5 ways to engage your kids in the magic of the season

For busy families, the holidays can be a blur. With office parties, gifts to buy, kids' holiday programs to attend at school, moving the holiday elf around the house, and invitations for countless get-togethers, it can become a stressful time that goes by too fast. All too often, the rush of the season takes hold and before you know it, you turn the calendar to January, wondering where the holidays went.

But, as parents know, there are only a handful of holiday seasons while children are young enough to delight in the magic of it all. This year, how about slowing down, involving the kids in some old (or new!) traditions, and making some wonderful memories that you'll always cherish?

Here are five ways to enjoy the holidays with your kids.

Holiday movie night. Designate one night each week as family holiday movie night. Pour mugs of hot chocolate, munch on holiday cookies and watch favorites like "Elf," "Home Alone" and "Miracle on 34th Street." Make sure to catch the old Rankin-Bass cartoons "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and no holiday season is complete without "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."

Festivity Activities. Spark your child's holiday imagination with Festivity Activities, a fun new offering from HP to bring the family together and help busy parents who may be out of ideas for their mischievous elves. All you need to do is print the templates from the HP site to make a little magic this holiday season. Templates for Festivity Activities include:

Holiday Picture Frame: Both colorful and blank options for kids to color in before framing their favorite holiday memory.

Holiday Light Bulb Decor: Print your winter wonderland decor right at home.

Christmas List: Parents can pretend their mischievous elves left this for their kids to fill out before they bring it back to Santa.

Holiday Lyric Bingo: Put on your favorite holiday playlist and have the whole family play along.

Holiday Popper: The perfect way to wrap small gifts or notes from holiday elves before popping them open.

All of these activities are designed to engage kids in the holidays by unleashing their creativity. Print the templates on the new Envy 6155e All-In-One printer by HP, the perfect way to print magic this holiday season.

Holiday story night. Snuggle with the kids for story time, even if they're a little too old to be read to. Pick holiday favorites like "The Polar Express," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" or "The 8 Nights of Chanukah."

Holiday countdown calendar. Make your own Advent-style calendar by creating a countdown calendar that covers Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Find a calendar template online, making sure the box for each calendar day is big enough to write in activities, like your movie night, or just fun holiday messages. Print it out on your Envy 6155e and put it on the fridge!

Traditional holiday baking. Have you skipped holiday baking for a few years, opting for the convenience of store-bought treats? Bring back the traditions this year and share them with your kids. Whether it's your mother's rugelach for Hanukkah or your grandmother's lefse for Christmas, involve your kids in your family's traditions.

Whichever activities you choose, it's about engaging yourself and your kids in the holiday season, enjoying the people you love, and making a little magic of your own.