How to throw a Solstice Party, Montaninavian style
My love of the Winter Solstice has nothing to do with the New Agey stuff and everything to do with the fact that I am a badass Montanan of Scandinavian heritage. And I have been getting my Yule on since 1995. Here is my guide for throwing a party for this kind of Solstice. I’ve grouped party ideas by age, but you can borrow from any category.
How can I raise freethinking children in a religious community without seeming like an angry atheist?
I want my daughters to be able to enjoy the holidays, but I don’t want them involved in the religious dogma that is so apparent everywhere. On the other hand, I don’t want to be too obviously anti-religion around my kids — then I’ll be no different than the opposite side of the coin I grew up on. How do I manage to accomplish this without also coming across as a raving anti-religion monster?
How can I create a peaceful, Buddhist-inspired bedroom for my child?
I’ve been searching for Buddhist-inspired baby and/or kid’s rooms online — and I haven’t found much. Many of the rooms I’m finding are for adults, and I’m not sure how to incorporate the ideas into a kid’s room. I would love to see other people’s creative takes on creating a Buddhist (any branch of Buddhism) baby nursery. How have you created a bedroom inspired by Buddhism for your kids?
How can I explain where my deceased daughter is to our future children without bringing up religion?
Our first child passed away at five months of age due to cancer. Just because she is no longer physically with us does not mean that she is not in our everyday life. How can I make the afterlife a non-scary place for a child without the clouds and harps?
What are secular baby blessing ceremonies like?
I have heard about secular baby blessings a long time ago, and have always wanted to do one. as anyone had any experience with baby blessing ceremonies?
What yoga is teaching me about raising spiritual kids
My husband Ivan and I do not happen to follow the practices of any organized religion, and before we had kids that seemed to be working just fine. We come from different backgrounds (mine agnostic with varying degrees of Christianity in my heritage, his a mix between Jewish and agnostic), but had generally landed in the same spot in adulthood: we believe in a Higher Power, and He or She may or may not be bearded (which does not necessarily designate gender; perhaps just a divine aversion to wax).
How does your family celebrate Easter without religion?
Both my partner’s family and my family are Christian — but neither of us self-identify as such. We still want to honor our backgrounds and family traditions… but don’t want to involve religion. We have an almost two-year-old son who we’ll be sharing the holiday with, so I’m interested in hearing what other families have done to celebrate with two-year-olds AND with older kids.
Agnostic seasonal decor: it’s winter, not Christmas
I’d love to get some ideas for non-Christmas-holiday decorations. DIY would be especially treasured. Something more winter solstice-based…or really just not anything overly Santa Claus/presents/Christian-centered.
I am really awful at bringing details together, and I would love some offbeat advice!