How to entertain the kids between Christmas and New…

Picture this… You’ve made it through Christmas Day. The leftovers have all been polished off. You’ve said goodbye to your extended family and friends. And you’re ready to ring in the New Year…

But what should you do in that awkward period where you’re not quite sure what day of the week it is? The limbo window between the 27th of December and the new year. Although it’s perfectly acceptable to do nothing but lay in your PJs all day, (oh the joy!), you may find that your little ones become grumpy and irritable.

Luckily, we’ve got you covered! Here are a few ideas on how to entertain the kids between Christmas and New Year whilst keeping costs to a minimum.

Get crafting

As parents, we often have black bags at the ready to clean up the mess after unwrapping presents. No muss, no fuss right? However, try saving the wrapping paper to create some fun, thrifty crafts.

You can make some decorations to celebrate the New Year – bunting, confetti and party hats. Or you could create envelopes for any ‘thank you’ cards that you plan to send out to friends and family. There are so many tutorials online to help you put any discarded wrapping paper to good use! We particularly like this tutorial to create festive New Year’s rockets. The perfect New Year’s Eve party decoration!

Have a treasure hunt

You’ve probably stocked up on lots of chocolate coins and other goodies over the past few months. Why not put them to good use and hide them around the house for a treasure hunt?

You can come up with fun clues to help your kids find the treasure. If you need some inspiration, you can always turn to your little one’s favourite TV shows and movies. Testing their knowledge on the latest Disney movie for example, will surely get them excited about finding the hidden treasure and keep them entertained.

Play some board games

Is it even Christmas if you don’t play Monopoly at least once? We all love a good old board game. It’s a great opportunity to grab some quality time as a family – unless it all ends in arguments!

Dust off your all-time favourite board games. Gather the family around the dining table. And enjoy an evening full of laughter and tears. A few rounds of Monopoly or Uno will easily pass a good few hours!

Get your director hat on

Unleash your inner Hollywood and direct your own family movie or play. Get creative and brainstorm some ideas as a family, then put together a script and assign the roles. Once you’ve had a few rehearsals in the living room, you can video it on your phone to then share it with the rest of your family and friends.

Feeling brave? You could even invite your family and friends over to enjoy a full stage, live performance. Lights, camera, action!

Have fun with playdough

Kids of many ages enjoy playdough. Let’s face it – it’s even pretty fun to tinker with as an adult! The great thing about playdough is that you can actually make your own at home. All with ingredients that you may already have in your cupboards.

All you need is:

8 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp table salt
60ml warm water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
You can also add some food colouring and/or glitter to the mix to give your playdough some colour and pattern

Just:

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl
Mix the water, food colouring and vegetable oil in a separate bowl
Pour your water mixture into your flour mixture and mix together with a spoon
Dust a work surface with a little flour and knead your mixture for a few minutes until you’re left with a dough

Tada!

The great thing about making playdough is that it’s not exactly a recipe you can mess up. If the dough is too wet, just add some more flour. If it’s too dry, add some more water. Easy! Just remember to store your playdough in an airtight sandwich bag or container in the fridge. It will help to keep it fresh between playtimes.

And don’t worry if you don’t have any fancy playdough tools and cutters. You can use your kitchen utensils to create some interesting shapes and patterns. Check out this tutorial for fun playdough activities to try at home.

Screen time can be good

As much as we’d like our kids to spend less time in front of the TV or on tablets, a little screen time here and there can be beneficial. In fact, a few hours on the family tablet each day playing problem-solving games can help their learning and development. All while increasing their overall understanding of the world around them.

For more inspiration for Christmas activities, check out our blog on fun Christmas activities for kids.

Please note we’ve used links to external websites. Although we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, Fair for You Enterprise CIC cannot take responsibility for pages maintained by external providers. Views expressed on external sites we link to are not necessarily those of Fair for You Enterprise CIC.