Happy Holidays from Green Kid Crafts Founder Penny Bauder
As I gather with my friends and family this holiday season, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for being a part of the Green Kid Crafts family. This time of year is all about traditions and the enduring sense of wonder and excitement that the dawning of a new year can bring. When my team asked me if I had any holiday traditions to share with the Green Kid Crafts community, I was for some reason surprised to realize that since becoming a parent 8 years ago I have acquired quite a few! Here are a some of my favorites.
One of my favorite holiday traditions is lighting luminaries (candles set in sand in paper bags) on Christmas Eve. This tradition originated with Spanish merchants, who were influenced by Chinese paper lanterns. Our entire neighborhood lights luminaries on Christmas Eve and the roadways and driveways are all lit up with flickering lights. There’s something so warm and comforting about seeing those little flames against the cold.
Another favorite tradition of mine is putting together Christmas Eve boxes. This is such an easy way to add a touch more magic to the holiday season! Every Christmas Eve we let the kids open a Christmas Eve Box. We include similar items every year: A keepsake holiday book to read before bed, a classic holiday movie, pajamas, popcorn, hot chocolate packets, and keepsake ornaments to hang on our Christmas tree.
But I think perhaps my favorite family tradition is getting our Advent Calendar out each year. Every November 30, I stuff the felt ornaments back into their pockets and I add in a piece of paper that has a holiday activity for us to do as a family that day. Some things that we do year after year include baking cookies, making salt dough ornaments, going to see a holiday play, and watching holiday movies.
This holiday season, I appreciate you and your pursuit of inspiring a sense of creativity and discovery in your children. You inspire me to work hard every day to be the best business leader and mother I can be. Thank you! It’s been an incredibly rewarding and successful year for Green Kid Crafts, and I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for your support. Happy Holidays!
From my family to yours,
Penny
Thank you for sharing your traditions with us. Merry Christmas!