Right after Thanksgiving this week we can tell Christmas is approaching along the beautiful bay of our Eastern Shore. Year after year one can see beautiful white Christmas pelicans gathering and flying out in the bay. 

Lights everywhere reflect the excitement and joy this season brings to our families. A seasonal Eastern Shore welcome of the Christmas cannot be found anywhere else! 

Children raised in this area are so very fortunate to have parades that still throw candy. Our community of Daphne and Spanish Fort is so fortunate that our towns still thrill the children with this Christmas tradition. The freedom to enroll and enter a float from schools, churches, civic organizations, carolers and marching bands brings our community together once a year as we welcome in the holiday season as the magic of Christmas lights up.

Even our parks are decorated with enlarged Christmas symbols that delight we “old kids at heart”, as well as young kids. I just love this Christmas Wonderland that we celebrate in Daphne and Spanish Fort. 

Be sure to find out the schedule for both the Daphne and Spanish Fort parades. Different neighborhoods in our area light up their neighborhoods with beautiful lights and decorations that you and your children would want to cruise and view. 

As you begin to embark on mailing out Christmas cards to family and friends over the next few weeks of the holiday season include your child in showing them the pictures on the cards, letting them mark or sign their names, and putting on the stamps. Have your child even write to themselves. 

Take them to the post office to teach them how to mail the card. This teaches them a lesson on the post office and mailing a letter. How thrilled they are to get a card to themselves. 

With all the Christmas and holiday cards your child receives, you can have a Christmas card tree or even decorate with the cards you receive. 

You can even make gift tags from the cards you receive.Take time this year to make or pick up inexpensive holiday cards to mail.  Make this a very special holiday tradition with your child. 

As you begin to decorate your home for the holiday season include many child-made decorations to be made by your child to put up throughout the house. These build memories for your child. 

Keep your egg cartons over the next few weeks to make egg carton bells by cutting the egg cartons apart and with a twisty or pipe cleaner attach a little bell. The children can decorate the bell with stickers, draw on them, and of course they love to glitter.  

Tear some square aluminum foil sheets for your child to roll into balls to make silver balls to hang with string or attach a gem clip. My young students even make these for us to hang on our class Christmas tree. 

Save those colored drinking straws to make soda straw sunbursts.  Cut four to six straws in half, hold them together to form a bundle, tie the thread around the center of the bundle. Then just fan out the straws to form the round shape. 

Don’t forget those colorful paper chains that you and your child can make called paper chains. 

Cut strips of colorful paper, glue or tape the strip in a circle, then slip another strip of paper in the circle to form another circle.

Continue this until have a long chain to spread in an area that you and your child decide. 

The old saying someone else’s trash is a teacher’s treasure is so true when doing crafts with young children. 

Take an old discarded, straight-handled umbrella, plant the umbrella in a pot and pour sand around it. You and your child can decorate the umbrella tree with colorful beads, paper chains mentioned above, or any ideas you and your child might come up with. 

As soon as possible, go to the library to check out those books on Christmas in order for you and your child to have a holiday story time during this holiday season. 

There are so many other craft and seasonal ideas that you can find on the Internet to create a special time that you and your child can spend time together making young child Christmas crafts. 

Point out ways to your young child of how they can help others during this Christmas season. 

Our community offers so many ways to do this. What a gift you are giving your child by giving to others. 

A gentle reminder — during this time of year try to balance your child’s activities so you and they don’t feel stressed, tired and frustrated. 

This is suppose to be a happy time of year. Try to plan ahead so your child gets his/her needed rest. Proper rest is that “spoonful of medicine” as Mary Poppins would say to enjoy this holiday season feeling healthy and wise 

I hope to see all families at the different parades holding up their hands for a throw!  I know I will, and if you are on one of the floats, yes you can wave but would you please throw this big kid at heart a little candy!

Beth Pinyerd serves as the director of young children at Faith Family Fellowship in Spanish Fort.