The days leading up to Christmas morning may be challenging for parents because school is out, and the kids could be easily bored. While they are most excited for the holiday season, it's easy to forget the Christmas spirit because of the long waiting game to celebrate.
If your children are starting to get restless, here are fun activities to do to re-ignite their holiday spirit until it's time to open presents:
1. Decorate the house and enlist the children's help.
Of course, it wouldn't feel like Christmas if the house isn't festive enough so, why not decorate together and hit two birds with one stone? By enlisting the kids to help deck the halls, they can unleash their creative spirit and use their time and energy by sprucing up the home.
If the children are up for some arts and crafts, you can do a Christmas project together as your personalized display. There are many DIY instructions for projects like paper snowflakes, paper plate Christmas trees, tissue paper Christmas wreaths (for the older kids), and Christmas thumbprint art.
Parents may also ask the children's help to decorate the outdoors with Christmas lights. However, the San Antonio Fire Department cautioned against overloading and overheating electric outlets. To prevent a fire hazard, be sure to get a surge protector plugged in first before turning the Christmas lights on.
2. Bake some Christmas goodies.
You might not have completed your Christmas list just yet, so the weeks before Christmas is the best time to get started with baking goodies to give away to families or friends. If you're not an expert in the kitchen, the internet has many easy three-ingredient cookies recipes to try with the kids. Children should be excited to smell the aroma of the ingredients or feel proud of themselves as they prepare the edible, homemade gifts to surprise their grandparents.
3. Tour the neighborhood to see other Christmas decorations.
Pack the kids in the car one night and go around the neighborhood to marvel at the decorations other houses have put up. The short travel outside the house should be safe, amid this COVID-19 period, for as long as the children are in the car and they aren't mingling with other households.
While you're at it, play some Christmas I-Spy with the kids or print out a Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt checklist. To make it more exciting, cap the end of your neighborhood travel with a special meal as a family along with a fresh cup of hot and minty Christmas chocolate milk before everyone goes to bed.
4. Play Christmas games.
When the children are spent watching Christmas movies, it's time for some low-key entertainment -- Christmas games. Download free printable games online, such as Santa's Reindeer Name Scramble Puzzle, and have kids unscramble all of the names of the reindeers. Or, organize Christmas-themed bingo games with the whole family, where even the grandparents might want to join. There are also plenty of printable Christmas bingo cards to pick out online. Make Christmas games a tradition by scheduling them every afternoon during the holiday break.
