How to make Christmas magical for the DC?

[FlatsInDagenham]

I have less than no money to spend this year, and that's fine, but I need your ideas on how to create / find some magical experiences for the DC in the lead up to Christmas without spending much (if any) money? DC are 5 and 1.

Do you have enough for presents ? Is it just activities your on about?

Can you do a Christmas elf type thing either with or without seeing the elf? Last year our elf did lots of free naughty and nice things and made the lead up to Christmas magical.
Can you make reindeer glitter food or paper chain decorations or salt dough decorations or collect pine cones to decorate?
Borrow Christmas books from the library or write your own with your five year old.

We have enough for a few small presents. DC are young enough not to care how little we've spent on presents thankfully.

Yes it's activities I'm after. Tell me more about the elf?

My two love love love elf on the shelf. Search threads on here, but basically an elf (toy you can customise or make to look like an elf) arrives on dec 1st with a cheeky little letter explaining that santa has sent him/her to watch over them and will go back to the north pole on xmas eve and let santa know whether they're on the good list. Because he is away from home he may get up to mischief in the night e.g eat all the biscuits, swing from the lampshades, head first in cereal...ive read loads of good ideas on here and ones my friends have done; green wee in the loo, behind drivers seat of car, underpants on xmas tree. If you really get into it they will too.
Also xmas craft, stories, carol concerts, xmas fairs, a walk in the dark to see lights, xmas films with hot choc.

We do a christmas tree safari before xmas - walk around the local area calling out when we can see a xmas tree with lights on. Whoever spots the most wins. Its surprisingly good fun and we all get into it.

We have wooden advent calendar but you could make your own advent. I saw a good idea where you get 25 envelopes and pin/blu tak them to a door or wall in shape of Xmas tree

We do a different Xmas activity every day. I have them already prepped and fit it in to the weather/time/mood

Some of the things we do are:
Walk at night to look at all the Xmas lights (can score them a la Strictly if you want)
Make Christmas cookies
Go to christingle service
Go to carol concert
Check Mummy's emails (go on Pnp website and do free video for each child. Bloody magical watching their faces and I video them watching it)
Make Christmas card for Daddy or grandparents (check out thumbprint ideas on Pinterest)
Make paper chains
Make paper snowflakes
Go to visit Santa(grotto :school fair/garden centre)
Write letter to Santa
Go on a train ride to big town and look at the lights
Watch polar express/Arthur Christmas/favourite Xmas movie. There are loads cheap in b&m at the mo
Have a chipnic in the park and look for shooting stars
Decorate a bauble

Can't think of any more of top of my head but will check tomorrow

If you are on Pinterest there are lots of good craft ideas

The Elf on a Shelf - you can make one yourself with an old doll (like an Action Man?) and glue some green and red felt clothes on him.
My Hannibal from the A-Team Doll sports a rather jazzy Elf Suit that I made him

Hide him round the house for the DC to find then they write in a Special Notebook (a jotter that you can ponceyfy ) about where he was.
He can do nice things - like a couple of sweeties
or naughty - spill cereal on the floor
leave elf footprints in flour or Elf Angels (like snow angels)
green Elf wee -food colouring- in the loo

Ours hides round the house, in the fridge, on the stairs peering through the bannister.
He goes home on the 24th to report that your DC have been good.

My DC love a hot chocolate and marshmallows after a walk

they used to feed the geese when they were little and we'd make p stories about them flying away

wellies and waterproofs to find the biggest puddles

and similar to Christmas Safari - we spot Hamleys Bags from the underground to the doors of Hamleys.

What about a Christmas Eve Hamper for your 5yo?
New PJs
Sachet of Cadburys Hot Chocolate and a little packet of biscuits

Leave it wrapped up to 'find' after your Christmas Eve Walk.

And tea-lights in jars up the garden path to make a runway for the sleigh.

Borrowing Christmas books from the library

Looking at the Christmas displays in shops ( especially garden centres)

Baking and decorating festive biscuits or salt dough decorations

making paper chains

Museums and libraries often have free children's activities - we will be going to see Father Christmas at the museum.

Watching Christmas films on TV or YouTube

Doing a "good deed" together every day of advent

Writing to Father Christmas and you writing a reply.

Going to a carol service

Going for a walk and picking greenery or twos and pine confessand stuff to decorate your home and having a nice hot drink when you get home.

Portable North Pole and Norad Santa tracker websites.

Singing Christmas songs together

We have a toy elf who we do elf on a shelf with, but one of my friends has an invisible fairy who does similar things, leaving messages and making the house all christmassy while the children are asleep.

I'm assuming you are in Dagenham so can easily get to central London;

Lakeside used to have a free Santa (not sure if it's still free, but worth a try).

Winter wonderland in Hyde park is free. Apparently it does get really busy, so I'd go early december. Combine with a trip see the Xmas lights down Oxford circus and a wander around hamleys. Take a pack lunch to keep costs down).

The poundshop has lots of Xmas activity books for your 5 year old.

Westfield Stratford will probably have some Xmas activities.

At home: make paper chains, popcorn garlands (thread popcorn onto string), go for a walk to see neighbours decorations, decorate the tree.

Lovely ideas, thank you.

Sadly I have never been to Dagenham and cannot easily travel to London, being a humble northerner But I am close to a couple of major cities so we will certainly visit one just to look at the lights.

Right, I need to start planning my magical Christmas!

How about snuggling up together on Christmas Eve and reading a Christmas story such as The Night Before Christmas Together? (borrow some books from the library)

Museum of London Docklands has a grotto but I think it's a few pounds but all of the museums have free xmas activities.
Take a packed lunch with you as all museums have a packed lunch room, just ask at the reception desk.

Southbank Xmas market

There are lots of tables & benches in the national theatre & Queen Elizabeth centre to eat your lunch & rest your weary feet.

www.timeout.com/london/christmas

Oops just read you live up north! Similar advice as above just google 'free xmas events in x' & you should get a list of events local to you. Do check out your local musems & galleries for events.

When you go out to see the lights, bring along a flask of hot (maybe just warm since they are only babies, really ) chocolate and some marshmallows. It's lovely to have a warm sweet drink while huddled together in the cold...

An activities advent calendar is fun, makes December lovely and Christmassy all the way through and daily activities more of an occasion. You can make the calendar cheaply with parcel string strung up somewhere and those small money envelopes from poundland or another cheap shop - Just attach 24 numbered envelopes to the string (maybe with those cute little wooden pegs), or punch a hole in the end of the envelop and attach it to the string with gingham ribbon.

Every night put an activity into tomorrow's envelope. Don't put them all in from the beginning as circumstance might conspire against you - If you do it every night you can tailor the activity to suit your means and what mood you're in that day Things like baking, or colouring a Christmas themed picture, or making play dough Christmas figures, or decorating biscuit Christmas trees with melted chocolate and smartie baubles, cuddling up on the sofa under a duvet and watching a Christmas DVD, building a santa grotto, etc etc. Plus various Christmas themed outings here and there...

Don't know if you're near Manchester but the Museum of Science and Industry is free and has some free Christmas activities on (and places to eat packed lunches):

www.mosi.org.uk/whats-on/mosi-unwrapped.aspx

The Christmas markets are also lovely to walk around in the city centre, my children love going for a walk around the Trafford Centre, as there are some fab decorations and then as a treat we go for a hot chocolate, quite a cheap but nice day out.

Our local church has a Christmas tree festival at the start of December, which is a lovely afternoon out and gets you all festive.

We do a treasure hunt around the house every Sunday morning in December, leave little clues until they come to the end and the 'present' is just a Christmas biscuit or chocolate coin, doesn't cost much but its something they talk about a lot, so obviously enjoy doing it.

I know from experience that saltdough decoration have lots of different stages that take days, so that might be a good idea for you! Lots of mess too, which will please the DC

Day one - make the saltdough, roll it out and cut it into shapes with cutters or knife (stars and christmas trees are easy, but you could do bells and snowmen and reindeer if you're creative). If you're going to hand them on a tree, rememeber to make a hole near the top to thread some ribbon/string through. Leave to dry out - they take a couple of days

Day two - paint them. I used ELC silver and gold paint (£1.50 for a big tube) last year, but you could use any paint

Day three - glaze them (I never bother with this)

Day four - decorate them with glitter and whatnot and put the ribbon/string through and them hang them up.

I have also used the reverse side of a roll of wallpaper and sellotaped this to the kitchen floor so it is maybe 7 feet long (or whatever the height of an internal door is). Draw a Christmas tree shape in pencil. put some green paint in a tray. Let the children step in the paint and paint in the tree shape with their feet! When that is dry, they can decorate the tree with pop poms, tinsel, ribbons, whatever tat you have. And then hang it onto a door. Instant decoration

Borrow Christmas books from your local library. Go now, so that they aren't all taken. You can always renew them later on.

If you google Christmas lights for your local area, chances are that they'll be staggered. So we did one local town yesterday and will do one next saturday and our town on sunday. There's usually carol singing, mince pies and often a free santa grotto