Child’s Play: Keeping kids busy at the holidays

It doesn’t need to feel like you’re spinning plates at Christmas time – especially if you’ve got some extra little hands around the home! Give your kids no reason to be bored this festive season and get them on board with chores (with a fun twist), decorating games, and baking activities. Encourage them to be as excited about gift-giving as they are receiving. Before you know it, the house will be ready for loved ones to descend, and you can be free to get on with something else, or to put your feet up! Jingle all the way to a stress-free December when you’re no longer worried about what your little monsters are up to.

Smart Cookies

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. That’s true when it comes to helping reduce Christmas stress, too. Hone their decorating skills with the help of just a Cookie Cutter, Decorating Bag and some coloured icing. Guide them through making and baking our simple Cookie recipe, then revel in leaving them to it when it comes to the decoration! Let their creativity flow as they go solo with decorating – you better believe us that they’ll be occupied for a while between that and sneaking a lick or two of the icing spoon!

Pro Tip: Ended up with more cookies that could possibly be devoured? Get neighborly and send the kids out of the door and knocking on others in the street to spread Christmas cheer with a Space Saver Square filled to the brim with cookies. And all through your house? You’ll find not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse. ;)

DIY Gifting

Do a lot, with just a little! Set your clan on the quest of rummaging around the house for as many materials as they can find to help wrap presents, DIY style. The real magic? As they scour the old drawers and cupboards where you stash miscellaneous bits and bobs, they’ll be helping you tidy them up without even knowing it. ;) Chances are, they’ll come back with ribbons, buttons, bows, old scraps of fabric, glitter, tinsel – you name it – meaning you save on buying and wasting wrapping paper. Instead, you’ll reuse what you already have to dress your Cubix Canisters, Signature Line containers, filled Space Savers and beyond.

Our homemade and sustainable gifts article has more golden ideas, hands-on activities, and gorgeous presents. You can also get the kids to help you make some sustainable Christmas Decorations - fun for everyone!

On the scent

Ah the fragrant smells of festive potpourri(1) – there’s something instantly soothing about catching a warm and spicy whiff. Such lovely smells can waft around your home this festive season. Let the kids be the ones to make it happen!

All they’ll need:

  • Dried orange slices of 2-3 oranges (place thin slices in oven and dry them first for 2-3 hours at 120°C)(2)
  • Basket of pine cones (have fun as a family out collecting them on walk in the woods)
  • 2-4 whole cinnamon sticks
  • ½ dozen star anise

Next, have the kids fill bowls, jars, vases, etc. with the above ingredients, arranging however their hearts desire. Why not fill the Allegra Sparkling Pink and Grey Collection? They could even serve as a DIY gift of their own, decorated with some of the spoils from their hunt around the house!

Now that the little rascals have their hands busy, take some time me-time! This way on How to Plan for 2021 and putting your dreams and aspirations to the forefront.

Sources:

(1) Homemade Gifts Made Easy: https://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/how-to-make-potpourri.html

(2) Red Ted Alert: https://www.redtedart.com/how-to-dry-orange-slice-orangenscheiben-trocknen/