HELP FOR THE HOLIDAYS

    This week I decided to incorporate a holiday activity into my social groups. I taught them how to “filter their thoughts” with my Mr. Coffee lesson a few weeks ago, so I thought I would expand on that lesson. If you are not familiar with the Mr. Coffee lesson, scroll down and find my blog post called “Coffee Please”. This is the post that explains this technique.

     For my holiday activity I bought 20 or so inexpensive gift bags. I put random items in each bag, like an ice cream stick, tissue, paper clip, one sock, etc. I gave each student a “present” and we practiced opening presents that we don't necessarily like. The students had to open their present, pretend to like it and politely say, “Thank you.” I also put some items that they would like in a few bags as well such as a bouncy ball, plastic bug, and spinning tops. They were allowed to keep any item they got if they wanted it, but they couldn't tell which items they really liked until the end of our session.

     The kids had a great time with this and they did really well. I chose to use gift bags so that I could reuse the bags for different groups and I could quickly get the activity ready. You could also wrap presents with wrapping paper for this activity. It will just take more time to set it up and clean up afterward.

     This could be a fun game throughout the holiday season for your children and their friends to play at home. You could give them gift bags to use and the children could take turns finding crazy and funny items to put in the bags for the others to open up. This may keep them entertained for a short time so you can do some holiday chores of your own. And with a little luck maybe your precious child will say, “Thank you so much Aunt Martha. I love it!” when he opens a hideous, itchy, purple wool sweater or something equally offensive.

     I will be home for the holidays with my family. If you have any questions or need suggestions please leave a comment or contact me by email at pam@lifecoachingangels.com I am here to help in any way I can. Have a safe and blessed holiday season.

Pam