Ideas for between school breaking up and Christmas Eve

[Myleakycauldron]

What do you do in this time? I'm working for the first couple of days and then off through to NY with two small DC (one at school, one in pre school) and looking for ideas really so we aren't just waiting for Christmas.

We will have already done Santa and a panto type thing earlier in the month. We don't live near our families and won't be travelling up until Christmas Eve so it will be just the four of us!

On my list I have a trip into London to see the lights and a walk and a pub lunch (although not sure that's that relaxing with my children!). What are you doing?

Ours are breaking up on the 23rd this year 😒

Things I always plan to do but run out of time...

Bake Christmas biscuits etc

Go for a walk in the evening looking at all the Christmas lights people have put up then come and watch a Christmas film and have hot chocolate

Trip to the Garden Centre to buy a new decoration for the tree (can be combined with hot chocolate and cake)

Christmas Crafts

Christmas film afternoon with snacks and blankets

Ours are also the 23rd. Gutted!

Maybe Christmas crafts, baking and films if they like that? We’re going to a light display- went to one last year and loved it so think will make it a tradition.

Ooh - lovely idea for a thread! I'll be in the same position. I might keep my toddler in nursery for an extra day or two so I can do some things with my 5 year old that he can't? Trip to london is a good shout. I'll probably do a session at the trampoline place as they both like that. Make, decorate and post letters to Father Christmas. Some Christmas craft and baking. Don't know - hope someone else has some good ideas!!

Mine have broken up on the 22nd/23rd for a few years now and it really pisses me off. I’d much rather have them off for a week before.

Wow that seems late. Mine break up on 16th so I imagine will be hyped for Christmas only to have to wait another 9 days.. this will be too long for my 5 year old!

We're going swimming to a pool that has a heated outside small pool. Did it last year and it was great fun.
Will also make popcorn and watch the Snowman and Snowman and Snowdog.
We have ddog so do Christmas lights walks every night. I love them!

We have got a few things planned for the lead up;
Drayton manor magical Christmas
polar express
Legoland Windsor
panto

Shamelessly placemarking!

Ice skating, light trail, baking at home, Christmas funfair in local town, Carol or Christingle service in a church, shop window displays in London, Polar Express, garden centres, Castles

Are you in the US or UK ?

We’ll potter doing a bit of Christmas baking, wrapping presents, going to the local garden centre. Then we fly to Lapland on the 23rd ☺️

Can they make cards for special relatives they will be travelling to?
Buy their presents for mum and dad, siblings, and any like grannies and grandads that work. Give them money or help them making choices, and then another day can be about wrapping things with loads of tape and maybe lots of ribbons. Perhaps making potatoes print wrapping paper etc.

A carpet picnic and movie afternoon at home - instead of dinner at the table.

When Dd was small, I used to give her a shoebox filled with different coloured strips of paper and sellotape, to make paper chains when it suited. They went back in the shoebox when she was finished on any particular day, as she worked on it over the course of December, but when long enough, went up in the hall.

I'll have a think about other things I used to fill days with.

We're the same. I feel like crying as I'd rather enjoy the time off in the build up than in January when everyone's skint and miserable!

Mine break up on the 16th and I’m really not sure how to keep them calm for a whole week after school have ramped up the excitement with Christmas parties, carol concerts, the Nativity, and the Christmas fayre. We might need a few days of calm!!

I think we’ll try and see local friends for park trips / walks in the woods.
Possibly a soft play session, and a trip to the garden centre to buy a new bauble each.
A day of baking and Christmas films.
A walk round the village in the evening to see everyone’s Christmas lights.
Not sure what else. Probably more tv than I usually allow, and one or two pyjama days. I imagine they’ll need a bit of a rest so won’t let myself feel too guilty about that.

kids break up on the 16th here. DC’s will be 8, 7, 5 & 3.5 so quite excited. We are doing a Santa visit on the train one day. Christmas cookies, make mince pies, over the week. A few Christmas crafts to fill a little time in the morning or afternoon. Christmas LEGO challenge (build something festive) or this year I might get them to build a Lego nativity. Carols by candlelight one evening and a walk to see any lights. Lots of films with snacks. I love a Christmas jigsaw and we do that over 2 -3 days coming back to it until finished. Burn off some energy at our local NT place’s play area and a walk. Lots of walks with our dogs. I print off a few colouring pages, dot-dot, wordsearch sheets to keep them occupied for a few minutes, useful if they get a bit overexcited or start squabbling. We go to
the pantomime on Christmas Eve.

Make and decorate Xmas biscuits - something like using a Ginger bread cutter and turning it upside down to make reindeer.

Go swimming

Go for a tea time walk to look at lights locally.

Go to the woods.

Make Xmas cards or wrapping paper. Use finger prints to make little Robins.

Go to the cinema.

Take a bus or train ride.

Save a present to buy with the kids.....maybe at a local garden centre.

Plant some spring bulbs.

Decorate the tree.

Have friends over.

Such a lovely thread! I will be coming back to this one. I break up on 16th but kids not until 20th.

Same. We break up Fri 16th and Xmas obv isn’t till sun 25th

dd5 will be hyper then

much prefer late break up and then back to school later so have time with new Xmas toys

My kids break up on the 16th also!
We have moved house so we won’t be travelling to see family, they will come to us, so we will probably entertaining grandparents for a couple of days before Christmas Day, leaving just the four of us 23-27th. 😄My husband usually works up until 22nd. It gives me and the kids time to wrap gifts, make cards and watch movies. We will probably wait until after 16th to get our tree too I should imagine.
Its my favourite time of year.

I love the idea of a festive Lego challenge.

We live near London and will go to see Stickman after it got cancelled last year. Hoping to do a light trail too.

If visitors are coming to your house, could DCs make crackers or placenames for the table?

We've always made cookies for Santa on 24th. But while some years we have the time and energy and infredients to do it from scratch, some years are more frazzled. So I always make a batch of the same cookies that you shape into a log and slice to bake - freeze half still in the log so I can slice and bake on 24th if needed, or another time when a cookie would be good over winter.

But doing rolling out and cutting shapes ones, decorating them as another session the next day, is something to spread out the fun coming up to Christmas.

@Twilightstarbright what light trail are you doing? I was hoping to find a NT type place but can't see anything - we're north of the river and everything seems to be West or South!

@Myleakycauldron Kenwood, Ashridge House and Hatfield House all have light trails. There’s also something at Willows Farm. I suppose more Herts than London really.