December is dominated with Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah (as well as a few others). For this reason, there are less monthly observances than any other month.
Monthly observances can give you everything from ideas for activities to service projects.
Steps
1. December printable.
Download the Enrichment Project printable of December monthly observances in the United States. These are observances that occur all month long. For December, these include:
- Art and Architecture Month
- Hi Neighbor Month
- International Calendar Awareness Month
- Learn a Foreign Language Month
- National Egg Nog Month
- National Stress Free Family Holiday Month
- Safe Toy and Gift Month
- Universal Human Rights Month
- World AIDS Month
- Write to a Friend Month
Review the printable to find what monthly themes you can incorporate into your own activities.
2. Your own list.
Start your own list of December monthly observances, including ideas to help celebrate them. Expand on the list provided or create your own from scratch to meet the needs of your audience or group.
3. Theme.
Any monthly observance can be a theme for your meeting or event. Of course, it’s very difficult to not have Christmas in your theme. Crafting and gift giving are great themes for December. You could look at how different people celebrate the season. A general theme covering familial traditions could also be used. You might even plan a field trip just to “enjoy the season.” How can you build a theme around your chosen observance?
Start planning
4. Meetings, parties and events.
You can plan a meeting, party or event based on a monthly celebration theme. You might want to do one or more activities based on your observance. Celebrate the old year and anticipate the new. Start with your resolutions and plan what you’d like to accomplish in the next year. Share your traditions. Perhaps even plan activities that are especially low key to help your participants de-stress.
5. Create and design.
Use the December observances as a way to focus your creative energy. When you’re unable to come up with an idea, these can give you a jumping off point to start brainstorming. Some things you might create include:
- Art
- Blog posts
- Club activities
- Crafts
- Ebooks
- Games
- Gifts
- Podcasts
- Printables
- STEM
- Videos
6. Education.
Create your own curriculum and learn the way you want. Everyone gives away free printables and activities for Christmas. Be sure to save the ones you’d like to use again. In addition, bring Christmas traditions and stories into your classroom. Explore how others celebrate the holidays. Find support for your chosen observance.
7. Sharing.
Sharing your ideas with others not only encourages participation but may bring greater variety into your activities. You can share:
- Cultural observations
- Hobbies
- Interests
- Recipes
- Religious observances
Explore ways to share with others in your community or group.
8. Service.
You can plan service around a monthly observance. You can do traditional service such as caroling at nursing homes or a coat drive to help the homeless. You might also want to try connecting with local organizations to add support to their efforts. Look through the observances and find one or more that allow you to bring service into your monthly activities.
9. Communicate.
Use monthly observations in your communications. You can share your thoughts and ideas to move people to action. From blog posts to emails to newsletters, keep your communication fresh by incorporating these observances in your writing.
10. Brainstorm.
Brainstorm ways to incorporate observances into your own community or group. This might be a one-time event or a series for a group, club or community.
Continue the search
11. Explore offerings online.
Pick a monthly observance (or more) and start your online research. What is available online that you can download and use? Be sure to keep track of where you get the information so you can refer back to this resource.
12. Search for even more!
How have other people celebrated the month theme you chose? Talk to them to find out what they did. Ask about what worked, what didn’t and what they might change to make it better.
Can you incorporate their ideas into your own project? If not, what adjustments can you make?
Supplements Available
NOTE: If you have additional observances you’d like added, please let me know.
Sites to Explore
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:December_observances
- www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/default.htm
- giftedkids.about.com/od/Monthly-Observances/a/Month-Long-Observances-In-December.htm
- www.nsc.org/news_resources/Resources/Pages/NSCSafetyCalendar.aspx
- library.thinkquest.org/2886
- www.brownielocks.com
- www.thenibble.com/fun/more/facts/food-holidays.asp
- www.gone-ta-pott.com
- www.tfdutch.com/foodh.htm
- www.welcoa.org/observances
- www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays
- www.mhprofessional.com/templates/chases/index.php
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