Low key Christmas activities

[Justpoppingon]

Last year I went bonkers - booked so many things and spent a fortune. Predictably we ended up getting every bug going and my toddler ended up completely overwhelmed at the odd thing that we did make it to. So basically we wasted a lot of money and it ended up just being very stressful! This year I want to keep things more relaxed - does anybody have any favourite activities that don't require spending a lot of money and that can be flexible date wise!? So far my ideas are Christmas crafts, buying some new Christmas books and going for a wander around our village in the evening to see the lights.

Sounds like youve nailed it! That sounds like plenty for a toddler, no need to go overboard.

@tescocreditcard Ah thank you! She will be 3 this year so possibly a bit more receptive, I'm just reluctant to book a lot of activities that we might not make it to!

Does your toddler go to nursery? If they do, they will inevitably be a nativity play and perhaps a Christmas fair and Christmas party.

Also, my dc loved going to help buy the Christmas tree and decorating it.

I used to make Christmas cards with mine. If you cut out some Christmassy shapes from old wrapping paper, they can have fun gluing them onto cards which you can give/send to doting relatives - in fact to anyone you'd normally exchange cards with.

If not at nursery, your local church will probably have a nativity/Christingle service aimed at children.

Forgot to mention that last year I took my dc to a fairly small local Christmas market. She helped pick out a present for Granny, loved listening to the brass band and had a go on the cute little merry go round.

Find some local garden centres with decorations up and often they will have giant cuddly animals that move/sing.

How about having a Hot Chocolate and watching Nativity together?

We usually go to Christingle on Christmas Eve but that's not very moveable

Depending where you are you can visit some Christmas lights and grab some hot chocolates or a festive cake or something.

Or we do a winter walk on the beach and weather depending we take a kite which my DS (4) has always loved watching/ learning to fly. You could take sparklers or glow sticks to make it a bit more festive!

Local village Christmas markets are great for picking up handmade decs and are less hectic so ideal for littler ones.

A movie afternoon but maybe bring the duvets in or get some fluffy pjs or something to make it a bit more special? String fairy lights up or make a den with a sheet on the sofa to make it super cosy.

Christmas themed modelling with playdough or some modelling clay? Or go on a little walk and find pine cones or conkers etc to stick in.

I think a garden centre is always good. And maybe choose one special decoration to bring home.

A few Christmas crafts as people have mentioned. I love baker Ross kits. They are just super easy.

But overall even as a huge Christmas lover by the time you factor nursery/school stuff in and maybe a trip to father Christmas it's actually plenty

Oh and walks in the woods can be magic, just take a bubble wand and look for fairy doors (or elf doors? Since it’s the season!). Near ish us there’s a place you can go and pick your Christmas tree together but you can also just walk around the Xmas tree field and it’s very festive and they have music and props etc too.

Last year we did Santa by Steam. I remember looking at the condensation from people's breath on the train windows and listening to everyone cough & sneeze - I remember sitting there and thinking 'this is disgusting!"

DH, DC 1 and me got flu. DC 2 got a sickness bug. It was horrendous.

I'll never do anything like that ever again. And I'm sticking to outdoor light shows and possibly a christmas markets this year.

Things are ridiculously expensive and the selfie culture isn't teaching the children to be "here and present".

.Hot chocolates on the beach / at the park
.Christmas story books
.Torchlight and wrap up warm for a stroll to see everyone's pretty lights
.All the crafts
.Bake gingerbread
.Make decorations
.Sing songs
And watch all the Christmas films on Netflix

My number one fave thing last year was choosing a Christmas tree for £25 - it was so exciting!!

Books I recommend:

1.Alfies Christmas (Shirley Hughes)
2.One Snowy Night (Percy the Park Keeper)
3.Jesus' Christmas Party is quite funny even for non religious people
4.Topsy and Tim meet Santa Claus
5.Mr Men and Little Miss Christmas stories

All the Thomas The Tank Christmas books from their "Adventures" series - even the illustrations are nice. The books are around £3 so an absolute bargain too

I'll try and think of other things.

My, now adult, children love the Snowman - the Raymond Biggs one not Jo Nesbo, and Father Christmas and it's not Christmas if they don't watch it at least twice.

We also do a Christmas lights walk
I also have done mince pies with DGS , we started when he was two putting the filling in, last year (5) he more or less made them and I just dealt with the oven.

Yeah, I've made this mistake before. The market has become so saturated with Christmas lights events and with schools not breaking up until days before Christmas it's just too much. So last year we didn't book anything, we went to some local Christmas fairs, school Christmas fairs, north pole breakfast at a community centre that was amazing and well decorated and very cheap and didn't need to be pre-booked ages in advance. Those along with walking to see the streets that go all out with lights locally was plenty and we didn't need to spend much or book loads in advance.

North Pole themed breakfast one weekend near Christmas, basically stay in your pjs, get some Xmas themed colouring books, have hot chocolate and pancakes for breakfast, Christmas music on, little xmas games. Make Xmas cards/crafting and all from the comfort of your own home so if your little one does get overwhelmed you're in a safe space.

Picking foliage to make a Christmas wreath, just go for a walk locally and collect twigs/bracken/leaves and come home to make crafts out of them.

Do book advent, so read a different book on the 24 day countdown to Xmas.

Christmas movie day, turn the living room into a den, twinkly lights and snacks and have a movie marathon.

Lots of churches have Christmas tree festivals. They don't need pre booking and are normally either free or have a donation box. They're often quite early to avoid clashes with carol concerts etc so it could be a nice way to ease into Christmas.

Lots of towns also have a day where shop owners dress up in Victorian costumes and have carol singers.

When you put up your Xmas tree to decorate put some Xmas music on. Have some hot chocolate and popcorn make a big thing of it.

On 6th December celebrate Saint Nicholas Day, leave a shoe outside the bedroom door the night before, and by morning it will hold some sweets and biscuits (individually wrapped biscuits are good for this) and maybe a decoration for the tree.

I involved children in the Christmas prep, making cards, collecting greenery, cooking and baking,making decorations. For activities, there was stuff at school/nursery, plus a few free/very cheap things in local museums, plus looking at the lights (and also the light displays in the Christmas section of shops), plus a children's church service.

We love watching Father Christmas the film from 1991 (or Farter Christmas as I called it when I was a kid)

" so jump up on my sleigh and we're all on our way, to another BLOOMING Christmas"

🎅

I agree I think you've got brilliant ideas and that would be enough. Throw in a visit to a garden centre or market and they'll love it.

Lots of churches have Christmas tree festivals

One of ours does this and there is the light switch on in the town with Father Christmas doing the switch on. All very exciting

Baking Christmassy things, mince pies etc

Decorating biscuits.

Such happy memories of Christmas.

Do you have Christmas mugs? She might enjoy drinking out of Christmas themed cups
Drive or walk at night to see the lights. Every town has a house that goes full on Christmas lights
Eat Christmas foods with her - mince pies, gingerbread and supermarkets often do seasonal stuff like Christmas tree crumpets
Baking
If you get any snow then make her a snowball or snowman
If you have a mix and match tree like me then ask her to pick a new bauble for the tree? My kids are teen/young adult and they get mushy and sentimental at seeing the baubles each year so starting now is a good basis for the future.
Garden centres are often decorated well. My kids didn't like meet FC sort of things until school age but my local garden centre has a good meet FC