It is hard to have your teen girl being bah humbug about Christmas. She doesn’t want to participate in any part of the celebrations. You try to find out why she is just not into Christmas this year. It may be a conflict between the religious and the commercial Holliday that Christmas has become. It may be that she is a teenager the “magic” of Christmas is gone. There is no Santa to bring her gifts; she is to old to participate in most of the kids activities and parties. She is struggling to find her place as she moves from childhood to adulthood. She may not even know why she is just not in the holiday spirit. So how do you get your teen girl into the spirit of the holiday season?
1) Make sure you are in the Christmas Spirit. Don’t let your frustration of her lack of holiday spirit take away yours. It is easer to bring the holiday spirit back for her if you are not both bah humbug about it. Don’t try so much to change her mood as to invite her to join you in your holiday spirit.
2) Bring a Christmas atmosphere into your home with decorations, music and what is on the TV. The malls do it all the time, mainly to get people in the holiday spirit so they will shop. The idea works for them so it should work for you.
Start playing Christmas music. Watch Christmas movies and specials on the DVD. Start cooking, baking or bringing home Christmas treats and have them out on the counter, living room or table for every one to snack on. It works best if it is some thing she associates with Christmas.
Decorate your home, even if she is not interested in helping. You can ask her how she likes the decorations, and see if she thinks anything should be changed. You are not trying to force her to help you or get into the Christmas spirit, but are asking her opinion. That is a powerful thing and can get her involved with the Christmas decorations. Though some times you will get, “Its fine, leave me alone!” Give her an area of the house to decorate all by herself. She gets to decide how it is going to look and where everything goes. It is all hers. It can be her room, but it works best if it is part of the home that every ones sees.
3) Do some Christmas Theme activities, together if possible. Have her make a wish list. She can do this by window shopping on the Internet or actually going to the mall with you. Have an advent calendar, even if she thinks it’s for little kids. Let her pick out the Christmas wrapping paper and help wrap gifts.
Participate in a Christmas event. It could be a party at your place or find a Christmas event like Santa Clause parade, the lighting of the towns Christmas tree, go to a Christmas pageant or show, even one put on by the local school. Go for a Christmas light walk around your neighbourhood and see the wonderful Christmas light displays.
Have a special Christmas tree ornament or Christmas decoration hunt. It could be going together shopping to find something to add to your home, or finding the raw materials, or a craft kit to make it. Make a gingerbread house or train with all your family. Bake cookies together or make rice crispy treats.
4) Make someone happy for Christmas. Spend a day shopping for the toy box donations. Each of you take an amount of money, lets say $20.00 each and see who can find the best Christmas gift or gifts to donate. This is fun and is in the Christmas spirit of giving to others. If there are any parties being held for children, like one being held by the local church, see if she is interested to helping out. Making other people happy goes a long way to get back that Christmas spirit.
5) Have her help with planning Christmas dinner, and possibly help make it. If you are going somewhere else for Christmas dinner then have her help decide what you are going to take with you. It does not matter what she does or makes, just as long as she feels important, that she was included in the decisions and her contributions are valued.
6) Let her have her own little Christmas party, just 3 or 4 friends over. She can decorate, do the invitations and help deciding and preparing the food even if it is just snack food. She can organize the games and activities for the party. See if her friends are interested in doing a secrete Santa gift exchange. Those are always fun and will keep the cost down for those who just cannot afford to buy gifts for all their friends.
Doing fun things with friends and family should bring her Christmas spirit back. If not, then gift wrap her to a chair, with wrapping paper and bows and top it off with a Santa hat. Then make her to watch all the old Christmas movies, like it’s a white Christmas and Scrooge. Force-feed her eggnog and sugar cookies until she cannot eat any more. Then if that does not work, get your family and friends to surround her and sing Christmas carols off key until she begs for mercy and promises to be more in the holiday spirit.
Written by: Lori-Lee Craig
Medieval Magic
www.medievalmagic.ca
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