Keep your kids busy this holiday with these fun activities! (Holiday Fun Series #1)

Keeping the kids busy during the holidays can be quite daunting. Especially when they’re little! In this series, you will find 5 different activities every week to keep your kiddos busy and have some fun! Most of them can be used as gifts or Christmas decorations too! Win! 

How are you keeping your kids busy these holidays?

It’s easy to let them watch TV or play on the computer or device for the whole day. But you know as well as I do that eventually, they’re bored out of their minds. So this is why I’ve created this series – so they’ll have one activity each day that is hands-on, creative and fun, and gets them off the screen for at least half an hour!

My littles are very little so if you have older kiddos you may have to adjust the activities a bit. More likely though is that you can give them the instructions and materials and let them enjoy themselves doing it on their own. I’m going to give you the simplest version I can come up with here. Feel free to adjust as you see fit for your unique children and situation. And, because it’s almost Christmas (!) most of these activities have a little (maybe a lot) Christmas spirit and flair. Again, feel free to adjust them to accommodate your taste. 

The Holiday Fun Series

Each week has 5 activities, each from a different category. So you can keep the little ones busy from Monday to Friday and have two days as a buffer if you didn’t get to do an activity during the week. 

Every week, I will include a  FREE ‘Holiday Fun Kit’ with instructions for all of the activities, in a simple, easy-to-follow format with pictures, all of the templates you’ll need and even a shopping list template so you can be sure to pick up any materials or tools you need for the week. Print it all and file it for future use – what a great resource to have to fall back on for next year!

Access your FREE Holiday Fun Kit for Week 1 HERE:

Day 1: Paper Craft – Snowflake ornaments

We’re making these as Christmas cards for the family. And I’m going to make some as a garland to hang in our lounge! Super cute!

What you will need

• Templates from the Holiday Fun Kit – Week 1
• 2 x A4 white cardboard
• Photo of your little one’s adorable face
• Scissors
• Marker
• Hole punch
• Ribbon
• Glue
• Glitter glue – because, Christmas

Instructions

1) Copy or print the snowflake templates onto the pieces of cardboard. Cut out the snowflakes – around the outline and down the dotted lines (on the first template).

2) Use the circle in the template, to trace a circle around your child’s face on the photo and cut it out. 

3) Stick the snowflake onto the backing at the centre.

4) Use a marker to write your messages in the 8 sections on the backing under the flaps of the snowflake. 

5) Paste the photo circle over the centre of the snowflake. 

Variations

Christmas tree decorations – use the mini-snowflake templates and do the same as above, just punch a hole and add a ribbon!

Snowflake bunting / garland – leave out the part of writing the messages if you prefer and hang a string of snowflakes with various pictures of your family. 

Day 2: Cook, Bake or Decorate – Santa hat cupcakes

We made these for our Christmas dinner with our friends and they were super yummy and a big hit!

What you will need

• Mini muffin pan
• Spray ‘n Cook / Mini muffin cups
• Sharp knife + cutting board
• Electric beater
• Piping bag / equipment
• Toothpicks

• Chocolate muffin mix + all the ingredients on the pack
• Strawberries
• Cream cheese (125g)
• Icing sugar (300g)
• Butter (50g)
• Vanilla essence/extract

Instructions

1) Prepare and bake the chocolate muffins according to the package instructions and allow to cool.

2) Beat the butter and icing sugar until light and creamy. Add the cream cheese and vanilla essence and whisk through gently (don’t over mix – apparently it can become too runny!)

3) Cut off the stalk side of the strawberries. 

4) Pipe / spread the icing (frosting) over the cupcake, put in a toothpick and secure the strawberry on top of the cupcake. Pipe a blob of icing on top of the strawberry. 

(PLEASE warn your guests that there are toothpicks inside – these delicious little morsels are good enough to devour in one bite and you may have some problems if that happens!!! )

Variations

I used chocolate muffin mix because that’s our favourite! But why not try vanilla or even red velvet – that’d be festive!

Day 3: Build it – Personalised picture frames

These special gifts are going to the Great-Grannies this year! They LOVE getting photos of the girls and it’s a super special way to involve the girls in creating a gift for their Old Gran and Nanna!

What you will need

• Picture frame
• Photos
• Glue gun and glue sticks
• Varnish / Modge podge and paint brush – optional but recommended
• Decorations
• Scrabble letters Template – See Holiday Fun Kit Week 1
• Very thick cardboard
• A4 white cardboard
• Double-sided tape
• Glue stick

Instructions

1) Plan your design.

2) Print out the scrabble letters onto the A4 white cardboard. Cut out the ones you need.

3) Paste the letters onto the thick card with the glue stick and cut out. 

4) Paint over the letters with the varnish – it will keep them looking shiny and protect them from getting dusty and damaged. 

5) Place the decorations onto the frame and paste them in place (with double-sided tape or hot-glue). Add the photos and you’re done!

Variations

I’ve used a frame where photos, messages, postcards can be pegged to it. This project will work perfectly for a regular one-photo photo frame or even a multi-photo photo frame.  

Find decorations that fit the season and add Christmas photos. Or add decorations that fit with a special event or celebration and add the relevant pictures!

Day 4: Paint it – Christmas wreath and mistle-toes

I love doing painted foot- and hand-prints with my girls and they love it too! Here’s the perfect way to add to our Christmas decorations and have a special keepsake capturing how tiny those little fingers and toes were!

What you will need

• “Canvas” board or Cardboard – I got two small ones (for the mistle-toes) and a big square one (for the wreath)
• Acrylic paint – I chose red and green for a bright, more traditional effect
• Paintbrushes
• Glitter glue – It’s a Christmas decoration right?!
• Ribbon
• Paper-towel and wet wipes – lots of them!
• Varnish and paintbrush – optional but recommended.

Instructions

1) Plan out where those little hands and feet are going to go on your board – make a light mark with a pencil as an area to aim for when you’re placing their wet, painted feet and hands. 

2) Paint a foot or hand and place it carefully on the board. I always have to remind myself to work ‘with purpose’ but not to rush.

3) Let your paintings dry. 

4) Paint in your wording. Add glitter glue. And don’t forget to write your child’s name and the date somewhere so you’ll remember which Christmas it’s from.

5) Paint over your artwork with the varnish to seal and secure it. And add the ribbon. And then you’re done!

Variations

This craft is definitely aimed at the little ones! But there are ways to adjust it to the older kids.

Instead of hand / foot prints, do finger painting. Draw a simple template on your boards and let the kids fill in the colour but painting with their fingers!

Find some interesting leaves in the garden or park and use them as a ‘stamp’ to create the mistletoe or wreath paintings. 

Day 5: Messy Play – Jello-dig (Prepare the day before!!)

You’re probably laughing at this concept of “messy play”! Having toddlers = messy play all. the. time. Right!?

But this kind of intentional messy play is actually so important for a child’s sensory integration. Feeling different textures they’re not used to, getting these textures between their fingers and toes where they don’t usually experience them – it’s super important. 

While this activity is aimed more at the little ‘uns too, I know how much my 5th graders (11-12 year olds) LOVE playing with slime (in class, whenever they can – it’s awesome! – excuse the sarcastic undertone!). So I’m sure that this type of messy play will appeal to some of them at least!

What you will need

• Large container or bowl
• Jelly x 3 / 4 boxes – depending on how full you want your container
• Small toys or objects (age appropriate sizes of course, please!)

Instructions

1) Prepare the jelly as per package instructions. (If you want it a bit firmer – add a little less water; or a bit more sloppy, add a little extra water.)

2) Pour the jelly into the container and refrigerate until it’s about half set. 

3) Add all the toys and objects. 

Return to the fridge to set overnight. 

4) The next day, strip your baba down to nappies or pop your kids in their costumes and let them get messy!

Week 1 sorted! 

I hope you and the kids will find this to be a lot of fun and that they’ll use or even develop some skills they don’t often get to use. 

Besides the benefits of being creative, having some sensory fun and honing their fine motor skills, my greatest hope is that you will both benefit from some special quality time with each other – because that’s more important than anything else! 

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