For children, this is one of the most exciting times of year, the tree is up, the rooms are decorated, the lists have all been written, rewritten and posted off to the Big Man, and Christmas, is just around the corner. Seasonal fun is abound and playtime ideas are vital.
For adults, it’s probably one of the most hectic, especially for teachers!
Christmas this, Christmas that. Nativities, parties, carol singing, end of term school reports, and a bunch of over excited kids with loads of nervous energy to burn off.
If the days are cold and dry that’s great, get the children outside, let them play pirates, let them play tig, but most of all let them express themselves in any way they can in a large outdoor space that gives them freedom to tire themselves out!
That’s not always possible though unfortunately, when the days are damp, windy and frankly miserable, all it does is leaves you with a load of cold , wet children and you catching a nasty chill whilst you are supervising their outdoor play!
Well here at Discovering Days we have come up with some of our favourite indoor activity ideas that will keep children entertained for hours and leave you feeling less stressed in the meantime!
Want to find out more? Read on…
Seasonal Crafts
There are a never ending stream of ideas for getting creative at this time of year.
Here are a few of our favourites;
Table Decorations
Imagine the scene, it’s Christmas day, families are sitting down to lunch before the luxury of falling asleep sometime after 3pm, and mums and dads everywhere are exclaiming in wonder at the beautiful centre piece decoration their future Turner Prize winning child has created.
Yet these decorations are so easy to make, and if you plan ahead, you can combine this activity with an outdoor forage for wood, pine cones, and ever green leaves.
You will need to acquire some pieces of flat balsa wood for the base of the decorations and some candles; you will also need strong glue and some other bits of decorations that parents could donate or you could find in a charity shop no doubt, and there you have it, an afternoon’s activity where children can use their imaginations and creative ability to make a decoration that will last for years.
(I still use mine that my daughter made when she was 4, she is now almost 16!).
Christmas Gifts
Receiving a handmade gift is probably amongst one of the most amazing moments any parent has.
The time and effort that goes in to these gifts blows away any shop bought offering. (Well, maybe except a Jo Malone candle…).
Children who have spent their time lovingly creating a some handmade mint cremes to give to mum or dad, or some delicious cookie dough truffles for grandma will see their adults faces light up and will learn the joy of giving, as well as receiving.
Especially if they make their own decorative gift boxes to put them in!
Tree Decorations
Another favourite of course is the tree decoration.
Get out the card, the felt tip pens, the glue and the glitter, (lots!), and let the children create whatever they like to go on their tree. You could discuss with them traditional style decorations such as Santa and reindeer, or baubles and stars, or you could get them to think a little more out of the box so to speak and get them to design a Christmas space rocket instead of a sleigh or a flying zebra instead of reindeer!
Of course if you are going to get creative you will need to make sure you have the right tools and play stations to make this happen!
Discovering days have a wide range of activity tables and wooden seating available that combine the perfect mix of robustness with style to make the ideal solution for utilising indoor space for creative play.
More Indoor Activity Ideas
If you’ve done all the creative play you can cope with, and you are fed up of glitter down your finger nails, there are loads of other great indoor activity ideas to keep children busy at this time of year.
What about gathering your flock around the Story Telling Chair and having an afternoon discussion about all the other different celebrations besides Christmas? At this time of year, it’s important to be inclusive, and speaking about Diwali for example or how the Japanese celebrate New Year is a really important part of children being educated around different faiths and cultures, and encourages diversity and understanding from a very young age.
Dressing up at this time of year is also always a fun way for children to spend an afternoon.
Again you can stick to the traditional Mary and Joseph characters from the Nativity, or you could encourage a more contemporary approach and ask the children to come up with variations on the theme, or to imagine the nativity taking place in a different historical era or even in the future. A space age nativity set would be a sight to behold indeed!
There’s also all the Christmas carols and songs you could use for some creative motivation.
A good one is the Twelve days of Christmas, this would absolutely involve everybody and you would have a lot of fun recreating all the different ‘gifts’.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming
Ten lords a-leaping
Nine ladies dancing
Eight maids a-milking
Seven swans a-swimming
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings
Four colly birds
Three French hens, two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree
Contact Us
So there you have it. We’ve tried to give you loads of ideas and tips for some great indoor festive play to keep little ones entertained for hours and to hopefully help you keep your sanity during this busy time.
If you want to know anything more about our products and services then why not contact us here or call 01282 416 755 to speak to one of our dedicated team.
We might not be able to relieve you of your duties, but we can sure make them more enjoyable with the right products and materials to keep excitable children entertained for hours.
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