Things to do with DCs in the lead up to Christmas

[Sugarandspiceandallthat]

Hi, I was just looking for some inspiration for things to do with the children in the lead up to Christmas so that they can be really excited and happy during the festive season.

I used to take mine to the garden centre where they had a Santa grotto.
That was about it, really. [santa]

My DS is 4. We go into town for a coffee/babychino and cake.

Choose a tree decoration, and just look at all the lovely Xmas stuff in posh shops we can't afford to actually buy anything in, like John Lewis and M&S.

Visit the Xmas Market and have a go on the carousel

See a panto

See stuff they put on at the library and museum, like storytelling and crafts

Might go on a Xmas steam train ride this year

That's all going out things, indoors we get the Xmas dvds out to watch

Have snowball fights with a big bag of cotton wool balls

Make decorations, see Pinterest etc for loads of ideas

Drink hot chocolate/mulled wine on a more regular basis than usual

Make gingerbread men, women, dogs, cars etc - we use the play dough cutters so lots of options

We go to a candle lit carol service.
Write and post letters to Santa
Get Christmas books from the library
Decorate the Christmas tree
Make and eat lots of mince pies!
Watch Christmas films
Make Christmas cards to send to their friends

I would do nothing Christmasy until we get to December. It's a fantastic time with little ones but it tends to go on for far too long. Plenty of other things to do in the autumn.

Maybe collect a few fir cones and dry them out to make decorations later. Get then involved in the prep of mincemeat and Christmas cake. Lots of weighing out and mixing. I always tried to avoid the toy adverts on TV. On the build up to Christmas they watched DVDs or stuff I had pre recorded. Look out for events at local churches even if you don't go regularly they often have extra stuff during advent.

We went on a Santa special steam train or a show most years but that's not cheap. We always took ours to the village 'Switching on of the lights' not as impressive as the one in town but nicer in some ways. Singing carols and Father Christmas giving out chocolate bars. You can always make going in to town to see the lights a separate event.

Letter to Santa
Make paper chains
Make Christmas cards
Decorate brown wrapping paper
Make mince pies
Make ‘melting snowmen’ biscuits
Watch Christmas films
Decorate pine cones
Read Christmas books
Go to garden centre Santa grotto
Go to ‘lit up’ Christmas forest events
Do Christmas sticker books

We always go to the zoo (have a yearly pass) which is v Christmassy and see Santa.
We also always go to the Christmas Eve family service at the local church.
The kids help decorate the tree and write cards to their friends.
Apart from that, I find school, Cubs etc do enough Christmassy things - plays, carol concerts, crafts, parties etc - to keep them going, anything more would be overkill! Having said that when I was little one of my favourite things was getting in the car with my Dad and sisters and delivering all the local Christmas cards - I tried to introduce this to my lot (but walking) but they are not enthused.

Inoive threads like this, I pick up so many tips and new traditions. Decorate the tree. Movie nights. Hot chocolate bar (I make a huge portion of hot chocolate and have toppings like marshmallows, crushed candy canes, squirty cream etc on hand), polar express party, north pole breakfast, some places do breakfast with santa, pantomime, cinema, wall around your street/town to see all the decorated lights

What ages are your dc?
When mine were younger I just subbed our normal craft/indoor activities for Christmas ones. Christmas colouring pictures. Making cards, finger painted wrapping paper. Instead of play dough we made salt dough decorations, cookies, gingerbread men.

Outdoors we just dressed warmer, gathered pine cones and larch cones in the autumn, and generally just noticed the winter signs as the year wore on.

Once they were in school we did more crafty bits - snowflakes cut from paper. Chains of gingerbread men and elves strung up around the kitchen, made crackers, write cards to school friends and baked gifts for family.

I swop out books and dvds for the Christmas ones in December and we decorate the house in stages, adding pine cuttings, oranges and cloves etc as the month goes on.

Now we’re getting on in primary and there’s more homework in the evenings so I’m not sure which activities will survive this year. They’re both interested in sugarcraft now so I’m hoping they’ll decorate the Christmas cake.

I work so the majority of things is done only on weekends.

Bit of arts and craft in the last week in November to decorate the house as our tree only goes up on the 22-23.12.

Baking and making marzipan figurines

Ice skating with friends

A Christmas market either local or in Germany which is then a combination with visiting family

Carol concert

DD did panto with the school luckily

When DD started school we also had to restrict activities as she got so hyped up with all the things they did she totally went of the rails.

Wow, thank you so much for all the ideas, Barbarara - my children are 5 and 8.