Two focuses of my blog are Health/Wellness and Home/Living Discussions. With Covid-19, this has been an unusual year where everything has been impacted even our holidays. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Make Christmas Fun For Kids This Year.
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Christmas will always be a fun time for children, but sometimes the magic can be forgotten a little as adults try to make sure everything is ‘just so’ before the big day. Although this is necessary, it can be hard to get everything done and make sure the kids are entertained not just on Christmas Day but in the days (and maybe weeks) leading up to it.
This year especially is potentially tricky; you may not be able to see friends and family, and children may start to become frustrated because the things they would typically do each Christmas aren’t available.
Children are only little for a short time, and it’s important to make sure every Christmas is the best it can be, including this one. This doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to cause you stress or put you under pressure. There are many activities and fun traditions that kids can join in with that will give you time together or apart (depending on what you need to be doing) and ensure they have a Christmas holiday they’ll always remember. Read on for some great ideas to keep the magic alive for the kids this Christmastime.
Make Ornaments
You can never have too many Christmas ornaments, and if you want to give the kids something to do that will keep them – and you if you want to join in – occupied for a while, and give you something lovely to hang on your tree year after year, making ornaments is a great choice.
You can even mix this idea up with a scavenger hunt so that the children have to search around the house for the items they need to make the decorations with. They can use natural items such as pinecones and twigs or any leftover materials such as cardboard, ribbons, wrapping paper, Christmas cards, and more. This should be a cheap but fun activity for everyone.
Enjoy A Party
Restrictions might mean that parties can’t take place in the way they usually would, but that doesn’t mean there are no parties to be had, and the Christmas season can be a jolly one when you think a little more laterally.
Using video calling technology such as Zoom means your children can ‘meet’ with their school friends to have a great online party. You can organize this yourself and plan out games and other activities for everyone to enjoy, or you can hire someone to do it for you. You can even pick a theme such as a Zoom magic show that will keep everyone happy for a while and give them a lovely boost of Christmas spirit as they can see their friends and interact with them even if they can’t meet up in real life. This idea can even be used for adult parties too, and your office party will really be livened up with a magician on Zoom.
Try Baking
You don’t have to be an amazingly skilled baker to have fun in the kitchen. You don’t have to have any skills at all, as this particular way to make the kids happy is all about enjoying yourself and laughing together, rather than creating a masterpiece of baking prowess.
Make sure you set aside plenty of time for this task, as baking can often take longer than you think it will, plus you’ll need to plan so you can get the ingredients you need to create each baked item.
Ask each family member to choose one thing they would like to bake, and then you can plan ahead. On the day itself, don’t be too strict about things, though; it’s good to let loose and experiment a little, and if the cakes and sweet treats don’t look exactly like the recipe says they should, it really doesn’t matter as long as they taste good (and even if they don’t, if you all had fun it was worth every second)!
Christmas Movie Day
One thing that will never change when it comes to Christmas is all the great movies you can find around the theme. Whether it’s Elf, The Polar Express, Home Alone, Miracle On 34th Street, Santa Clause the Movie, or any of the thousands of other examples, taking a whole day off work to be with your kids and enjoy the magic and fun that a good Christmas movie can offer is something they will never forget.
Make it even better by adding snacks like popcorn or getting pizza delivered. Create a blanket fort to watch the movies in. Draw titles from a hat so you never know what’s coming next, or all take a turn watching. Wear your pajamas all day.
The point is, your kids will appreciate the time spent with you when you’re not distracted by work or trying to do other things. This is what makes Christmas special, this year and every year.
