For most families, the holiday season is the busiest time of year. But it’s also the most joyful, filled with all kinds of parties, foods, colors, presents, and music. The months between Halloween and the New Year can be incredibly hectic, especially those days just before the most special holiday, Christmas. By the time Santa’s come and gone, many families need a few days or weeks, just to recover from the whirlwind.

When the holidays are in full-swing, the season is so hectic that many people wish things would slow down. But January can be dull in comparison. Once a bit of rest has been achieved, we start to miss the feelings that blanket us during the Christmas season, and most of us wish that we didn’t have to wait so long for next year’s Yuletide.

Just because Santa needs a vacation doesn’t mean that the feelings generated by the holidays need be tucked away for an entire year. There are many ways that families can revive and relive the joy and fulfillment that permeate December, to make sure that the spirit of Christmas lives on, well into the new year.

It’s wonderful that many families donate clothes and toys to their favorite charities before Christmas, to help others who may be less fortunate. But donations drop off in January, as the holiday season ends. It’s the perfect time for a family to gather last year’s gently-used toys and drop them off at a donation center.

Kids grow out of their clothing so fast that most families have boxes full of gently-worn clothes, which are perfect for donation. The preparation and delivery of donated goods can be an all-day family project, capped by a movie or a trip to the pizza parlor, to celebrate making someone else’s days a bit more special.

Just because the holidays have ended, families need not let the holiday spirit they felt in December fall away in January. Most of the activites that families engage in together during the holiday season can be relived throughout the rest of the year. Christmas spirit should always survive Christmas. If families work at making generosity a habit, then they’ll always have the spirit of the holiday season.