WITH weeks of holiday time stretching out ahead for South African schoolchildren, many parents are starting to wrack their brains for ideas to keep their little ones occupied.
To help you keep them entertained – especially on those rainy summer days – here are a few fun Christmas activities to get you and the family in the festive spirit.
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1. Make popcorn garlands
It turns out that popcorn has many uses beyond being a healthy snack! Pop up some kernels – these are very reasonably priced – and then get some needle and thread. The older kids should be able to manage by themselves, but you might need to give the younger ones a hand. You can make your popcorn garlands even more festive by spray-painting them an array of colours before you start threading. These can then be hung around the tree or placed around the house for some festive colour.
2. Time for a Christmas movie
If you have some leftover popcorn and a rainy day, it’s time to snuggle up in the lounge and put on a Christmas movie. You can make this a really fun affair by getting the children to build a pillow and blanket fort before deciding which Christmas movie to watch.
3. Make a Christmas wreath
And for some more crafting fun, it’s time for making that Christmas wreath. You can start the adventure with a garden exploration or walk in a nearby forest or nature trail where you can find branches, twigs and pine cones. Then, using a foam ring or some wire, you can weave the branches and twigs around the ring before decorating it with bows and other Christmas attire.
4. Craft some Christmas ornaments
You can never have too many Christmas ornaments and – if you might be a tad overextended in the ornament department – you can get the little ones to make ornaments as gifts for family and friends. Start with paper, polystyrene or glass balls which can be decorated with glitter, paint and whatever else you can find. Really personalise these with a photo, fingerprint or handprint of the children.
5. Christmas charades or Pictionary
If your children need some energetic entertainment, why not embark on a game of charades or Pictionary? Only this time, you will need to brainstorm Christmas-related topics that the other team will need to act out or draw.
6. Christmas cookie decorating
Finally, it’s time for some baking fun! Get out your favourite cookie recipe, or even something really basic, and then create some Christmas shapes and decorate with icing, sprinkles and other edible toppings. These delicious treats can be shared among the family or placed in a glass jar or pretty tin as a festive gift.
