Holidays from the Twilight Zone

Materials:

• Magazines and other picture sources
• writing supplies
• binder

Would your child like to have more days off from school for national holidays? Here's his or her chance.

This antidote for the "cabin fever blues" involves inventing zany holidays for the nation or even the whole world to celebrate. To help your child brainstorm, provide a stack of newspapers, junk mail, mail-order catalogs, magazines, and other photo sources. Perhaps your child is fascinated with the idea of National Fruit Juicer and Vegetable Steamer Day. Or Stamp Out Plaque Week.

Younger kids can simply talk about the holiday; older children (who can also serve as "scribes" for siblings) can create a holiday "report," complete with the picture that inspired the event, when it is supposed to take place, how long it lasts, a description of the festivities, what people are expected to wear, who should observe the event, songs to be sung, and so on.

Place the write-ups in a three-ring binder and you've got a complete holiday planner. How will your family be celebrating National Tree Frog Day?

More on: Games for the Whole Family

Excerpted from:

© 2005 by Steve and Ruth Bennett. Excerpted from 365 Unplugged Family Fun Activities with permission of its publisher, Perseus Books Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

To order this book visit perseusbooksgroup.com.