December 9- Chanukah – Chanukah is a Jewish celebration, also known as the Festival of Lights; Chanukah starts at sundown today and lasts for eight days. It is traditional to exchange gifts or gelt (Yiddish for money) in the form of real coins or chocolate wrapped in gold foil, to play a game of put-and-take with a four sided top called a dreidel, and to light candles each night. https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/07/menorah.jpg

December 21 – First day of winter Animals handle cold winter weather in a variety of ways. Some travel to a warmer climate. Others grow thicker fur coats so they can stay warm and active during the winter. Many animals hibernate during the coldest weather – they spend the warmer months eating and storing as much body fat as they can and then live off this extra weight as they sleep.

December 25 – Christmas Every family and culture has their own Christmas traditions. Embrace those of your host family and share some of your own.https://blogs.aupairinamerica.com/cha/wp-content/uploads/sites/67/2012/07/christmas-tree-background.jpg

December 26 – Kwanzaa –This festive, non-religious African-American celebration was started in 1966. It lasts for seven days. On each day a candle is lit and the day focuses on one of seven principles.

December 31 – New Year’s Eve – Westport celebrates New Year’s with First Night, a family friendly non alcoholic event, complete with fireworks at midnight on the Saugatuck River.  Purchase a button and then visit all of the town’s venues for free – listen to rock n roll, get face painted, dance, sing and have fun with your friends, family and/or host children.  Before the children go to bed, you and the children can choose simple “New Year Resolutions.” Or create a keepsake of 2012 by making a time capsule or a scrapbook of memories. Include what are cool, slang words, popular activities, clothes, games, names of popular songs or games, and a picture of the hottest toy. If you are making a time capsule, put a date on it and decide when they will open it – in a year, 5 or even 10. Don’t forget to include a photo of you and the children! Tomorrow, the first day of the New Year, is a federal holiday.  If you have to work tonight, watch the celebration on TV and think about what you would like to accomplish in 2013.