After the year we have had, December is the one that we are going to make magical for the boys. We have lots planned and I intend to share lots of ideas with our readers to share the magic of December and Christmas. I love winter and everything festive from the lights, smells from festive food to the snuggles when we watch a christmas movie.
I have come up with a list of activities for the boys to get involved with throughout December. Our Home Ed style usually changes slightly during December and we do quite a lot of christmas based learning and the boys really enjoy it.
Here are some of the things that we are planning on doing this year.
1.Write a Santa letter, now we have kinda cheated with this one as Elliot has already written and sent his to Santa. (We sent it to the royal mail santa) You can still send one up until the 11th December and you may get a reply. You can send it to:
Santa/Father Christmas (choose which one)
Santa's Grotto
Reindeerland
XM4 5HQ
2.Crafts - We are planning on doing quite a few crafts this year, from making salt dough Santas, toilet roll reindeer to handprint wreaths.
3.Epic Movie Marathon - We are planning on watching a festive movie every day on the run up to Christmas. (Should be easy as we love festive movies) Craig and I like to watch those cheesy hallmark movies on a night and snuggle. You could even throw a blanket down and have a picnic around the tree. Check out what we will be watching HERE
4. Visit santa - Now I know this one is going to be difficult this year and lots of places have cancelled, but I do know that some places are offering a virtual santa visit. Nothing is stopping you from buying a Santa suit and a gift to do it yourself. Our boys are too old for Santa visits now :(
5. Pinecone bird feeders - This is something we do every year, we are heavily involved in bird conservation and we are always looking into ways we can help keep birds safe. We love to take a walk in the nearby woods, collect some pinecones and make bird feeders. You can also do this with toilet roll tubes you just coat in peanut butter and roll in seed. (The Woodpeckers loved this)
6. Make cards - The boys have already sent cards to our Nana and Auntie but they are going to be making some to send to a few of the local care homes.
7. Board Games - You can not have christmas without board games. We love Monopoly and have loads of different versions. The competitiveness is rife.
8. Baking - So many good festive bakes to come. Check out my mince pies HERE
9. Festive treasure hunt - We like to do treasure hunts throughout the year, so why stop now. You can do one for around the home, the garden, the local park, pretty much anywhere!
10. Christmas stories - Elliot loves it when we read together, the other two not so much now that they are teenagers. We love to place a crate near the tree and fill it with our festive reads for December.
11. Choose a bauble - This is a tradition we have had since Adam was born and we always take the boys to Clays Garden Centre to choose a bauble. Quite a fun experience and you get to see lots of decorations.
12. Drive around - Who hasn't done this? Drive around to see the lights in your neighbourhood and get into the festive mood.
13. Gingerbread house - We will be making a gingerbread house, we haven't had much luck in the past and it usually gets eaten before it gets built but lets see what happens.
14. Colouring In - I am pretty sure that if you are a parent you will have loads of christmas colouring books. We have loads and I am sick of them not getting used, so I am going to spend a few hours with the boys over a few days and do some serious colouring in.
15. String Popcorn - A tradition that has gone on for many years, I think it was started around 1842 when people didn't have much to decorate the tree with. Anyway we are going to do this one festive weekend. We have had our tree up for a while now but I just love the smell of popcorn.
16. Nature friendly reindeer food - Everyone I know does this now, but not everyone does the nature friendly version. Glitter is highly toxic to birds and other small critters so please don't use it. Check out my own version HERE
17. Make a wreath - This is something that I have done for many years and I just love making unique wreaths. We have permission to forage in certain places close to my home so please ask permission from the landowner before you forage. Very simple to make and if you don't want to handle living plants, you can make a rag wreath from old fabric and a wire loop.
18. Donate - If you need to have a clear out no is a great time to do it. Toys, books, clothing anything donate to the local charity shop.
19. 12 acts of kindness - This is something I am doing with the boys this year, I spotted something on pinterest a while back and just thought it was a great idea. It does not have to be extravagant, just simple things like feeding the swans bird seed, phoning a loved one to check on them etc,
20. Make lanterns - A great little task to keep the kids busy, you can make them from paper and pop in a battery tealight or you could paint the inside of a jar and pop in some glow sticks.
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