Mumsnet users share with Sky Kids how they entertain their children whilst they prepare for Christmas

[EllieMumsnet]

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Many of us have a million-and-one things to do in the run up to Christmas, many of which aren’t particularly huge tasks but just time consuming such as wrapping the presents, writing cards, ordering the food and getting the decorations out from wherever they are stored for the majority of the year. Therefore in order to get get these things done and done quickly you often need to have a multitude of entertainment options up your sleeve and ready to whip out at any moment in order to keep your children preoccupied. Sky Kids would like to know how you keep your children entertained whilst you prepare for Christmas and if there are any Christmas events and/or times that would really help if your children were kept occupied.

Here’s what Sky Kids have to say: “The Sky Kids App is the perfect solution to keep your kids occupied in the run up to Christmas…..with thousands of shows on demand including Paw Patrol, The Gruffalo’s Child, Lego Ninjago and Rusty Rivets, and fun and educational games for all ages like Art Studio, you can buy yourself some ‘free’ time (to wrap all those presents!) safe in the knowledge that the available shows and games they're watching are age-appropriate and of course, entertaining.”

Do you pop on a Christmas film to not only get them in the Christmassy mood but also keep them entertained whilst you label and wrap all of the presents? Maybe the tasks such as putting up the tree and decorations you get them involved and assign them little jobs to do so you can kill two birds with one stone? What about the time you need to plan out all of the food and drinks that need to be ordered? Do you watch their favourite show with them whilst also planning on your computer? Do you wish you had more entertainment options for when your travelling all over the place doing the Christmas rounds?

However you keep the children entertained whilst you prepare for Christmas, share them on the thread below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

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I get them as involved as possible, many hands make light work and all that.
They can help decorate, cook, wrap etc. from quite young. I don't want them to be passive participants, it's a family holiday.

While trying to do presents and get on with food prep, we either pop on an Xmas movie or they play with the Wii

We are going to see The Gruffalo’s Child at the theatre as a Christmas treat. So we have read the book ten million times and I’ve bought one of those activity books. Stickers feature heavily.

We have the Sky Go app and so DS can watch the Gruffalo’s Child whilst I’m getting on with the pre-visitor housework. I see it as preparation for the live show!

We like to involve children in the preparations. Choosing and decorating the tree, writing cards etc. Now they are teenagers they are even helping to cook christmas lunch.

Netflix keeps my kids occupied!

Minecraft, Minecraft, Minecraft - he is obsessed by it!

I won't let him do it all day every day but if I need an an hour or two to get things done in peace I'm afraid I let him get on with it as I know I won't be disturbed!

I don't. I read them lots of books so they have lots of ideas for things to play at while I get on with things. And they just like playing.

I'm about to sort out a whole load of Christmas stuff, and they are holding a Christmas party with their favourite friends (the footballers from their Top Trumps set) and have been giving each other 'Christmas presents'.

I found last year, and now this making hand made Christmas decorations , in particular making Christmas garlands, all I need is a glue stick and strips of coloured paper.

We love to make home made Christmas cards, a green handprint makes a great Christmas tree, with a gold star sticker on the top and glitter stuck on the tree, it makes a fabulous keepsake for family members and passes a full day too. When we are out and about in the car, I use the Sky Kids App to keep them entertained in the back of the car when we take the 3 hour round trip to granny's house.

There are always times throughout the year that you need to carry out a task and look after children at the same time, it's called being a parent and doesn't just happen at Christmas!

I certainly wouldn't pop the Sky app on and merrily wrap presents for the children assuming they will be entertained! There would always be something they would need - a snack, a drink, a toilet break, to tell me what there favourite character was doing etc.

The best to to wrap the children's present is when they are asleep, in school, with grandparents.

Kiddies always need attention, even when watching a safe app, so this is not an ideal way to keep them occupied when wrapping their presents.

Other Christmas jobs, like putting up the decoration and wrapping family presents are done with the children. rather than occupying them with TV shows.

I hadn’t heard of the Sky Kids App but do sometimes us Amazon Prime Video or Netflix while I’m trying to get some things done. It wouldn’t work while wrapping but works well while I’m planning present lists and food lists and to do lists and so on...

What I don’t like is anything with adverts on so no YouTube and the only children’s TV channel they watch is CBeebies. This is handy as it cuts down on the amount of plastic crap they’re lead to believe they need.

Otherwise, I shop and wrap while they’re at school (no grandparents around to help) and I involve them in things such as dressing the Christmas tree.

We go to the early sitting of the cinema and get a 'deal' on I go free when taking 2 children. There is also so much decorating to do, and we love making snowflakes to stick on our doors and windows, (folding white paper in half half half again and cutting out little triangles) We have made a large Christmas tree with a roll of wallpaper, and with green footprints as the branches, we decorated it with tissue paper baubles and glitter tinsel - It has taken pride of place in the dining room !

I find excited children, early mornings, and late nights and no school exhausting, so I try to do as much outside the home as possible, park, the library and even a long bus ride 'there and back'. We love to 'bake' cornflake buns, which takes a an hour of our time, and distracts them. I tend to wind down around 5.30 after we have eaten our dinner, and with a massive cornflake bun each, we will put the polar express on AGAIN. I love this time of the year, after all they won't be this age for ever and I know I will miss this 'most wonderful time of the year'.

I keep them involved in everything, decorating the tree, it's great for enhancing manual dexterity hanging baubles on Christmas trees, we make the trifle and Christmas biscuits together, we love to decorate ginger Christmas trees with smarties and edible glitter, it's great to put the Disney channel on for an hour for some down time - we ALL need it. It we go out to see friends and family the downloading of a children's episode from Sky is invaluable - they often don't want to go, this makes the journey a happier one.

I get the DC to help me with some things like decorating the tree and wrapping presents, they love it!
Other tasks I'll usually do when they're at school or when they're in bed.
I do resort to sticking thrm in front of the T.V. sometimes but it's usually the last option.

Christmas films, games, making decorations, decorating the tree.

They get involved in decorating the tree and making Christmas bakes. However when it comes to the wrapping we either put a film on or they spend some time with their grandparents.

Christmas film or help fromthe guests for dinner.

Writing Christmas cards, decorating the tree and some years a stage school workshop which lasts all day and they put on a pantomime at the end.
We don’t have grandparents around so it’s s mixture of play dates and paid-for activities if I need them out of the house. Otherwise present wrapping happens during school hours or in the evening.

My biggest bug bare is when I need to do the dreaded oven clean! Keeping them out of the kitchen when all those chemicals are around calls for one thing....Christmas films on Sky! Thank goodness for the Christmas selection. I can watch from the kitchen too whilst I am scrubbing away and they feel that I am watching it with them.
Laptops are a wonderful thing, sat on the sofa with our feet up we can all do the online shop. But when we do have to venture out for forgotten things then the children seek out the elusive items that we need...it makes it more fun (even if I did know ten minutes ago where to find the chutney)

They usually join in whatever I am doing - if I'm decorating a cake they play with icing and make models to go around it.
They decorated the tree nearly by themselves and will be making cards this week for close family.
If I really need to get something done in peace tho I let them have iPad time or PlayStation which is upstairs so I can do sneaky things I don't want them to see!
They love drawing so often I will spread out a load of art stuff and let them get on with it. That way I can be getting on with my things in the same room but they aren't constantly needing my attention.

I ask them to help me with little jobs. For instance I ask one to write Christmas cards and the other to wrap some presents for me. It keeps them busy and it actually does help me to. I put Christmas music on and we all sing away whilst doing our own thing. It’s lovely.

I get them to make their own xmas decorations and to organise a show for the relatives on christmas day.

On Christmas Eve, Elfis the elf leaves our son a treasure hunt, to keep him busy on this most exciting day & the prize is always an activity that will keep our son entertained for the rest of the day, making Christmas day come quicker for him & giving us a chance to get the chores done