23 minute read
Craft Corner
reindeer faces
Here is a cute little craft for kids to enjoy inside when the weather is cold outside and they need something new to do! Make one or make all of Santa’s crew!
Step one: Paint bottom side of paper plate brown. Allow to dry completely. Step two: While plate is drying, cut out antlers and mouth. Set aside. Step three: Once plate is dry, use tape to attach antlers to the back of the paper plate. Tape the mouth to the front of the paper plate. Step four: Attach eyes onto the face. Step five: Tape or glue red nose to center of mouth. Step six: Allow to completely dry and then hang and enjoy for the holiday season!
Janelle Cumro-Sultzer lives in Manhattan, KS, with her husband, two children and two dogs. Janelle is the owner of Flint Hills Mediation, LLC, and loves to focus on learning through play and getting messy with crafts.
Yarn Wrapped Christmas Trees Flat Santa Christmas Tree Countdown Materials Needed:
• Paper plates—we used dessert plates • Brown paint • Paintbrush • Brown construction paper • Googly eyes (or black and white construction paper) • Scissors • Tape and/or glue
MIDWESTERN TOWNS
That Feel Like a Christmas Movie
By Kristina Light
Christmas movies often feature quaint towns with beautiful holiday decorations, strolling carolers and the magic of Christmas on every corner. We’re fortunate to have several towns with that Hallmark Christmas movie feeling less than a tank of gas away from Kansas City.
BRANSON, MISSOURI
Branson is famously decorated with millions of lights every holiday season. Silver Dollar City, the top attraction in Branson, hosts an Ozark Christmas with millions of lights, holiday shows, delicious Christmas delicacies, rides and more. In addition to Silver Dollar City, you’ll find holiday entertainment at Sight & Sound Theatre’s Miracle of Christmas, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, and the Haygoods. ExploreBranson.com
PELLA, IOWA
Pella is beloved for its Tulip Time Festival every May, but Christmas is also magical in this quaint Dutch town. The most recognizable landmark in the town is the Vermeer Mill, a working 124-foot windmill from the Netherlands that is used to grind wheat. The historical museum features a Dutch village with a wooden shoemakers shop, grist mill, bakery, library and more. The first weekend in December, Pella hosts Kerstmarkt, an outdoor Christmas market featuring artisan vendors. Throughout the season, enjoy carriage rides, boutique shopping and visits with Sinterklaas. VisitPella.com ST. CHARLES, MISSOURI
St. Charles is famous for its cobblestone streets, historical architecture near the Mississippi River and the yuletide nostalgia they share during their annual Christmas Traditions celebration. Visitors enjoy Victorian carolers, beautiful greenery decorating the historic district, delicious holiday foods, shopping and more all month long. DiscoverStCharles.com
LINDSBORG, KANSAS
Lindsborg celebrates its Swedish heritage year-round, but it is especially unique at Christmas during the Festival of St. Lucia. On the second weekend of December, the town celebrates with holiday music, a St. Lucia parade, the crowning of St. Lucia, and cookies and coffee. You may also visit the Old Mill Museum, many local shops and eateries, and historic sites. VisitLindsborg.com
Branson, Missouri
Tips for Staying Jolly During the Holidays
Between the long shopping lists, piles of gifts to wrap and family gatherings to attend, the holidays can be the busiest and most stressful time of the year—but they should still be fun! Take advantage of these tips for staying jolly throughout the holiday season.
Spread Cheer
Nothing will make you feel jollier this holiday season than spreading Christmas cheer like the big man in red himself. “Jingling” your neighbors is a fun way to spread the holiday spirit throughout your neighborhood. Simply leave a small gift such as homemade candy or baked goods at your neighbor’s door with a note saying, “You’ve been jingled.” They’ll be encouraged to spread the joy themselves to other neighbors. Before you know it, the entire neighborhood will be just as jolly as you are. This also works great in the office with your coworkers.
Recruit Help
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. Do you have company coming over and you just can’t find the time to clean the house? Do yourself a favor and hire someone to help with your cleaning or make a chore list for the kids to complete while they’re on holiday break. Do you have a ton of baking to do? Ask your friends to come over for a baking party to help out! Does the idea of cooking the entire holiday meal on your own stress you out? Ask your family members to bring a dish!
Don’t Overcommit
When it comes to accepting invitations, don’t overcommit and spread yourself thin this holiday. Before the season begins, make a list of traditions and events that are most important to your family. Maybe Christmas Eve dinner is a must, but finding and cutting down your own Christmas tree really isn’t as important to your family. Make sure your time-honored traditions take priority over other invitations, and never feel obligated to attend events you don’t want to.
Donate
Donating is a great way to help others in need while making room for the new toys Santa is sure to deliver. Keep your kids involved and explain that their toys will be going to children who might not have as many. Have your kids accompany you when you drop off the toys— they will feel a sense of accomplishment and thankfulness for what they have.
Take a Day Off
Take a day off to prep for the holidays without the kids. Create a huge to-do list and do your best to knock it all out before lunch. Then, enjoy the afternoon wrapping presents while drinking hot cocoa and listening to your favorite holiday tunes or watching a Christmas movie. You will feel much jollier when you have time to complete your tasks without distractions and with a little holiday fun mixed in.
Have Realistic Expectations
Parents tend to want everything perfect for their kids, and the holidays are no exception. Sometimes the pressure to make every moment memorable does nothing but cause tension. Have realistic expectations. It’s almost guaranteed something won’t go as planned, and that’s okay. Your holiday cookies will burn, someone won’t like a gift, and you will definitely forget to move that darn Elf on the Shelf, but more than likely, those little things will end up making your holiday season even more memorable. Remember, the holidays are about spending time with friends and family, and those are the two things that will make you the jolliest of all.
FUN GUIDE
Regan Lyons is a girl mom and freelance writer. She lives with her husband, Cale, and daughters Atley, 8, and Ensley, 2, in St. Joseph, MO.
FOR KIDS TO GIVE BACK DURING THE HOLIDAYS
If there’s anything better than creating holiday magic for your children, it’s letting them in on what a gift it is to share that magic with others. Although many nonprofit organizations prefer financial donations, there are still several that will let you “get your hands dirty,” giving of your time and talents side by side with your children. Here are a few such organizations, as well as some other ways that you can give back to your community as a family.
1
The American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program gives kids the opportunity to “give something that means something” by sending cards to active military veterans as well as their families. In previous years, there was a national Holiday Mail for Heroes Post Office Box to send cards to; however, the Red Cross is now offering community-based events for making, signing, sorting and delivering cards to fellow members of the community. If you would like to participate, contact your local American Red Cross chapter to receive information on how you and your family can help out.
2
Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude has been able to send more than 3.5 million care packages to deployed troops, active military, veterans and wounded heroes. You and your crew can help brighten someone’s day by building a care package. Volunteers can also participate in their Handmade with Love project, an opportunity to make a variety of helpful materials such as fleece blankets, cool ties and drawstring bags. All patterns are available on the Operation Gratitude website.
3
FIGHT HUNGER
Volunteering at a soup kitchen is a great way for teenagers and adults to make a difference in their community, but hot surfaces and sharp knives pose safety risks for young children. To help locally, visit City Union Mission’s webpage (CityUnionMission.org) to find a list of food items needed. Or simply sign up to volunteer for a two-hour shift at a Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) Mobile Pack event. With FMSC, children as young as 5 years old can volunteer side by side with their parents in packing rice, soy, dried vegetables and vitamins and minerals, that are then sealed, boxed and placed on pallets to be delivered to the neediest children around the world.
4
MICRO-VOLUNTEER
A lot of ground can be made by performing simple acts of kindness. Minnesota-based nonprofit Doing Good Together is an organization that came about in an effort to help make volunteering more accessible to young families. Their 30 Days of Kindness Challenge also lists a multitude of ways doing little things can make a big difference, such as drawing uplifting chalk messages at a park or handing out thank you’s to service industry workers such as trash removal providers and mail carriers.
5
GIVE PRESENTS TO CHILDREN IN NEED
Toys for Tots. Since 1947, Marine Toys for Tots has been delivering new presents to those in need. Presently, the organization distributes an average of 18 million presents to 7 million children annually. Angel Tree. Mary Kay Beard was on the FBI’s most wanted list. But during her time behind bars, not only did she have a change of heart but she discovered her life’s calling: ensuring that children of incarcerated parents received gifts at Christmastime. For more than 40 years, Prison Fellowship has provided more than 6 six million gifts. You too can help brighten the day of a child that might not receive a gift at Christmas otherwise. Comfort Cases. Noting that most children entering the foster care system are given nothing but a trash bag to place their belongings in, Comfort Cases seeks to do one better by providing backpacks or suitcases full of helpful contents to children that would otherwise be without. Operation Christmas Child. For more than 29 years, Samaritan’s Purse International Relief has mailed presents to children in need across the globe. For more information on drop-off sites, as well as package building tips, go to each organization’s website. Boxes are collected each November, but kids can start shopping now to build next year’s boxes!
6
GIVE THE GIFT OF ATHLETIC GEAR
Kids outgrow sports equipment quickly, but there’s no need to let all that gear collect dust in the garage. Instead, put it to good use by donating it to an organization such as Sports Gift that takes gently used sporting equipment and distributes it to needy children around the world.
7
ADOPT A SENIOR CITIZEN
The holidays can be a lonely time for elderly citizens that don’t have family nearby. Have your children hand out Christmas cards at a local senior citizen center or offer to host an aging neighbor for a holiday dinner.
8
MAKE GIFTS FOR THE PET SHELTER
Contact your local pet shelter and see how you can help them this Christmas season. Old sheets and blankets can spare a poor pup from having to sleep on a concrete floor. Toys can be made by simply braiding old socks or T-shirts together. And for a fun and simple project, consider making homemade dog treats.
9
SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS
Buddy the Elf wasn’t wrong when he quipped, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Teach your kids a handful of traditional carols and go door to door singing a few to get your neighborhood in the Christmas spirit!
FUN GUIDE
10
DROP OFF TREATS FOR SERVICE INDUSTRY WORKERS
Emergencies don’t take a break for the holidays and, consequently, neither do service industry workers. Many police officers, firefighters, EMTs and nurses work away from their families on the holidays to care for those in crisis. Consider dropping off a plate of homemade goodies (or some catering if you’re not inclined to cook) at your local fire station or hospital to let those on duty know they are thought of this Christmas season. This gesture goes a long way in making those that work the holidays feel both seen and appreciated.
Lauren Greenlee is an Olathe freelance writing boymom who relishes the gift of giving back to her community during the Christmas season. Her family can be found volunteering with Feed My Starving Children and building shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child this holiday season.
Ringing in the New Year with Kids
How to plan a family-friendly NYE
Maybe your New Year’s Eve nights of wine-fueled festivities and shenanigans with the besties have been put on hold. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still ring in the new year with just as much pizazz—even with the “Baby Shark” remix playing in the background on repeat. And, hey, you might not even make it to midnight before crashing on the couch after completing your regular bedtime routine.
Looking for ways to spend a family-friendly New Year’s Eve? We’ve got you covered. From game-a-thons to scrapbooking to an epic bucket list, you’ll find at least one activity your family will want to try. Your kids will be your best party companions because every activity is an adventure to them. So put your party shoes on and get ready to make the best memories to end a great year.
Scrapbook the night away
Gather all the fun materials for scrapbooking: markers, stickers, glitter, glue, magazines to cut pages out of, printed photos, more stickers. Try to create a page that highlights your favorite events of the last year.
Pop a balloon every hour
Kids are very visual creatures, so popping a balloon every hour until midnight will help them with the final countdown.
Design an escape room at home
Make a treasure map of clues, dress everyone up in fun costumes, make fun sound effects, dim the lights, get out a fog machine (I mean, depending how big you want to go with this), and enjoy an evening of your very own homemade escape room adventure.
Photo booth
A classic photo booth could be the best way to document your fun night. Keep a box of silly costumes and props nearby and take the best selfies you can muster in between snacking and watching movies.
Brainstorm a bucket list for 2023
There’s nothing like an epic family bucket list to get you pumped for the next year. Here are just a few ideas to get you started: 1. Take a train or subway. 2. Visit a destination restaurant. 3. Take a factory tour (examples: the Jelly Belly factory or a potato chip factory). 4. Take a museum tour—choose a handful of museums and try to visit one per week. 5. Attend sporting events. 6. Spend more time outside at parks, on hikes or biking, camping, fishing or taking an RV trip.
Outdoor movie projector
Snuggle up outside to watch movies with your loved ones if it’s not too cold. Be sure to bundle up, maybe next to a crackling fire pit. Bring your mugs of hot chocolate, a giant bowl of popcorn and even ingredients for s’mores. Movies2U.com is a great, local screen rental company.
Watch a slideshow of 2022
While the movie projector is all set up, why not watch a slideshow of your previous year? Everyone will enjoy laughing or crying at their most embarrassing, most fun, most endearing moments. Start collecting fun photos from your family and friends.
DEC. 4 NATIONAL COOKIE DAY McLain’s Bakery has been serving delicious baked goods, including cookies, to local customers since 1945. Famous for their chocolate cup cookies, they offer goodies that are a delicious way to celebrate National Cookie Day.
DEC. 20 GO CAROLING DAY Gather some friends and go caroling. Visit neighbors, grandparents and friends and serenade them with your favorite Christmas carols and some goodies.
DECEMBER
FUN CALENDAR
DEC. 9 CHRISTMAS CARD DAY
For more than 100 years, Hallmark Cards has called Kansas City home. Visit the Hallmark Visitors Center, where you can watch as cards are manufactured, enjoy the magic of Hall’s Christmas trees and more.
DEC. 12 NATIONAL HOT COCOA DAY
Christopher Elbow, the city’s most famous gourmet chocolatier, makes drinking chocolate in three flavors.
DEC. 14 NATIONAL MONKEY DAY
The Kansas City Zoo is open year-round. Treat the family to a winter outing and visit the monkeys and their animal pals at the zoo. While you’re there, check out FOTZ memberships— they make great Christmas gifts!
DEC. 21 CROSSWORD PUZZLE DAY In 1913, the first crossword puzzle was published in the New York World. Purchase a crossword puzzle book at your local bookstore or, for the true enthusiast, buy the World’s Largest Crossword Puzzle, measuring 42.25 square feet with more than 91,000 squares and 24,000 clues from Amazon.com.
DEC. 24 NATIONAL EGG NOG DAY
Enjoy locally-made egg nog from Shatto Dairy Farm. Their concoction is frequently voted the best egg nog in Kansas City.
DEC. 27 MAKE CUTOUT SNOWFLAKES DAY
Make intricate paper snowflakes using classic instructions from The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
A Nighttime Fairyland
Starting in September, workers begin installing thousands of lights. Then, in the middle of the night before Thanksgiving, they secretly test the lights to ensure every bulb is bright. On Thanksgiving night, the magic begins as Kansas City’s “nighttime fairyland,” as it was known in the 1930s, comes to life! Kansas City’s landmark Country Club Plaza (CountryClubPlaza.com), opened in 1922, is perhaps most famous for its Christmas lights. The tradition began on Christmas Day 1925, when Charles Pitrat, the maintenance supervisor for the Nichols Company, decorated the Mill Creek Building with a single strand of lights and a few small trees. Every year, Pitrat added to the display, and now the Plaza boasts more than 80 miles of lights. You can enjoy the Country Club Plaza Christmas lights every evening Thanksgiving through mid-January. Bah! Humbug!
When I’m enjoying A Christmas Carol at the KC Rep, a beloved KC tradition for more than 40 years, the theater magically becomes 1843 London, and the cast become the living embodiment of the characters they portray. Having read Dickens’ book almost every Advent for more than two
decades, I am always amazed and impressed at the ability of the Rep’s stars to bring the characters so accurately to life. Topping the list is Ebenezer Scrooge himself, portrayed by Gary Neal Johnson, who Three Classically KC has pronounced, “Bah! Humbug!” for audiences in the star role for years. Christmas Traditions Make it a tradition for your family to enjoy By Kristina Light this annual holiday performance. KCRep.org Kansas City’s Own Fairy Princess In 1935, Kline’s Department Store of downtown Kansas City celebrated the grand opening of their Toyland. Santa came to other stores. Kline’s wanted to do something original to attract visitors, so they introduced the Fairy Princess. For 25 cents, children visited the princess, telling her their Christmas wishes. Then she waved her magic wand, making a surprise gift appear! Over the years, gifts were presented sliding from chutes, appearing on revolving turntables, hiding in fairyland trees or in magically opening trunks. The tradition continued, at just 25 cents, until Kline’s closed in 1970. The Fairy Princess returned in 1987, when the Kansas City Museum brought her back for Christmas. You can visit the Fairy Princess on select weekends at the Kansas City Museum. KansasCityMuseum.org
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Photo by Erin Stricker and courtesy of The Coterie Theatre. Peanuts © 2019 Peanuts Worldwide LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Celebrating a Peanuts-style Christmas in KC
Since 1965, Americans have been watching A Charlie Brown Christmas with their families annually. The familiar Vince Guaraldi melodies, Charles M. Schulz’s beloved Peanuts kids catching snowflakes on their tongues, Snoopy’s decorated doghouse, the whole gang’s ice-skating, Charlie’s selecting the smallest tree, and the struggling pageant, all leading up to Linus’ cherished moment as he reflects on what Christmas is really about … the show is a quintessentially American Christmas tradition. This year, take a page from the Peanuts gang and celebrate A Charlie Brown Christmas in Kansas City.
Watch A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Coterie
This show is going to run for a hundred
years. ~ Ed Levitt, one of the Christmas special’s animators.
We are delighted that Coterie is bringing the beloved classic back to the stage this holiday season. The Coterie presents the show with beautiful sets and costumes that feel as if they are lifted straight from the animated special and brought to life. The cast portrays the Peanuts gang wonderfully as Charlie Brown embarks on his journey to discover the true meaning of Christmas. One of the highlights of the show is the fabulous musical rendition of “Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron.” Showing through Dec. 31: TheCoterie.org/performance/ Charlie-Brown-Christmas-2022.
Ice-Skate
Happiness is a new pair of ice skates.
One of the favorite scenes in the Charlie Brown film is the Peanuts gang enjoying a spin on the ice. During the holiday season, the Crown Center Ice Terrace, Kansas City’s original outdoor rink, plays Christmas music and offers a beautiful view of the mayor’s Christmas tree. They offer a concession stand that sells hot cocoa and other snacks to enjoy as well. CrownCenter.com/iceterrace
Hallmark and the Peanuts
It’s not what’s under the tree that counts—it’s whose around it.
~ Charlie Brown
Arnold Shapiro, a Hallmark employee in the 1950s and an avid Kansas City Star reader who loved the Peanuts comic strip, pitched an idea to J.C. Hall in 1959 that Hallmark work with Charles M. Schulz to develop greeting cards featuring the Peanuts characters. The cards were tested at Kansas City shops and soon became popular with customers. This began a decades-long relationship that continues between the two brands to this day. Hallmark still sells Peanuts greeting cards and features the characters on many of their Christmas ornaments and products. You will find these available at local Hallmark stores, including the flagship at Crown Center, and you can see many of these items on display at the Hallmark Visitors Center, one of KC’s beloved free attractions. On your visit, be sure to make a reservation to visit Kaleidoscope, a free hands-on art center in the Crown Center district, where kids can create their own cartoon characters and style them on greeting cards and other works of art. HallmarkKaleidoscope.com
Visit a Christmas Tree Farm
I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all really. Maybe it just needs a little love. ~ Linus Van Pelt
Head to the tree farm or lot to choose your own Christmas tree, just like Charlie and Linus do. Are you partial to the small, unloved trees or are you looking for something more classic? Choose your own fresh Christmas tree at one of the area Christmas tree farms featured in our guide on KCParent.com. Family Tree Nursery offers three area locations with beautiful trees, too, and additional holiday décor—including some inspired by the Peanuts Gang, all season long.
Love Your Own Snoopy
Did you know, I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown is another, lesser-known, Peanuts holiday special?
Snoopy is my favorite dog of all time (yes, I know he’s animated). Do you want to invite a new pal into your family this holiday season? Great Plains SPCA is one of KC’s largest no-kill animal shelters. They facilitate pet adoptions and help find the perfect pet for families. Wayside Waifs is another local no-kill shelter with a commitment to finding homes for all adoptable pets. If you already have a beloved dog in your home, you may want to treat him to a special Christmas gift from one of these local dog bakeries: Three Dog Bakery, Brookside Barkery & Bath and Treats Unleashed.
FUN GUIDE
Living Nativity Christmas Pageant
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:9-11) That’s what Christmas is all
about, Charlie Brown. ~Linus Van Pelt
Take Linus’ words to heart and experience a living Nativity. Search “Nativity” on the KCParent.com calendar to find one of many local live manger scene experiences. We especially recommend the Culture House’s A Child of Hope and Journey to Judea hosted by Countryside Church in Overland Park.
New-Fallen Snow
It’s too early. I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January.
~ Lucy Van Pelt
Eat fresh snow just like Linus does. For a real treat, make snow ice cream. Mix eight to 12 cups of fresh, white, new-fallen snow, one 10-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and one teaspoon of vanilla. You may eat it immediately after mixing or freeze to enjoy later. Then, take the kids to one of the best sled hills in KC (all listed on KCParent.com), have snowball fights, play in the snow and make snow angels.
Kristina Light writes about Christmas in KC all season long on KCParent.com.
