in a good deed well done and you’ll marvel at all that extra storage space, at least for a few weeks.

Light a Rememberance Candle

Gone for most of us are the days when the entire family assembled for the holidays at Grandma’s. Today, Grandma is just as likely to live across two time zones, as are uncles, aunts and cousins. So, how do you bring loved ones together? The Console family of Malden, Missouri, inspired us with a tradition they devised: Each year on December 12 (a birthday shared by a grandmother and two cousins), family members get together in spirit by lighting a candle and wishing one another a long-distance happy holiday.To make the tradition your own, set a date for the big event and send invitations to all involved. Ask that everyone light a candle and send out wishes at an appointed hour (take time zones into account). To add resonance to the candle lighting, play some favorite holiday music and pass around mugs of hot cider.

Send Off a Holiday Box

When the Hampson family moved to Round Rock, Texas, several years ago, they suddenly faced a 2,000-mile gap between themselves and their cousins. Their Christmas box–the Hampsons’ clever way of bridging the distance during the holidays–became an instant tradition, one that just might bring comfort and joy to your family, as well.Unlike your average holiday parcel, the Christmas box is short on glitz and requires minimal assembly. It’s just a cardboard box your kids can fill with things that tell a story about where they live and the lives they lead there: seashells, pressed flowers, pinecones, postcards with a local theme, edible items, trading cards, ticket stubs–anything that says “me” and “mine.” (Don’t forget drawings and photos.) The idea is to make the box a reciprocal affair–while your kids are assembling one for their cousins upstate, their cousins will be putting together a similar box for them.

After the boxes have been exchanged, ask your kids which was more fun: making one or receiving one. They’ll probably be hard-pressed to choose–and isn’t that what the holidays are all about?

Surprise a Public Servant

It may shock your kids to learn that not everyone gets to take time off around the holidays. Firefighters, police officers and many other public servants give up their holidays to make sure that ours are safe and happy. The Kelner family of Muskegon, Michigan, decided to give back something to all these good-hearted folks, so for the past several years they’ve gathered holiday cookies and other treats to bring to the local fire station on Christmas Eve. The first year, they were surprised to find only one firefighter on duty; he was so thrilled to see them, he invited them in to share the feast. For the Kelners, that one small act of generosity turned out to be the highlight of the Christmas season.If your family would like to play Surprise Santa, start by contacting someone in local government (town hall is usually a good place to begin) to find out where to go. But make sure your visit stays a secret–the element of stealth adds a little extra zip to your act of holiday charity.

Make a Global Wish List

Last December, it became apparent to me that my daughter’s holiday wish list was beginning to rival the Congressional Record in length and complexity. And while I’m as eager as any parent to satisfy my child’s deepest desires, I began to feel that the act of list making had become an exercise in–I hesitate to use the word in reference to the apple of my eye, but, well–greed. So my husband and I devised a different kind of list, one that we thought truly reflected the holiday spirit: a wish list for the world.To make your own global wish list, ask each family member to contribute at least one idea that would make the world a better place. (Don’t worry if the ideas seem overly optimistic–that’s the point.) After you’ve made your list, choose one (or more) that you can actually help to implement. For example, if your kids want to save the rain forests, you might make a contribution to the Rainforest Action Network; to help end world hunger, you could volunteer at a soup kitchen.

Okay, so you may not save the world, at least not all of it, but you’ll be teaching your family a lesson in giving. And I guarantee you’ll find your own misplaced holiday spirit in the process.

Cure the Postholiday Blues

If my daughter ran the world, it would be illegal to take down the Christmas tree before summer. And while I sometimes greet the end of the holidays with relief, I can’t help feeling a little sad when that last ornament is packed away. So, I was thrilled when a friend shared her family’s method for banishing the postholiday blues.Every year, usually on January 6 (the Feast of the Epiphany and the end of the traditional 12 days of Christmas), her family has a quiet supper before taking down the tree. Beside each plate is a small package holding a single button, which has been chosen for its significance to the recipient: a flower button for a gardener, an anchor for a sailing fan and so on. Each person sews the new button on his or her stocking before packing it away until next year. My friend marvels that her kids are as excited to unwrap their buttons as they are to tear through the packages on Christmas.

Adapted from Disney’s Family Fun