Navigating the Winter Holidays: Tips for Educators and Parents

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The winter holiday season is a time for connection, reflection, and celebration. For both educators and parents, it’s an opportunity to nurture meaningful traditions, promote inclusivity, and model values that transcend the hustle and bustle of the season. Here are strategies to make the most of this special time while rejecting the commercialism and stress that can sometimes come with it.

Embracing Inclusivity: Celebrating Diverse Traditions

Though most school break schedules favor families who celebrate Christmas, it is important to remember that this is not the only winter holiday. For both children who celebrate other holidays and those who celebrate Christmas, exposing them to diverse traditions is extremely valuable.

For Educators:

• Plan classroom activities that introduce students to winter holidays like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Christmas, Yule, and Lunar New Year. Use books, guest speakers, or crafts to highlight cultural traditions. My Winter Holiday Trivia game is great for classroom celebrations and staff holiday parties alike!

• Encourage students to share their own family traditions, if they’re comfortable, creating a tapestry of diverse practices.

• Avoid centering celebrations solely around one holiday. Instead, frame discussions around universal themes like light, generosity, and family.

For Parents:

• Seek out community events or library programs that showcase different winter traditions.

• Incorporate diverse holiday stories into your family reading time, such as Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat or Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story.

• Use mealtime conversations to discuss the values behind various traditions, like togetherness, gratitude, and renewal.

Mindful Giving: The 4-Gift Rule

The pressure to buy piles of gifts can overshadow the true meaning of the holidays. Promote mindful and purpose-driven gifting over the excessive accumulation of “stuff.”

For Educators:

• Host a classroom discussion about the value of thoughtful gifts, like handmade items or experiences over material possessions.

• Facilitate a “Giving Project” where students create small gifts or cards for family members or community helpers.

  
  

For Parents:

• Involve children in selecting gifts for others, emphasizing thoughtfulness over cost.

• Make giving part of the celebration—like delivering homemade bread to neighbors or participating in a charity drive.

• Have children organize the toys they already have and set aside a pile of gently-used ones to donate to kids in need.

For those who simply love gift-giving, the 4-gift rule can be a useful strategy for setting limits, simplifying the process, and reducing stress. Here’s how it works: for anyone on your list that you would typically buy multiple presents for, focus instead on four gifts in the following categories: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. Some ideas:

For a Toddler (Ages 1-3)

1. Want: A pretend food set

2. Need: Spillproof and easy-to-clean cups

3. Wear: Cozy Mittens on a string or grippy slippers

4. Read: A busy, interactive book like Richard Scarry’s word books

For a School-Age Child (Ages 4-10)

1. Want: A cardboard house that is part craft and part indoor play fort

2. Need: A clear backpack for school or sleepovers (bonus: many stadiums and arenas now only allow clear bags, so sports-fans can get more use out of these)

3. Wear: Wearable blanket hoodies in fun and silly designs

4. Read: A chapter book like The Last Kids on Earth series or a seek-and-find book like I Spy

For a Tween/Teen (Ages 11-17)

1. Want: A conversation-starter card game 

2. Need: A journal that encourages creativity and destruction in positive ways (not your average journal)

3. Wear: A unisex satin-lined beanie to keep their head warm without messing up their hair

4. Read: A teen cookbook or A YA novel like the Heartstopper graphic novel series

For a Young Adult/College Kid (18-22)

1. Want: A new party board game like Wavelength

2. Need: A new gadget for their apartment, like a new coffee pot or air purifier

3. Wear: Memory foam slippers or house shoes

4. Read: A food-specific cookbook in comic book format

Promoting Gratitude and Giving

Holidays provide a perfect backdrop for fostering a spirit of gratitude and generosity.

For Educators:

• Incorporate gratitude journaling or group discussions about ways to give back into classroom activities.

• Organize a class charity drive or service project, like collecting winter coats or writing cards for nursing home residents.

For Parents:

• Start a daily gratitude ritual during the holiday season, such as sharing something you’re thankful for each evening.

• Volunteer as a family at a food bank or serve a meal at a shelter to emphasize the importance of giving back.

• Encourage children to give their time or skills—baking treats for a friend, helping younger siblings, or crafting gifts for loved ones—rather than focusing on buying material objects.

Replacing Stressful Traditions with Joyful New Ones

Sometimes, long-held traditions can feel like more of a burden than a joy. It’s okay to let go and try something new.

For Educators:

• Start a classroom tradition of “Holiday Around the World” days, where students explore and try customs, crafts, or recipes from different cultures. Invite different students and/or their parents/caregivers to host different ones so the planning doesn’t all fall on the educator.

• Instead of a rowdy class party, try a quiet viewing of a holiday movie–invite students to wear pajamas or comfy clothes, bring pillows and stuffies, and maybe recruit some parents/caregivers to serve some popcorn and hot cocoa during an intermission halfway through the viewing.

For Parents:

• Choose one day to focus on trying holiday recipes from other countries, like Swedish saffron buns or Mexican tamales.

• Replace a tradition that causes stress (like waiting in line for photos with Santa) with a simpler, more meaningful activity, such as a family hike, movie marathon, or storytelling night.

Alternatives to Santa: Expanding the Narrative

While Santa is a beloved figure for many, not all families celebrate Christmas the same way, and some may not celebrate at all. Personally, I’ve celebrated Christmas all my life, but now that I’m a mom, I’m considering what role–if any–I want Santa to play in our traditions going forward. Some thoughts for other parents and educators to consider:

For Educators:

• Use stories and activities that showcase a variety of holiday figures and traditions, like St. Lucia, La Befana, or the Three Kings.

• Ensure that discussions around Santa are inclusive, allowing students from all backgrounds to feel seen and respected, including showing diverse representations of Santa Claus.

For Parents:

• If you celebrate Christmas but don’t center Santa, emphasize family traditions or other aspects of the holiday, like decorating, baking, or storytelling.

• Consider alternative gift-giving narratives, like emphasizing gifts brought by the Three Kings (also referred to as Magi or Wise Men) if you’re religious or focus on family members exchanging tokens of love and appreciation for a secular approach.

The holidays are a wonderful time to nurture empathy, curiosity, and connection. By embracing diverse traditions, simplifying the season, and prioritizing values like gratitude and generosity, we can help children find deeper joy in this festive season.

How do you celebrate the holidays in your home or classroom? Share your tips and traditions in the comments below or join us on Instagram to continue the conversation.