As crazy as the weeks leading up to Christmas break are, it’s easy to let the break slip away without accomplishing the fun (and not so fun) things you'd planned.
Keeping kids busy while you work at home may be one goal, but don’t overlook joining in the holiday fun too. While not necessarily a "Christmas break" for you, this is your holiday too. Keeping that in mind will help
reduce your holiday stress
.
Get the most out of your Christmas break with these ideas. Some are things we do every Christmas; some are things we mean to get to all year but don't, and some are things that just need to be done!
1. Bake
From toddlers to teenagers, kids love the mixing and the measuring, but most of all, they love the treats at the end. As you
teach kids to bake
, scale holiday baking projects to your kids’ abilities and ages. Add activities to keep little kids engaged while you are doing more complicated baking tasks or simplify baking projects so that more experienced kid bakers can take the lead.
3. Go Shopping
“Shopping! Haven’t I done enough shopping already?” you say. This time, though, instead of shopping for the kids, shop
with the kids. If you can pull it together to shop with the kids before Christmas to let them pick out of gifts, I applaud you.
But for many, taking kids shopping at the
after-Christmas sales
is a better bet. Funny how kids who think shopping is torture, change their tune when they have gift cards or cash they received as presents to spend.
4. Watch “Grown Up” TV With Your Kids
Keeping your kids from watching
too much TV
over Christmas break is always a challenge. But TV isn't all bad, especially if you watch together. Choose something
you want to watch--a sport like football (there’s plenty this time of year!), a cooking show or documentary. Share your interests and knowledge with kids and they may develop an interest too. Happy family memories are forged during the holidays, so the time is ripe for them to look fondly upon the things you love.
Just don’t expect too. Kids have short attention spans. For a program you really want to see, tape it so you can watch it without interruptions later.
5. Watch Family Videos
Nothing entertains kids more than themselves. And there's no better time to break out the home movies than during Christmas break, when there's extra time to watch. And it only makes sense since this is probably the time you break out the video recorder.
6. Try a Winter or Indoor Sport
Ice skating, skiing, sledding and snow tubing are great ways to enjoy
sports in the winter
. Of course, these depend on the weather and how close you live to winter recreation areas. Probably the easiest and cheapest to try out is ice skating, since many cities have indoor rinks or seasonal outdoor skating areas especially around the holidays.
Roller skating, swimming, basketball, ping pong and pool are a few indoor activities to try over your holiday break. If there’s a roller rink nearby, then it’s easy enough to find a place to skate. And some kid-friendly restaurants and arcades have ping pong and pool tables. However, it could be tricky—but not impossible-- to find places for indoor swimming and basketball unless you belong to a sports club. Some health clubs and YMCAs will sell day passes or trial memberships.
7. Organize Kids' Rooms
Getting kids room in order before the Christmas may help when it comes to stowing new presents later. Even before Christmas break begins, I sometimes assess what the kids might donate to charity, so I'm ready to make a few suggestions of what might go and what should stay as we
organize kids' rooms
.
9. Create Art
Art is one of those wonderful activities that can be scaled to almost every age and ability level. And depending on the project, it can be done with or without adult supervision. So you can work at home while the kids create art or you can roll up your sleeves and get messy too. Art projects can become gifts for relatives or decorations for the house. Setting up a
dedicated art space
makes set up and clean up easier.
10. Go to a Museum
Many museums and attractions count on Christmas break for a big surge of visitors, so don’t expect to be the only ones there. However, many attractions put on special programs for kids and/or offer discounts on admission at off-peak hours to get their fair share of the Christmas break traffic.
11. Homework or School Projects
No one said these were all going to be fun Christmas break things to do. Many teachers assign homework or projects. Be sure to ask your child about any project or homework at the beginning of Christmas break so you’re not in for any last-minute surprises. And even there's no homework, you might want to start thinking ahead to science fair or getting math facts memorized.
Perhaps you and your child can work side by side in your office throughout Christmas break. Or maybe pick a day or two to get the majority of it done.
12. Read or Write a Book Together
Even if you regularly read together, change things up a little during Christmas break. Choose something a little different from your ordinary reading material so it stands out as a holiday tradition. Maybe try a book of Christmas poems or a classic novel read in daily installments. Change up how you do it too. If reading time is usually at bedtime, try after dinner or around the Christmas tree.
OK, it doesn’t have to be a whole book. But penning a story together can be a great memento of your holiday break. And this is a wonderful activity for kids of all ages. Children who are just beginning to talk can contribute to a group story. Older kids can write or illustrate. This is also an activity you can participate in or something you can have them work on without you while you are working.
13. Take a Trip
A trip to grandma’s may already be on the schedule for Christmas break, in which case you may not be up for more travel, but I’m talking about a vacation, not simply a visit with relatives.
Christmas vacations with kids
can be as elaborate as a trip to Disney World or as easy as an overnight in a neighboring city. But a trip during the holidays will surely be remembered.
14. Make Appointments – Doctor, Dentist, Haircut, etc.
If you have to take time off work for child care during the holidays, then lighten your load in the coming months. Use the time off to take care of those appointments that often fill up your afternoons, evenings or weekends.
15. Play Games
Before Christmas pull out some of the old games; after Christmas the new ones.
Kids games
run the gamut from old-fashioned Candyland to video games. But one thing that is universal is kids like it when the parents play.