A holiday break is a great time to rest and be with family, but you may soon hear the complaints of children saying that they’re bored.
Nothing ruins a nice relaxing time off quite like it. Whether you’re homeschooling or sending kids to school, it can be difficult to find good holiday break activities for kids that will keep them entertained during their time off.
With some planning, you can find fun activities to help break up some of the free time that your kids have. I already built in the week my husband is off, so we don’t have to do homeschool this week. While watching Christmas movies is fun, it also can be tedious, so having some other stuff to do will be a lifesaver.
Holiday activities for kids during break
Involve them in the planning
When thinking about fun activities, include the kids in the planning. They may have some great ideas that you can incorporate. By involving them, they also have things to look forward to. They can also help add things to the calendar, so they know what to expect.
Color in a different way
Coloring isn’t always exciting, especially if your kids are getting older. Buy some large paper, or use the back of wrapping paper to give them a new surface to experiment with. You could also get some black construction paper and white crayons for a new way to draw. Paint sticks or glitter glue could offer something fun they don’t usually get to use.
Make and decorate cookies
Baking treats is one of the best things about the holiday season, so the front end of the holiday break is a great time to do this with your kids. You can make cookies to take to any holiday gatherings to share with family and friends. Provide kids with different decorating tools and see what they make.
Look at the holiday lights
If the weather cooperates, you can walk around your neighborhood to exercise and see the lights on the different houses. You could also take a drive around to look at lights, and at least you would get out of the house.
Have certain days/times for movies
We tend to fall into the trap of watching a bunch of movies during the break, so setting certain times to watch things helps. My family gets antsy when it’s too much. Keeping it to certain days or evenings will help it not be too much.
Set up playdates
Your kids might be missing their friends. If everyone is up for it, you could set up one or two playdates while they’re off. Just keep them short since many people are busy this time of year.
Play board games or do puzzles
If you get a new one for the holiday, that’s even better. You could play games or do puzzles as a family.
Make a fort or set up a tent inside
This could be to go along with movie night or not, but you could let the kids go crazy with building a fort or setting up a tent in the living room.
Send them outside to play
Be sure your kids wear the right clothes and send them out to play. As long as the temperatures are safe, they can still have fun whether there’s snow or not. If you do have snow, you could take them sledding.
Read together
There’s no wrong time to read stories. Make some hot chocolate and have story time with new books or old favorites.
Have a dance party
Throw on some holiday music and have a dance party in the living room or kitchen. It’s a great way to get kids up and moving; besides that, it’s just fun.
While break can be a great time to relax, it’s also a great time to do some activities you don’t normally do or have the time to do with your kids. Use this time to create some fun memories.
