If you know you will struggle to keep your little one entertained this festive period, especially as a lot of your activities will need to be home based this year- here are our top suggestions to feign boredom in your household. Feel free to pick and choose as you please or simply change the order of things so it fits in with your existing commitments.
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1st: Christmas book countdown: Some parents like to buy a book to read every night in the lead up to Christmas, however if you are working to a budget- a short story collection will save you money but ensure you have something festive to read your little one each night before bed.
2nd: Photo shoot: Order some costumes online or one you really love, dress your little one up and take some pictures you can frame and put out every year as part of your decor. They also make great Chrsitmas presents for grandparents too!
3rd: Christmas movie: Find a movie that you can all agree on and snuggle up under a blanket and watch it together with some toddler friendly snacks.
4th: Christmas Dancing: Throw on your favourite Christmas tunes and dance around your living room with your little one.
5th: Make garlands: All you need are some scissors, some coloured paper and some glue or a stapler. Make sure you supervise your little one while doing this and create some inexpensive decorations together, then hang them up with pride.
6th: Make a snowman: If you are blessed with snow- put on your thickest coats, hats, gloves and scarves, go outside and make your snowy friend. If there is not a flake on the ground- opt for cotton wool balls instead!
7th: Decorate the tree: Bring out all your tree ornaments, put up your artificial tree or go and get your fresh one and let your toddler hang the decorations on the lower branches, then lift them up to put the star on the tree.
8th: Bake cookies: Toddlers love nothing more than snacks so let them help you to mix the dough together and then decorate them once they have come out of the oven and cooled down. You could make it ever easier on yourself and order one of these kits from Little Cooks- all the weighing and measuring has been done for you- so all you have to do is mix it together and bake!
9th: Christmas Duplo: If your toddler has Duplo, make sure you take the opportunity to make some Christmas shapes from the bricks such as a Christmas tree, a snowman and a bauble. There are plenty of ideas online.
10th: Decorate a felt Christmas tree: If your toddler is a little heavy handed- you can always invest in a felt christmas tree with accompanying felt decorations and hang it on the wall for them to change around as they please.
11th: Colouring: You could invest in some Christmassy colouring books, use festive stencils or just draw freehand in Christmas colours.
12th: Bake gingerbread men: Your toddler can help to mix the batter and decorate them once they come out the oven and have cooled. Another collaborative baking effort for you and your little one.
13th: Christmas stickers on the window: You can buy window stickers for very little online and you can all enjoy them once the daylight hours roll around.
14th: Handmade Christmas cards: Some card, glue, glitter and Christmas shapes and you have yourself a Christmas card workshop to make cards for those who live close by.
15th: Christmas tags: If you still have some cards left over from last year, you could help your toddler to create some Christmas tags for all your gifts this year. All you need is some toddler friendly scissors, some ribbon and a hole punch and away you go!
16th: A Christmas Walk: Why not wrap up warm and walk around your town, village or city and look at all the Christmas lights? Turn it into a game and ask your toddler what colours they see and how many stars they can spot.
17th: Christmas Snap: While you may be a little more restricted when it comes to toddler games- snap is a fun and easy game to play that also comes with a Christmas themed cards with snowmen, santa and presents on them!
18th: Christmas scratch art: If you are worried about your children’s art getting out of control, a festive scratch pad could be just what you both need. All they have to do is scratch the paper with a stick to reveal a Christmas image underneath. No mess, no fuss.
19th: Christmas chocolate hunt: Buy a few of their favourite sweet treats and hide them around the house. They can eat their winnings once they have sought them out.
20th: Paint pine cones: If you live near a wooded area, take your toddler out to hunt for cones and then bring them home, give them wash and paint them up in pretty Christmassy colours. You could even attach a ribbon to them and hang them off your tree.
21st: Potato stamps: While you will need to cut out the shape initially your little one will happily dunk them in paint and make a Christmas creation of their own to hang on the wall.
22nd: Fake snow: This is an easy and inexpensive way to create snow in your home if there is no sign of it outside. Simply pour a large glug of bubbles in your toddler’s bath or even in a paddling pool and make them feel like they are in a winter wonderland.
23rd: Christmas Water Magic Pad: A clean yet fun way to draw using just a pen full of water! This will keep their mind occupied as they start to get excited for Christmas morning.
24th: Get Santa’s plate ready: Gather up the mince pies, wash the carrot, pour the milk and lay it out for Santa Claus to come!
25th: Happy Christmas to you and your toddler!
RELATED: Parenting Advent Calendar: 25 things you can do with your baby in the lead up to Christmas
It’s that time of year again and in December the pressure is on to fill it with memories- but what can you do with a baby at this time of year? You could check a couple of things off this list- stick to it rigidly or move activities around as you wish but here are our top suggestions to give you some inspiration…to read more click HERE
