Easy Ornament Swap

If your child is just beginning her school years, a wonderful tradition that you may want to begin and carry throughout all of her school grades is an annual ornament swap. Each holiday season, send out a simple invitation to announce the ornament swap. As examples, draw ornaments on brightly colored construction paper and add the party details. For something a bit fancier, take round globe ornaments and uncap them. Inside place the party details in a rolled up small scroll of paper. Make sure to tell your guests about the details being inside. These would need to be hand-delivered.

As for decoration, this is an easy party in that your decorated home for the holidays is the perfect setting. Make sure to ask your guests to each bring one ornament for the swap. You can have them bring any type of an ornament or have a theme based on colors, theme, etc. It is up to the party host. An alternative, provide an ornament kit and kids can make them, then swap.

For the actual swap, when the kids arrive place a number on the bottom of the ornament package and add this number to a bowl that the kids will choose from. When it is time for the swap, have each kid pick a number and that is their ornament. Of course, if a kid picks her own, she must pick again!

Serving cookies and cocoa are perfect for the party as well. The rest of the gathering can have the kids playing together. Since this is a more casual party, planned activities and games are not as necessary. Instead, it is cause for some easy holiday fun. In addition, it is a good opportunity to invite the parents as well, perhaps the Moms. While the kids play, the Moms can also socialize with one another over tea and cookies.

The wonderful part of this tradition is if you begin it in kindergarten, by the time your kid graduates from high school, they will have collected 13 special ornaments and a childhood full of memories from the annual gatherings!