So, we found out pretty quickly that we could make some simple changes that would greatly improve our family's Secret Santa efforts and what was formally known as our Good Deed Garland.
First, I realized that we needed some little pre-printed notes that said "Sam's Secret Santa was here", "Grace's Secret Santa was here", "Dad's Secret Santa was here" and "Mom's Secret Santa was here" that could be left behind when one family member did something kind for another. Otherwise, sometimes the effort was overlooked. So, I printed out notes, stuck each set into a separate envelope, and we re-drew names yesterday afternoon. The kids completely embraced it, and were constantly trying to find things so that they could leave their little notes behind. It was so much fun to watch them, but I must admit that they are not overly sneaky. Here are some pictures.
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| Someone cleaned the counted in the kids' bathroom |
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| Someone took out the recycling |
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| Someone cleaned a potty |
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| Someone cleaned dog fur off of the sofa! |
Since the kids are very busy trying to be helpful by being good Secret Santas and earning Santa Dollars, it became pretty clear that "Good Deed" garland really wasn't needed. However, my kids do often need a reminder to help them make good choices. These would be little things like being kind to each other, not be whiney, having good days at school, first time obedience, getting ready for school without any drama, etc. So, we magically transformed our "Good Deed Garland" into "Good Choices Garland", and it is working fabulously. We are not being at all stingy with these little slips of paper. As of this morning, the kids have earned a total of 14 pieces that we will use to start our garland strand this afternoon. Their goal is to have a garland strand that runs the length of the house. If they make it that means we will be having a very pleasant December here!
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| Just some examples of what we have been writing on the backside of their garland pieces. |
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3 comments:
I LOVE this idea and plan on copying it! In fact, I'm going to go ahead and use it now. Why wait until next Christmas? I am going to make little tags with the kid's "good choices" and insert them into our post-holiday-now-empty wire Christmas card holder. It seems that after spending ample time with grandparents, receiving many presents, etc., the kids need a jump-start reminder to make good behavior choices in January. :)
This is a great idea to implement! Our family is going to start this to help our daughter have a visual of the good choices she is making. We are at the stage where we have good, great days, & then a day here & there where everything snowballs from not so great choices. Sounds familiar, much?
Meta. It definitely sounds familiar! One of the things that I love about this is that you can be very generous with handing out the good choice garland. It definitely has helped with behavior in my house. The kids are trying to make a chain that runs the length of the house!
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