Christmas is probably the easiest time of the year to keep children entertained for free because there’s so much going on for them. Even the most basic activity can be made more exciting by adding a bit of a Christmas spin to it 😉
So with just over a week to go, I thought I’d share with you our five favourite free things to do at Christmas:
An obvious one but our favourite thing at this time of year is to spend time together watching Christmas films. We close the curtains, put our pyjamas on and the kids bring down an assortment of blankets, pillows and teddies and we snuggle down and ignore the rest of the world while we watch feel good Christmas movies. Our favourites are Elf, Santa Claus and (please don’t judge me for this one) Santa Paws. You can’t help but feel festive after an afternoon filled with Christmas movies and it not only keeps you out of the cold, it keeps you away from the shops and the temptation to buy just one more present for someone.
Another thing we like to do is have a walk around the streets near us to find the nicest Christmas lights. Â We get well wrapped up and it might sound boring but it’s actually a lot of fun and when we get home, we have a lovely mug of hot chocolate to get warmed up.
I couldn’t write a post about things to do at Christmas without including baking could I? Â We love to bake and Christmas seems like an excuse to bake fancier cupcakes and more interesting biscuits. Â Get yourself armed with some Christmas cookie cutters and make some gingerbread decorations to hang on the tree – just remember to use a straw to put a hole in the biscuits before they’re cooked.
My two love to do anything that involves them getting crafty and making Christmas decorations – anything from salt dough decorations to something as simple as paper chains. Â On Sunday we all sat on the rug in the living room making paper chains and listening to Christmas music and it was so much fun. And we get the added bonus of having some nice decorations to hang at the end of it.
Get out and about by seeing what’s on in your local area over Christmas. Â In the same way that I check local councils, museums and libraries websites in the Summer, I check them all in the middle of December to see what’s planned. Â Our town has everything from free reindeer parades to crafting sessions at the local museum and kids drop in sessions at the local youth club. Â We’ve got loads of things planned in over the school holidays and we can’t wait!
Hope you have as much fun as we’re planning to have!
