The build-up
Call Santa
If you want to avoid Santa’s grotto this year you could arrange a Zoom call with Santa instead. Your child can talk to Santa or Mrs Claus, or they can see what the elves are doing in the toy workshop and what the reindeers are up to. Santa, Mrs Claus or an elf can also read your child a festive story. Experiences start from around £25.
Santa’s Lapland is another company offering a video call experience. Children meet Santa in a snowy setting and have a grand tour of his grotto. However, it’s expensive – prices start from £85.
Christmas crafts
Poundland stock a range of easy (and inexpensive) Christmas craft kits for young children, like this Christmas card kit.
We love Red Ted Art’s Christmas star idea as it’s easy, relaxing and keeps children of all ages busy. All you need is card (a cereal box will do), oddments of wool and cellotape.
For very young children we like Happy Hooligan’s icicle ornament and Pinterest’s pinecone owl. Older children might enjoy the craft ideas on Crayola’s website.
Christmas cooking
For children who love cooking The Best Ever Baking Book by Jane Bull is full of simple but imaginative festive ideas. BBC Good Food also has easy Christmas baking ideas for children and we can definitely recommend the Snowman Biscuits!
Giving a present to a child in need
The Salvation Army work to make sure that children who are in need receive a present at Christmas. They work closely with schools, health visitors and social services departments to choose families. There are collection centres all around the country, so it’s easy to donate a present. Your child could choose a present and you could talk to them about why it is important to give and how rewarding it is to help others.
Refuge are also asking for donations this Christmas for children fleeing domestic abuse. You and your child can choose a gift box from Refuge’s website to give to a child.
Christmas Eve box
Make the build up to Christmas Day even more exciting by giving your child a Christmas Eve box to open (which could be a shoe box decorated with wrapping paper). You don’t have to spend much money.
You could fill it with bought or home-made sweet treats, a sachet of hot chocolate, a pair of Christmas socks, a book or a stocking filler game. The box can be filled with the things your child loves, and if you’re looking for inspiration there are plenty of great ideas online.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day
Family games
Take a look at these Good Housekeeping games to keep the whole family busy and entertained once their Christmas dinner has gone down. There’s Christmas Guess Who? which features members of your own family, a race to see who can open a present fastest when wearing oven gloves, a snowman bowling game and plenty more!
Christmas walk incentives
Days Out With The Kids suggest some fabulous ways to persuade reluctant children to get some much needed fresh air with the family.
We like the forest postcard idea. Cover a plain postcard with strips of double-sided tape and ask your child to collect things as they walk, decorating the postcard as they go with leaves, sticks, seeds etc.
You could also incentivise your child to walk by taking them on a Geocaching treasure hunt. Geocaching is finding hidden goodies using a handheld GPS.
Zoom call games
If you’re planning to call family and friends over the Christmas period you could turn your meeting into a party with online games such as 20 Questions. To play 20 Questions, everyone takes turns to ask each person in the group twenty questions. It doesn’t matter how well you know the other people, you will always discover something new about them. For ideas, see 200 Questions to get to know someone.
For more Zoom call games, visit the Good Housekeeping website.
Your child’s positive start to 2021
Coronavirus has disrupted children’s education over the last year causing a great deal of confusion, uncertainty and worry.
TutorMyKids home tutors are here to help children regain any confidence they may have lost, to re-ignite their love of learning and to help them achieve their goals.
If you think we can help to give your child the very best start to the New Year, get in touch by phone or email today: 01223 858 421/hello@tutormykids.co.uk