Oh what fun it is to have grumpy, fussy, and bored children during the holidays!
I hope you sense my sarcasm. Try a four and one year old and a mom with full-time work and no child care. Yes, I have had my share of meltdowns and tantrums that leave me feeling like I am the worst parent in the world. However, if I have learned one thing or two about my children; it is that they love spending meaningful time with me doing something, creating something, or experiencing something hands-on. In fact, when I ask my older daughter (who has a short memory) about her favorite moments during the past year; it always has something to do with one of the things mentioned above. In addition, I have noticed that if I dedicate an hour or two to spending meaningful time with them; they are more likely to have a longer stretch of independent play, eat their food without fussing, and have a happier attitude throughout the day. Sure, that one or two hours requires a lot of patience and agility, but it is well worth it for a mom who's got her hands full.
So, to all my fellow parents who are trying to figure out how to remain sane while they have their children at home due to COVID19 or parents who need ideas on how to keep their children entertained; here are 6 crafts and activities to do with you children that will make their memories of Christmas during COVID fun and meaningful.
1) Front Door Decoration
Typically my front door looks a bit sad during the winter months leading up to to Christmas and New Years. A great way to spruce up it's look is to decorate it! Children love to do this too, especially if you let them have creative control. Want a pink or rainbow door? Let's do it! Allow them to use the creative side of their brain and think of ideas that are fun to them. Try not to control your child's creative thought process, but guide them through making a decision by asking this or that questions. For example, "Should we create a red door or green door?" "Do you want Santa on the door or Santa's elf?"
Once you have made a decision on what the door will look like it's time to get started on putting it up. Bare in mind the front door may look like a hot mess when you are done, so if you tend to not want a messy front door have your kids decorate their bedroom door.
Tips:
Let your child pick the theme, wrapping paper, or accessories you'll need to get before hand.
Take them with you to shop in store or virtually on the web for the supplies you might need
Once all the materials you need come in; let them get hands on with decorating
Suggestions so that your doors don't get damaged
put up your backdrop for the children using command strips
don't use any permanent marker
if you are using paint, paint the backdrop first before putting it on the door
Themes (see below)
Gingerbread house
Santa's rainbow workshop
Santa's Superheros (not pictured)
Snowman
Christmas Tree
Pink Present
2) Make a Christmas village out of modeling clay or blocks (aka Play-doh or Legos)
If you want a fun activity that will keep the kids entertained for a long time; have them build their own Christmas village out of play-doh, blocks or lego. This activity will allow your children to use their creativity to demonstrate their ability to bring to life Santa and his helpers. For younger children, you may need to be a little more hands on with helping them build. If you have any Christmas cookie cutters; you can use them as molds for your play-doh.
Here are a few ideas on what to include in your village:
Santa
Snowman
Santa's Workshop
Christmas Tree
Giant Ornament
Gingerbread Man
Presents
Reindeer
Elf
Santa's Sleigh
Shop these helpful items to build your own Christmas village:
3) Create your own ugly sweaters at home
Ugly sweaters don't have to go away because we are staying home this holiday season. Bring the cheer back with a great activity to do as a family - create your own ugly sweaters at home! If you have old sweatshirts in the closet that can be repurposed; get them out and get going. If not, I have linked affordable options below.
This great activity will keep everyone laughing as you think of the most ridiculous ways to decorate your sweater. May the activity even more fun but cranking up the holiday music and sipping on some hot coco. Want to share your creations with your friends or family? Have them do the activity too and once you are done have a virtual fashion show with each other.
Shop the items below to create your own ugly sweaters at home
4) Create your own Christmas Tree Ornaments
There are many fun and creative ornaments to make with children this holiday season. From craft kits to ceramic to DIY; the possibilities are endless. This year we decided to create two types of ornaments: a rainbow confetti bulb ornament and rainbow marbleized ornaments. These two crafts were lots of fun to create. The rainbow confetti bulb is geared for little helpers under 4 and the rainbow marbleized ornaments are geared for those over 4.
Choose below to learn how to make these with your little helpers this holiday season.
5) Hand make Christmas Cards/birthday cards for the family or friends you won't be able to see
Making handmade cards with your children is a great activity that will keep them busy for at least 30 minutes to an hour, but the impact of the card will last much longer for the friends or family that will not be able to see their little faces this year.
Handmade cards can be as easy as folding a paper and writing words, but you can bring out the creative mind in your child by using paint, stamps, stencils and stickers to decorate cards. If you still want to send your tradition photo card to your friends and family, add in your little one's creation as a personal touch.
shop the items you might need to make handmade cards
6) Keep your kids entertained at the dining table
It has always been a tradition growing up and in my home that Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner were always formal events. We would dress up and act civil; enjoying a delicious meal with a drink of choice and end the evening with desserts and a night cap. Well, that lasted up until my eldest daughter turned two. Now that she is four and her sister is nearing the age of two; civil and etiquette have gone out the door. Generally, children have a hard time sitting at a table to eat one meal let alone a three course meal.
Creativity at the dining table has become my forte. My children both suffered from acid reflex and eating aversions, so I've learned a few things to keep them entertained at the table for longer periods of time.
Set the mood for your children:
If you have one or multiple children playing music in the background will keep their mind entertained
Keep the lighting brighter than candlelit or you'll start hearing that your kids are tired or bored
Ask your children what they are smelling. Using their sensory for smell will intrigue them to want to know what's next to eat. "I smell cookies mom!"
Make your table kid friendly or make them their own table:
Use a coloring table cloth or placemat for entertainment and fun conversation at the dinner table. Not to mention they are actually pretty fun to do as an adult.
You can give your children mess free crafts to do at the dining table like the DIY Foam Gingerbread House below
Invest in battery operated candles or use tealight candles in a deep dish or vase to decorate your table so there are no accidents
use plastic, paper or Melamine dishes so there are no breaks or accidents during dinner time
Shop cute and affordable coloring table cloths, posters and placemats that will keep the kids entertained
7) DIY - Building a Holiday Village
My entry way and garage are filled with boxes piling in from orders and holiday gifts. I've been saving them for the past three weeks and have a special DIY project to share with you. With all the waste in the world, what better way to give life to a cardboard box then to create something your children will love to play with. You can call this craft project a holiday village, but it can also be a princess castle, pirate's layer, or a secret hideout; whatever your child wants to name it. You can also create multiples of these if you have more than one child. Click below to see how to do it yourself.
How to create a Holiday Village
COMING SOON!
We would love to see all of your wonderful creations this holiday season.
Please tag me on Instagram using @Babeeta or on Facebook using @byBabeeta
or email us your creations at babeetanagra@gmail.com
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own.This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. Read full privacy policy here.
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