5 valuable lessons Christmas can teach your kids

The festive season isn’t just about presents, parties and Xmas pudding. Christmas is the one time of year we make an extra effort to help others, be kind and enjoy life. So why not take advantage of the long, long Xmas season to teach these five life lessons to your kids? You might just make everyone’s Christmas a whole lot merrier.

Lesson #1 - Patience

Asking a child to be patient is a big ask - time seems to take forever when you’re a little person. Yet our kids show remarkable patience throughout the long Christmas season, waiting weeks and weeks for the big day. Make the wait easier for them by embracing Christmas as much and as often as you can bear. As counterintuitive as it might sound, hiding from Christmas will only make things worse.

So indulge their desires. Take your kids to see Santa and his reindeer a few times. Go ice skating. Drive round the Christmas lights to alleviate the ‘arsenic hour’. Play ‘count the Christmas trees’ on car journeys. And put a Christmas spin on any cooking or craft activities you do together. The rewards will be less whining and more smiling all round.

Lesson #2 - Hope

Children are born optimists and Christmas is a beautiful opportunity to nurture and strengthen their sense of hope. Hope that a big bloke in a red suit can squeeze down a bricked-up chimney. Hope that six reindeer can fly a fat guy round the world in one night. Hope that they’re going to get what they wished for this Christmas. Hope that magic really exists.

Feed their appetite for magic and mystery. As well as sharing the traditional rituals of Christmas why not make your own up? What about a snowy footprint under your tree (icing sugar is relatively inoffensive and easy to hoover up). Or a trace of fairy dust (AKA glitter) in your fireplace. Get creative and spread the magic.

Lesson #3 - Generosity

Kids spend much of the festive season thinking about what Santa is going to bring them. But learning generosity towards others can also be lots of fun. Encourage your kids to participate in gift-giving and you will open up a whole new realm of excitement and joy.

Toddlers can help choose presents for siblings, parents and grandparents. And you can give older kids ownership by setting a spending limit, putting cash in their hands and letting them pay for their chosen gift. Giving to those in need can also be fun. Putting coins in charity boxes, tipping carol singers and dropping money in buskers’ hats are all great ways to spread the Christmas love.

Lesson #4 - Teamwork

Kids love helping out. They love the feeling of autonomy doing something useful inspires. And at Christmas there are 101 things that need to be done, so why not let them help you? Sure, everything will take twice as long, but you’ll all have more fun and get to spend some quality time working as a team.

Younger kids will love drawing Christmas pictures, decorating the tree and sticking stamps on Christmas cards. They can also help with dusting mince pies, decorating Xmas cookies and making Christmas garlands. Great projects for older kids include designing and printing out Christmas lunch menus, peeling endless potatoes, parsnips and sprouts, making homemade crackers and hanging Xmas cards on string.

Lesson #5 - Tolerance

Xmas is a great opportunity to teach tolerance. We all try so hard to get on with our nearest and dearest at Christmas and yet we often end up falling out - probably because we’re all trying too hard! But that’s ok. It’s just how life is. And rather than trying to shield your kids from this reality, maybe we should just talk to them about how blooming difficult this time of year can be.

From putting up with Aunty’s hideous laugh, to relinquishing the best spot on the sofa to extended family, everyone needs a good dollop of tolerance at Christmas. And the day after Boxing Day - when everyone has gone back to their respective homes and relative peace has been restored - you might even get a glimpse of brothers being a little more tolerant of sisters and vice versa.


Here’s wishing you a happy, healthy and stress-free Yule!