The Christmas holidays are likely to be the most difficult break to keep the children entertained. The days leading up to a major event are always filled with excitement and anticipation. They are elated and overwrought, and they experience elation and devastation about 12 times per hour (or more frequently if they are younger). They alternate between these two states about 12 times per hour.
Then you enter a peaceful haven that begins on Christmas Eve evening
The tranquillity preceding the impending storm. They are on their best behavior on Christmas Eve because they know Santa is watching. This makes for a fantastic holiday. Then, on Christmas Day, they won’t need anyone’s help keeping themselves entertained because they’ll have received so many new things. They are exhausted by Boxing Day, which also marks the beginning of the restoration of normal rules, and the day after Boxing Day is when everything begins to go wrong.
I dressed my son in red and white striped clothes to make him look like an elf. “13 merry ways to shake off boredom,” says the text over the image.
Holiday Boredom Busters
You must keep them busy at all times. You must put a stop to their fighting. The most important thing is to exhaust them so that they go to bed at seven o’clock and you can finally unwind.
The following are some fantastic ideas for keeping the kids occupied and preventing boredom. This massive list has been divided into two sections: “before Christmas” and “after Christmas,” as these are two very distinct states of mind in my opinion.
Activities for Children to Do in the Weeks Leading Up to Christmas
This is the part of the holiday season that requires extra caution and planning. These kids are bursting with energy! You are unlikely to be able to divert their attention away from the main event, so it is in your best interest to plan Christmas-themed activities.
Make a gingerbread house and embellish it with decorations
Anyone, regardless of baking ability, can assemble a gingerbread house from a kit. To be honest, I don’t think it matters much how it tastes because the fun is in the presentation. These are the only things that are ever completely consumed if they are completely irresistible, and that will never happen in my house! It’s the kind of thing that can easily take up an afternoon, and if the finished product is even slightly appealing to the eye, you can post it on Instagram and act as if you came up with the idea entirely on your own, relying solely on your creativity and artistic ability.
Make some snowflakes out of paper
I assumed that everyone knew how to do these, but it turns out that the likelihood of learning how to do them in elementary school in the 1990s was only 50%. After a few pointers, your children will believe that these are the pinnacle of elegance and sophistication.
If you’ve never made paper snowflakes before, all you have to do is fold a piece of paper in half, then diagonally to form a triangle, and then cut out random chunks from the triangle. If you’re an experienced professional looking for a more polished finish, these Pinterest tutorials might come in handy.
Allow the kids to assist you with the gift wrapping
Put your children to work wrapping presents if you feel comfortable giving them a pair of scissors and a roll of the tape dispenser. It’s a great way to appear generous during the holidays when, in reality, you can’t be bothered wrapping your 17 nieces’ Christmas presents. This is because it is an excellent way to appear to be a generous festive spirit. When I was a kid, I thought it was a special honor when my father assigned me the task of wrapping presents for my mother. I can see now that he was nothing short of a genius, and the lessons he taught me have helped me grow.
Have a good time watching movies this evening
Put your children in front of a Christmas movie if they can sit still for about an hour. If they have difficulty sitting still for long periods, feeding them snacks can help keep them seated. I highly recommend The Christmas Chronicles, which is available on Netflix. As of now, I cannot vouch for the continuation because we are not releasing it until Christmas Eve (or Christmas Eve eve at the very earliest).
Take a stroll through the neighborhood’s streets
On a normal walk, no one is watching to ensure that no one complains about how tired their legs are. On a holiday stroll, however, someone is keeping an eye out to ensure that no one complains about how tired their legs are. Wait until it’s dark outside before taking the kids to see the Christmas lights. It’s not necessary to travel far because young legs tend to drag their feet, but you can easily pass an hour before bedtime.
If you want them to stay outside for a longer period, you could turn it into a game, have them look for specific items, or even give them a homemade scorecard to keep track of their progress. I’m sure Mavis at number 30, who has the best mooning Santa in the neighborhood, will be overjoyed to learn this.
Dip some peg people in paint
The peg people are very inexpensive; I bought a large box of them from Amazon (Affiliate link). I think painting festive versions of your family is cute, but you could also paint Santa and some elves if you wanted to mix things up a little.
Make some one-of-a-kind ornaments for the tree
If you want to make your baubles, Hobbycraft has everything you need, except a hot glue gun and an adult to help you use it. The only catch is that you will have to hang the ornament yourself on your Christmas tree. If you have a beautiful tree that children are not allowed to touch, this craft is not for you (unless you’re willing to hang a bauble abomination made by your five-year-old right in the middle of the tree, where it will be on display for all to see).
Decorated log slices should be hung on the tree
I wanted to do something fun with the kids, so I went out and bought some old-looking log slices. You can buy them on Amazon (affiliate link) and hang them from the tree with some pretty string. If you all have a lot of artistic talent, you should consider purchasing some very fine brushes so that you can create intricate designs and then varnish the finished product. Are you a bad artist? Don’t worry about it; just show everyone your old piece of wood with a crudely drawn holiday scene on it and claim it’s an ancient fossil painted by a stone age person.
Activities to do in your spare time AFTER Christmas Day
My daughter is dressed as an elf in a red and white striped outfit with green trim, with the text “13 Festive Boredom Busters” superimposed.
The children should find this part of the vacation to be the least taxing because they will have a plethora of new things to keep them entertained. Even if they may amuse themselves on occasion, you will need to take the initiative and look for additional activities for them to do.
Here are a few ideas
Create handwritten and illustrated gratitude expressions
There is no doubt that cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and family friends have all sent gifts. There is a need to express gratitude for all of these gifts, but instead of sending a Facebook message, why not add a more personal touch? You should have your children hand write the thank-you notes and decorate them with their artwork. It will most likely be up to you to keep an eye on these illustrations. I was recently forced to retrieve a Christmas card that my younger son had addressed to his best friend but had drawn a poop and a rear end in. I seriously doubt anyone else could have identified what it was if it hadn’t been for the fact that he’s only six years old.
Get rid of the old toys
If your kids are anything like mine, they will want to keep every toy they’ve ever had, dating back to when they were babies. To put it simply, it does not make sense. However, if you explain to your children that there won’t be enough room in their playroom to store the new toys, they will gladly give Tinky Winky to another family.
Give them a sense of the importance of recycling
That is, of course, to say that you should have them sort your recyclables. It’s perfectly fine to have so many empty bottles of fake Baileys that you want to throw away if you don’t help them out in situations like this. Squishing paper and cardboard down inside recycling bins is a lot of fun for kids. A helpful hint: if you need to compact the items, put your oldest child in the trash can to help you. If that doesn’t work, try adding the next-smallest item and repeat until the bin is completely flat. If you run out of children to carry, grandmas visiting from out of town are usually not too heavy.
Take them for a walk in the woods
The second half of this holiday is devoted to exhausting the children daily in preparation for their return to school. Unless you make a completely absurd suggestion like “why don’t you play with your new toys, Maisie?” kids find the majority of activities entertaining. As a result, you don’t even need to make the walk interesting. If you want to make an effort, I recommend going on a scavenger hunt for things like feathers or leaves.
Teach them how to cook food
Eating your children’s strange cakes is certainly a pleasant experience; however, have you ever had the pleasure of having someone else prepare your evening meal? You might think about teaching your older children the fundamentals of cooking if you know you can trust them not to pick their noses. Slow cooker spaghetti with meatballs, pizza, and stew are all very simple to make. Fish fingers and potato waffles are even easier to make!