Holiday Crafts and Activities That the Whole Family Can Get In On

A gingerbread house competition is a two-for-one: snacktime and playtime! Invite over your child's friends and have all their favorite candy toppings ready to go when your little ones get home from school. Let them get creative with windows, doors, and architectural details — it's all a part of the fun! Just be sure to keep Clorox wipes and sprays on hand to help with clean-up after the competition on non-food-contact surfaces. Their products kill 99.9 percent of viruses and bacteria on hard, non-porous surfaces when used as directed, so we can focus more on fun and worry less about spreading preschool germs around.

Not only is this a fun activity to do on a rainy day indoors, but these little beaded bracelets are a major fashion accessory right now and every mom, aunt, and cousin will love this thoughtful and stylish gift.

My son loves nothing more than feeling needed, especially when it comes to my holiday tasks. I always allow him to help me in the kitchen with any simple, safe jobs. He usually stands inside his little kitchen tower and helps me dump in ingredients and mix. It's a nice way to let them participate in a special holiday meal.

Sometimes I like to encourage an activity that feels slightly mischievous — like window art. Obviously we've drilled into our son's head that glue and tape are and not for walls or floors, so when I first told him he could decorate the window I could see his brain exploding. But the joy is this at-home snowflake craft is really easy to do and can be cleaned up in seconds.

When all else fails, a little arts and crafts project can be a fun way to flex that creative muscle. You just need a needle and thread, popcorn, and cranberries, and you can cross "trimming the tree" off your list!