Photo by Arun Kuchibhotla on Unsplash
The stores are already filled with holiday décor and displays of gift packages. The leaves that are left on the trees are turning brown, and the days are starting to feel dark and gray. The chaos of the holiday season and short days with little sunlight can make it feel like hibernation would be a great idea, but there is so much work to be done that there is no time for sleeping extra hours. Once school goes on break for the holidays, the chaos at home will go into overdrive. Kids will want to spend their days lounging in front of a screen, but stay strong parents and dole out those household chores! Not only will you be getting help with your lengthy to-do lists, these tasks will teach kids life skills they will want to know one day. And you can turn these jobs into a valuable lesson in money management and personal finance.
The key is to treat your kids’ chores like they are a real job. Make it fun! Give each of your kids a title around the house that correlates to the tasks you are expecting them to accomplish. For example, a younger child who is in charge of picking up toys and clearing the dinner table could be your Secretary of the Household. You get the idea, be creative and customize this to your kids’ personalities to make it fun.
Next, open your wallet on a weekly basis. If you are not giving your kids access to money, they are not going to learn the value of a dollar, how to manage themselves to learn the value of saving, or how to budget. Identify a dollar amount you think is fair for your child to earn per week and then create a list of chores that must be completed to earn that money. And don’t waiver. If a job is not completed, deduct that from what your child is earning. After all, when they get their first hourly job in high school or college, their boss certainly won’t be paying them if they don’t show up at work one day!
Once you have the essentials established of how chores will work in your home, it will be easy to swap out tasks based on the seasons or as your children grow and can take on more responsibility. During the holiday season, you can also take the opportunity to teach kids about giving back by volunteering as a family or helping them to find a charity to donate some of their earnings to, which can be another motivator to get tasks completed. Here are few winter chore ideas you can add or swap into the regular list of tasks.
Kids (5-8) – Little kids can help you organize the many extra clothing items that are pulled out during the winter months. Put them in charge of picking up any mittens, hats, or scarves that are dropped at the door. With the extra layers, there will be extra laundry too, so have kids help you fold and deliver stacks of clean clothes to everyone’s rooms. As the holidays approach, have kids go through their toys and make a pile of items to donate to children in need.
Tweens (9-12) – Dry winter air means many people run humidifiers in their homes on a regular basis. Have kids check the water levels and help you refill them as needed. This time of year, there is usually a lot of dirt and sludge being tracked into the house on shoes. Have kids check at the doors to make shoes are where they belong, pick any up that are out of order and wipe up dirt. If you have a pet, have your kids check paws and wash as needed after a trip outside. Kids can also help you stay on top of emergency supplies in the car. Have them check to make sure there are blankets, snacks, phone chargers, and other essentials in case of a breakdown.
Teens (13+) – With the trees shedding their leaves in full force, turn over the rakes to the kids. Talk to your neighbors and see if they’d like to have their yards raked, too, and help your kids turn this chore into a seasonal gig that can really help them build their savings or earn money to buy holiday gifts.
Teens can also help you and neighbors with holiday decorating. Instead of spending hours trying to determine which bulb in the strand is dead, have the kids do it! Give them a layout of how you want the decorations displayed and then turn them loose. After the holidays put them in charge of packing it all away until next year, too!