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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

The holiday season is a busy season for parents. For some, they will be working overtime almost everyday just to get work done in time before the holidays so they can go on leave and celebrate Christmas with their families. Although it’s  a crazy time to be juggling so many things at once, for a parent, it’s never to be busy to find time for their children. This is why cleaning up before and after Christmas is a great way to bond with your kids. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone. You get to clean up and prepare your home for Christmas and at the same time bond with your kids. If they don’t feel very enthusiastic about chores, here’s how you can motivate them in a fun way.

Sweet Rewards
Cleaning is a chore that most children don’t look forward to. However, if you provide them with rewards, like a sweet treat afterwards, or a surprise it can make the whole experience more positive. When you prepare surprises, make sure it’s something they can use like a book or hairclips. Some may think this is bribery and that coercion is bad. It’s a fine line, to be sure. Consider though: do you work for no pay or reward? If you are structuring the reward in response to helpful cleaning, that’s very different from bribery. When you teach your kids the importance of cleanliness, they will eventually learn to clean up after themselves without needing any rewards. They will learn to appreciate the value of having a neat room and home.

Let Them Decorate the Tree
Before couples have kids, they can be very OC about how their tree would look like, what decors should be used this year and what color or motif would be best. When the pitter patter of feet arrive, all those visions of the perfectly decorated tree fly out the window. Giving your kids the freedom to decorate the tree after cleaning up is a great way to motivate them to help. Who knows, you might discover that your child has an artistic flair in decorating. It’s also a good way for them to develop their creativity. Even if your tree doesn’t look perfect, it can be perfect in its homely imperfection.

Play in the Snow
If you live in a state where it snows, take your cue from Disney’s latest animated film, Frozen. Most children like snow and when the “do you want to build a snowman?” question comes from their parents–who are also kids at heart–they will be doubly ecstatic for the rare chance to play with them in the snow. After cleaning up, you can cool off with your kids by playing a game of snowball wars or you can just draw snow angels together. Better yet, you can make your own version of the lovable snowman Olaf from Frozen.

A few reminders when cleaning up with your kids. If one of them is allergic to dust, keep them away from tasks that may expose them to dust mites. Let your kids wear masks as a precaution. Don’t let them handle cleaning equipment like vacuum cleaners. But if your model is a smart robot cleaner like some of the models from Neato Robotics, then you don’t need to worry as much since all you need to is press a button and you can leave it alone to clean. This is really nifty especially when you need to clean under and behind furniture, spots that are hard to reach and clean. You see? Christmas cleanup doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be a fun bonding moment with your family.

About the Author
Based in San Diego California, Tiffany Matthews is a professional writer with over 5 years of writing experience. She also blogs about travel, fashion, and anything under the sun at wordbaristas.com, a group blog that she shares with her good friends. In her free time, she likes to travel, read books, and watch movies. You can find her on Twitter as @TiffyCat87.