How do you keep your children entertained during the festive holidays? Share with NOW TV - chance to win £300 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The couple of weeks (or so) holiday from school at Christmas time can be a long slog once the ‘big day’ is out of the way, especially if the weather is not very kind.

NOW TV would love to know your top tips on keeping the children entertained during the winter school break - do you brave the sales, snuggle up for a movie afternoon, encourage long wintery walks or dig deep and go to soft play? How about some baking or crafts? What about older children? Do you limit device time or allow them some extra time with their tablets? When do you get any holiday homework done? What do your children like doing in the Christmas holidays?

NOW TV say “'With NOW TV, we have a host of family movies lined up for the festive period - from Frozen to The Polar Express and even the classic Sound of Music! Families can also enjoy newer movies like Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and The Lego Batman Movie - all from the comfort of their own front room'

Whatever your tip or best advice for other parents, add it below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one person will win a £300 voucher for the store of choice - from a list.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T and Cs Apply

My DC are quite placid and normally play all day and only look up to ask for snacks if they are hungry. I don't have to find things to keep them entertained. I hope that they don't grow out of it.

we often do arts and crafts and we do alot of puzzles too

Putting on a show/panto at home can take up the whole holidays depending on how far you want to take it!
There are so many elements to it, start with a trip to the library for research then writing, casting, costumes, set design, rehersals, music, lighting, filming, hair and make up, printing tickets and finally the big production (for Granny and Grandad and a few neighbours!).
We have done The Nativity, Cinderella and Puss in Boots, and the beauty is that your kids always get starring roles

Trips out (we have National Trust and English Heritage memberships), crafts and puzzles, all sorts of fun ideas and activities.

Long walks through the park, riding bikes and lots of duvet on the settee days.

We have lots of Christmas craft activities planned

I let my daughter practice her hair and make-up techniques on me!

Arts and crafts are always a hit! Especially if it's too cold or wet to go out!

We like to break up the day by doing things in the morning and something different in the afternoon. Not always costly things - things like cosying up under the duvet and watching a heartwarming movie or going for a walk, relaxing at the cinema or enjoying a christmas market.

My daughter loves to be with her friends so i normally take one of them along with us for maximum fun! xx

Have a selection of activities ready to go which can be brought out quickly e.g. We have ice cream tubs made up with play doh activities. The Xmas tree box has green doh, a tree cutter, beads, foam stars and sequins. The snowman box has white doh, sticks, buttons and fun foam cut into carrot, hat & scarf shapes. We also have a collage box with paper, glue and an assortment of tissue paper, Pom poems, feather etc. If I'm tied up with the baby, I can quickly grab an activity for my older two (2 and 7) to stop them getting bored.

Lots of baking, crafting and snuggled up together under a blanket while watching Christmas films and pigging out on home made spiced popcorm

Board games and jigsaws are having a revival here!

Eagerly picking up some ideas from this thread!! LO started school in Sept so this is out first Christmas Holiday (from school) experience!!
We're skipping around seeing family for the first week which will keep us busy - but when we're back home post-Christmas - I have some crafty bits tucked away to keep us busy.
LO loves baking so we'll try out some easy biscuit & cake recipes - not that we'll need any more sweet stuff post-Christmas!!
Free activities are always a winner for us as parents, so we'll go out walking to get some fresh air & burn off some energy.
LO is an only child so we'll have some of his friends over to play as he'll no doubt be getting fed up of us towards the end!!
Can't wait for the break though & some family time together :)

Play board games it always keep them occupied

Santa always gets my 5 kids at least 1 outdoor toy eg football goals or remote control cars and lots of cheap "make your own" eg make your own bouncy balls or tree decorations we can use next year. Then we spend the holidays wrapped up warm outside playing or indoors being arty and making things together

When my children were younger we made a gingerbread house, from a kit, watch movies and if it should snow we would take the dog for a walk on the moors.

A nice walk to the library to choose some lovely Christmas themed books xx

My daughter loves drawing, crafting etc so I make sure I am stocked up with craft materials and activity books and she's a happy girl.

Definitely baking together, and can often save a bit of money in the process!

We go ice skating, Yorks ice trail Yorks christmas market as they have a little fair we also go to visit santa at National forest adventure

We tend not to plan too much in advance, rather play it by ear - how tired / co-operative are they? What's the weather like? How much money do I have? All need to be factored in.
Local cinema - £2.50 each
Baking / Craft
Visiting / having friends over
Den building - inside or out.
Park / local woods

Baking and crafting :)

We always have grandchildren staying every school holiday and we have a bank of activities they enjoy doing depending on the weather. I try to encourage a mix of active/passive activities (to give us a break too). Baking is very popular, especially if we get to eat the results while watching a DVD afterwards. Sharing books from Nan's library is also popular. If there is one they really like it can be 'borrowed' until the next holiday. I also have Nan's board games cupboard which I stock from charity shops/jumble sales etc. The highlight however has become a must. It involves a trip to the leisure centre for a swim, followed by hot chocolate and scone at a local cafe!

Arts and crafts, baking and sledging if it snows

I always get my children to do their homework before Christmas Eve then they can relax and enjoy Christmas