Some ideas of having fun with your children at Christmas.

It’s not an easy task to keep your children from getting up to mischief when days turn into weeks and most of their usual recreation haunts are closed. But, at kidslearnfast we have some fun ideas to keep your family entertained!

Some of the following ideas might well be worth considering for children from 4 plus:

1. Planning an indoor treasure hunt…or an outdoor one in a local park, if you get lucky with the weather.

2. Having everyone do an art project. Self-portraits, still-life, street scenes, landscape, coast scenes.  Display the finished products as a frieze on a wall.

3. Learning some magic tricks, to show your skills off to your family and friends. You can find tutorials online.

4. If you’re still munching through turkey leftovers and the remains of the Christmas cake, perhaps you could prepare an indoor picnic. It’s amazing how a blanket and a hamper can make the leftovers taste better. Or, if you’re lucky with the weather go to a forest or a country park!

5. Or, perhaps, write a play as a family. Writing a part for all members of your family, dressing up in costumes, and putting on a show. For example, The three Little Pigs or the Emperor’s New Clothes.

6. Show your children how to use a camera to shoot and edit a video. Perhaps, they could shoot a video of the play that they have produced? Or perhaps they could pretend to be photographers?

7. Print some free colouring sheets from the internet and see who can use the most colours in a picture.

8. Build a fortress with pillows, cushions, duvets, chairs etc…Get into the spirit and have some Christmas fun.

9. Move the furniture out of the way, reposition the sound system and transform your lounge into a disco.

10. Reduce some holiday stress with an at-home, DIY spa break. Face masks, bath salts, foot massages, perfumed oils etc..

11. Try board games. Settle in for an afternoon of your favourite brain teasers, or invent something new.

12. Get the sweet tin out and the popcorn snapping and snuggle down for a day of films.

13. Sometimes there’s nothing like a jigsaw puzzle to get argumentative children to work together.

14. Make your own ‘thank-you’ cards for all the friends and relatives who gave you Christmas presents. This is a valuable, as your children learn new skills.

15. Teach your children how to de-clutter at an early age. Get your children to go through their cupboards and identify all of the toys, clothes, games and other stuff, that they don’t need. Separate them into boxes to be sold online/car boot sales or donated to charity.

16. Find an on-line dance or choreography video and get everyone to practise the moves. The best dance moves win prizes.

17. Set intentions. Have everyone make lists of things they want to achieve or get skilled in and try next year!

18. Get your children to plan a family meal, using recipes from the internet. Then, under supervision get them to prepare the meal in the kitchen.  Have one of them make menus and set the table to look like a restaurant. This is a fun way of learning new skills.

19. Get them to write the questions and host their own quiz show. They can find questions and answers online. 

20. Try out some card games. Teach your children some of your favourite games. This stimulates mental arithmetic as well as introducing some exciting competitiveness.

21. Go for walks. Make them ‘nature walks’ by collecting pinecones, twigs, and other objects to make things when you get home.

22. Create your own New Year’s decorations.

23. Turn your kitchen into an Italian pizzeria and get your children to create imaginative toppings.

26. Find some colourful scrap paper and learn some simple origami.

27. Sift through your wardrobes and put on a fashion show.

28. All you need is a piece of paper (for keeping records) and a stopwatch to set up the ultimate fitness challenge: How many push-ups can children do in a minute? How many sit-ups? How many jumping jacks, etc…

29. Do a photoshoot and then use editing software to transform the normal photos into funny ones!

30. Dig out some used newspapers and magazines, get the scissors, and make some collages.

31. Start planning your summer holiday together – warmer weather and longer days will be here before you know it.

Happy festive season, enjoy the holiday and it will soon be back to school. Don’t forget to read a few books. It’s very important for educational development.