Two long weeks’ of Christmas holidays is great news for the kids, but not exactly tidings of comfort and joy for busy Mums and Dads. The Soreen team has lined up a few ideas to lift your festive spirits and keep everyone happy.
Screen a Christmas classic
From relatively recent festive favourites like The Grinch, Elf and Polar Express, to more retro fare like Scrooge and Miracle on 34th Street, choose a film then set the scene. Watching a Christmas themed movie with only the tree lights on in the background and accompanied by some suitably seasonal snacking like mince pies, chestnuts and Satsumas, is a great way to get in the Christmas mood.
Santa’s Festive Fun
It is the season to be jolly! So have fun with the family using the “Santa’s Festive Fun” activity card. Download for free here.
Walking in a winter wonderland
A winter ramble in the local park or woods, collecting holly sprigs and looking for robins is ideal for getting some fresh air and having some fun at the same time. Just make sure that everyone is wrapped up nice and warm before you set out.
Have a Christmas bake off
Traditional mince pies or iced buns with sparkly festive decorations on top are fun and easy to make, whether it be stamping out pastry shapes or piping out icing. So clear those surfaces, hand out the aprons and get baking. Add a competitive element, such as who can bake the best mince pie or decorate the most Christmassy cake!
Go Christmas Caroling
Get the kids to round up a few of their friends (preferably ones with good voices), print off some lyrics from the internet of the most rousing and jolly festive favourites and off you go. Unless you’re feeling adventurous, start by restricting your carol singing to friends, family and neighbours you know!
Send them on the Santa trail
The Google Santa Tracker does exactly what its name suggests, keeps track of the man in red on his journey from North Pole to your chimney. It’s a fun, festive way of keeping younger kids occupied and also helps them to find out more about the stops he’s making along the way.
Drop off a festive food parcel
Find out on the internet where your local foodbank is, then get your kids to make up a festive food parcel you can drop off there. Encouraging children to spare a thought for others will remind them that Christmas is as much a about giving as it is receiving.
Visit Santa
From simple, but charming garden centre grottos, to full on shopping centre North Poles, there all kinds of grotto on your doorstep, so do like Mum and Dad did with you and take the kids to see Santa. It’s a Christmas tradition that will never go out of fashion.
Put them in charge of Christmas cards
Every time fresh Christmas cards arrive through the letterbox, hand them over to the kids to put on display in any ‘creative’ way they want to. They could hang up strings and drape the cards over them, attach some to the fridge with magnets, hang them on the back of a door with ribbons, use blu tack to make a Christmas tree shape out of them!
So there are a few ideas to keep the kids entertained at least until Christmas day, when hopefully, they’ll suddenly have lots of exciting new things to do.
