I love Christmas and since having kids myself it has become even more special. I love creating the magic that makes Christmas so wonderful for kids. I’ve also realised that the magic comes from the small inexpensive things we do at home, rather than the expensive christmas adventures we buy into, like visiting Santa’s Grotto. My Top Ten Christmas Play Ideas will hopefully help you create some Christmas Magic also.
Now, don’t get me wrong we always do a Santa Visit every year and try to do a new experience each year, it’s all part of the Festive Season. Yet, Covid also made me realise that the things we do with our kids at home can be just as magical.
The last few years I have done lots of Christmas Play Ideas at home with the boys and I’m slowly making them a family tradition. The following are my Top Ten Christmas Play Ideas.
- Make our own Advent Calendar: This is an easy craft that the kids can do themselves now. All you need is some red card, white card, glue, scissors, pencil, cotton wool and googly eyes. They make a Santa face , hat and then each day add cotton wool to his beard , watching it grow on the countdown to Christmas Eve.
2. Every year we make a Christmas Scene from play dough. Playdoh is a perfect quiet time activity. I always find the boys concentrate better when I give them an actual task to complete like creating a scene. They usually start well and then before you know it their imaginations are running wild and they have Santa delivering playdoh pizza while the reindeers are pooing playdoh! It turns out to be a hilarious Christmas Scene.
3. The boy’s favourite Christmas Play Idea is creating imovies on my phone. They get all the Christmas decoration characters we have and make a movie with them. These are some of my favourite videos and I love being able to play them back via AirPlay on my TV and watch them together as a family.
4. The easiest and most simplest of christmas games my boys love is Christmas Noughts and Crosses. I painted some rocks a couple of years ago (that we had gathered from a nature walk) with snowflakes and snowmen. We keep them for christmas play only and each year we have lots of fun playing noughts and crosses together.
5. A lovely Christmas activity to do together is to make a Christmas Bauble for the tree. We first did these at a Christmas craft class in Sure Start. So each year i buy clear plastic baubles from my local craft shop and we design our own. We use all the random stickers and craft bits that we have at home and then hang them on the tree. We have a small but very cute collection now that they are 5 and 6. Note to self: have a tag of who made which one though as it is easy to forget which one made which and I guarantee you they will fight over them if you don’t know.
6. Each year we have also started to take a walk after dinner each night in December to look for Christmas Decorations around the area. We wrap up and take a quick walk around the neighbourhood to see how many Christmas decorations we can find. The excitement from the boys when we find a new house with outdoor decorations is a lovely way to spend the dark evenings in the cold.
7. A book advent calendar is my favourite activity. I wrap 24 christmas story books and the boys take turns to choose one for their bedtime story each night on the countdown to christmas. I have books that I use every year and then I buy some from local charity shops and also get some from the local library so that the boys have no idea what the books will be. It definitely makes for an easier bedtime as they are excited to pick and get a new book.
8. Christmas scavenger hunts are another great kids game and easy Christmas Play Idea. This is also ideal for those days when you are lying on the sofa and dont have the energy to play. Just ask the kids to find specific things around the house:
Find something with a santa hat, Find something red, Find something that feels soft , Find something that is round shaped, Find something with Tinsel, Find something that lights up, Find something that makes music
You get the idea. A twist in this is to get a Santa Hat and put small toys in it and then ask the kids to guess by touch only what is inside.
9. I try to use the toys we have at home rather than buying new ones as the boys know Santa doesn’t like parents buying kids more toys in the run up to Christmas. So with most things we can make it a festive play time. Lego is one of those toys. We have lego christmas challenges together. Who can make the best lego Christmas Tree, the best lego present, the best lego snowman etc… When you have competitive kids this is an ideal Christmas play idea.
10. The last activity is a Shopping Day with Daddy. I organise it all of course but daddy does the activity. I pick a day when I want some time to myself and I tell the boys that they have to go and pick my christmas present. They gather up 10 gold coins from their money boxes and they get to go and pick a gift they think I would like. Dad then takes them for a hot chocolate and when they come home they hide in the bedroom and help daddy wrap the gifts. It’s a real fanfare and most times they can’t keep the gift a secret or want me to spend the rest of the day guessing but I refuse to guess or open it until christmas day.
These 10 activities cost me less than £10 each year but they are probably some of the best memories I have each Christmas and I will continue to do them as long as the boys want to do them with me.
Check out my instagram page for some easy gift ideas also like this rudolph teacher gift.
If you have made it to the bottom of this blog, thanks you so much for taking the time to read it.
Wishing you all a Wonderful Christmas
Caitrin xo
