2024 was full of amazing different adventures and ups and downs, so here’s 5 activities that I enjoyed and that you can consider trying in 2025!
Bullet Journaling– You can keep a daily log of different events such in your life such as rating your day, a dream tracker, anxiety tracker, the best part of your day, etc. and then see your progress throughout the year. You can also be more creative with it such as creating and decorating pages for each month or major event in your life.
Create fun challenges/goals for yourself– Maybe it’s completing a puzzle or reading more books this year. Finding a new challenge or goal to achieve can help motivativate you in the new year.
Yoga – It’s always important to stay active, but prioritizing your mental health and relaxing is also important. Yoga can help you achieve both, as a calming form of exercise for all ages. Additionally, you can also consider other calming forms of exercise such as Tai Chi.
Escape Rooms – Escape rooms can be a fun place for you to enjoy hanging out with your friends and family as you work to solve puzzles and analyze different clues.
DIY Crafts – This can be hobbies like crocheting, making jewelry, knitting, photography, or whatever you like to express your creativity.
As we are nearing winter break, many fun activities are available at this time of year, yet sometimes, it’s hard to choose which ones. Over the years, my family and I have compiled many fin Christmas traditions, as well as fun crafts and activities. I have chosen 3 of my favorite winter activities that are fun, easy, and affordable.
1. Saran Wrap Ball
Although the name is quite confusing, the actual activity is quite entertaining. With a large group of people, a timer is set for each person for one minute, and they are required to put on oven mitts, and in the one minute, they will attempt to unwrap as much of the Saran Wrap ball as they can. With each layer they unwrap, there will be small gifts, and the more they unwrap, the more small gifts they get. The Saran Wrap ball is passed around, each person given a chance to unwrap the ball, until it has been completely unraveled. In order to create this activity, you will need Saran Wrap, oven mitts, scissors, and small gifts(stickers, dollar bills, candy, etc.). Many of these supplies can be found at Dollar Tree and 5 Below. Begin by wrapping one item in a film of Saran Wrap. Add another gift a few layers later, and repeat this until you have wrapped all of the small gifts and you have a large Saran Wrap ball. This game is great for all ages, and I hope that you enjoy this activity.
2. Modge-Podge Ornaments
Creating Modge-Podge ornaments was one of my more recent crafts, as well as one of my favorites. As well as being simple to make, they always turn out beautiful and are the star of all of your ornaments. To create these ornaments, you will need Modge-Podge, an empty ornament, a pack of paper napkins with beautiful designs, and a paintbrush. All of these supplies are easily found at the Dollar Tree. To begin with, cut out pieces of the design on the napkin, and cut until you have a good amount that you are satisfied with. Then, place a small dot of Modge-Podge on the ornament and stick the design onto the ornament. Then, paint a thin film of Modge-Podge over the design. You can repeat this until your ornament is completely covered, or leave space in between and paint the space between the design with Modge-Podge to give it a frosty appearance. This is one of the favorite crafts I have done, and it is perfect to do with your friends, family, and even to wind down at the end of the day by yourself!
3. Create Clothes For Your Elf On The Shelf
In my family ever since I was a small child, our family had an Elf On The Shelf. When I was little, I always dashed to discover the Elf’s new hiding place. As I enjoyed the company of my seasonal elf, my favorite part of having the Elf around was making things for him. Over the years he has “visited” our house, we have created many small appliances for him including a miniature stocking, a miniature teddy bear, and a miniature bed, and pajamas. While you could purchase these things at the store, creating them by hand is a great family bonding activity and the things you create will be special to you forever.
I greatly hope that these ideas are enjoyable and prove useful to you this winter, whether you are having a small get together with your friends, spending quality time with your family, or are just feeling crafty!
It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means the holidays are almost here. If you are looking for activities to do over the holidays, here are some of the best ideas for holiday activities this winter.
1) Go to an ice skating rink.
There are several ice skating rinks nearby in Orange County, including at the Irvine Spectrum. The Great Park in Irvine has one as well, as well as several others nearby. Many of these rinks have other various activities to do as well.
2) Make a homemade wreath.
Making wreaths is another fun activity for the holidays. To make a wreath, first build a bouquet or bundle of plants. Then, either use a wire frame or a wreath base and attach the bouquet to this. Finally, tie the bundles together and decorate your wreath with flowers,
3) Go on a holiday lights tour.
A great activity for the holidays and a family tradition for me has been to go on a tour of holiday lights around the city. In fact, Mission Viejo has a holiday lighting contest with a guide to the best lighted houses in the city. The guide can be found at this link: https://mvactivities.com/all-mvac-events/home-lighting-contest/.
4) Go to a local Christmas event.
Another activity you can do over the holidays is going to a Christmas event. One of the best local events is located in Newport Beach, where there is a parade of lighted boats. It will be held this year from December 18-22. Orange County also has a winter festival in December at the location of the OC Fair.
5) Make ornaments to decorate your tree.
Another one of my favorite holiday activities is making ornaments. It is great for anyone who is interested in crafts, and there are also a wide variety of ornaments you can make, including felt, beaded, paper mache, and salt dough ornaments, all of which can be made easily at home. You can also decorate your Christmas tree and your house with these homemade ornaments as well.
6) Bake holiday treats to enjoy.
Baking holiday treats is also a good idea for the holidays. Cookies always make a great treat, and some cookies that are great to bake over the holidays are sugar, snickerdoodle, and gingerbread cookies. Another great holiday treat and one of my personal favorites is hot cocoa, which is great to make at home.
7) Visit some local Christmas attractions.
There are many great local Christmas attractions to visit in Southern California. The Descanso Gardens in Pasadena has a lighted walk every Christmas, and there are several other local places with lights as well. Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland have Christmas events as well.
8) Play holiday games.
Playing games can also be a fun thing to do over the holidays. One of my favorite holiday activities is to play board games with family and friends. Another activity that is great to do over the holidays is Secret Santa, where you can exchange gifts with family and friends. These are some of my recommendations for the best activities to do over the holidays, so feel free to try them out this winter.
Summer break has always been something we look forward to. 2 months of break after a whole school year is granted to students for not only relaxation but also a time to come across and experience different opportunities to learn and develop social skills and abilities. Various experiences can happen through family vacations, simple trips to the park, or while carrying out commitments of paid or unpaid activities.
One of the many things you can do this summer is try to get a job if you think you are ready and if you are in the right age to do so. Having a job can always be beneficial in terms of earning your own money to save it up for personal or education purposes or use it to spend on things and activities you want to do. Additionally, it can also be a nice way to develop new skills while being able to have real-world experience and start to build up your credentials at a young age.
Another thing you can do is volunteering at any type of program, event, or organization available. You can always search up available volunteer events near you and those that are within your interest like at an animal shelter, or even at events that you have not tried before in order to expand your experiences. It is always great to be able to give back to our community in any way we can.
Furthermore, students can also choose to take summer classes if they are able and willing to. You can take a class that interests you or a class that you are required to complete to get ahead of your credits. Although, just be aware that classes during summer are more fast paced. For instance, if you are a high school student and you take a class at a community college, classes are mostly only 8 weeks.
Overall, despite these suggestions to have a productive summer, do not forget to relax and have fun during this time of the year because it is only 2 months and it can happen pretty fast. Personally, during last year’s (2022) summer, I was doing these three things all at the same time as I was working for a part-time job at a fast food place, I was also volunteering at the Mission Viejo Library, and I was taking a summer class at a community college. But I was still able to successfully complete all of them, while trying to watch any show and going out during my free time. Always believe in yourself and do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone!
Lunar New Year! Lunar New Year! Lunar New Year! The year of the tiger has been a hot topic for the last couple of weeks. Apple has even come out with tiger engraved their AirPods cases. Many have heard about Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, but have learned what it represents. Due to the growing number of Asian Americans in America, awareness of this holiday should be spread.
Lunar New Year is originally celebrated in East and Southeast Asian cultures such as in China, Vietnam, Korea, etc. Depending on the culture, Lunar New Year is referred to differently. For example, in Vietnam, rather than saying Lunar New Year, the celebration is referred to as Tết. The exact date changes depending on the year since the celebration marks the first new moon on the lunar calendar. More than just the new start to the year, the new year is a day for unity, family, and rebirth.
Depending even down to each family, traditions change. Some consist of attending New Year festivals that are filled with food, games, and more. Also in some cultures, like in Vietnam, many people attend Buddhist temples on the eve of the new year. Nowadays, most families host dinners at night. The new year also signifies the time to celebrate past ancestors. Personally, in my family, we set up traditional food alongside photos of old family members and each family member makes a prayer to them.
These are example of outfits worn on the New Year
Also, one of my favorite traditions is dressing up in traditional wear. Often dresses and outfits differ depending on the culture. For example, in Vietnamese culture, we wear an áo dài on Lunar New Year at our celebrations. Dressing up helps symbolize a fresh start for the new year. The beautiful dresses are colorful and can contain very intricate designs.
Red Envelopes. Many people have heard the phrase “red envelopes”. On the new year, family and friends give out red envelopes filled with money inside. By giving the “lucky money” people hope to pass down luck and good fortune. Many children often try to visit as many family members and close friends as possible during the time of lunar new year to collect as many red envelopes as they can.
Here are Red Envelopes that are given out at celebrations!
This just scratches the surface of the various traditions celebrated from culture to culture during the lunar new year. It truly is a time of the year to look forward to. Many Asian extended families are large, and this is the one time a year to see cousins and other family members you may not have seen for months.
Many people around the world celebrate Lunar New Year, which creates many different traditions and beliefs about the holiday. This list just shows three out of the many beliefs and traditions that people have surrounding the holiday.
Red Envelopes
During Lunar New Year, the giving of Red envelopes seems to be a constant. Usually these envelopes are filled with money. In Singapore, people give out red with the phrase “Fú” on it, which means good luck. Based on my personal experience, some of the red envelopes will have the zodiac animal of the new year on it.
Eating Traditional Foods
Eating certain foods to celebrate holidays is something that is very common in almost every country, and Lunar New Year is no exception. In Taiwan, people will eat pineapple cakes because pineapple in their dialect loosely translates to the phrase “good fourtune is coming”. In Mongolia, people eat hotpot. The ingredients in hotpot have different meanings, for example, round fishballs are added into the soup because they symbolize good fourtune.
Visiting Family
Almost everybody who celebrates Lunar New Year spends it with their family. Most of the time, people practice these tradtions with their families. Based on what I’ve experienced, people will visit their family for almost the entire day. They will usually go to a temple together. To add, all of the married people in the family give red envelopes to the unmarried people. Around nighttime, everyone will eat traditional foods together for dinner.
While a lot of people were probably enjoying their air-conditioning on Sunday, elementary school kids, other volunteers, and I had a blast at the Sierra Rec Center. Diving for pumpkins was a lot more fun in the 95 degree heat, instead of the rain like last year.
The event lasted from 2 to 5, and started off with kids jumping into the pool to find the perfect pumpkin. I thought that pumpkins would sink to the bottom of the pool, but who knew that they float?
After the kids found their perfect pumpkin, they got to decorate! With some paint bottles, stickers, googly eyes and pom poms, I saw a lot of creative designs. Painting the pumpkin pink was a really popular choice too.
And I can’t forget about the carnival games we had. There was a basketball hoop, some bean bag tosses, and face paint. The kids won prizes, and volunteers did an amazing job with the face paint.
Even though this wasn’t a teen event, you would’ve had a blast if you brought your siblings!
Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice 