Four Great Last Minute Christmas Activity Ideas

There’s not long to go until the big day, but if you have a young family, it can be difficult to keep the kids entertained in that short gap between the end of school and Christmas day. And what’s more, with all the food and presents you should have bought and wrapped by now, it’s likely you won’t want to spend too much money keeping the little ones entertained between now and the big day. So what can you do to keep them entertained over the next few days, without having to spend any money?

Stick the TV (or a Film) On

This is by far the easiest option. No mess, no stress, and plenty of good quality pickings on the television at Christmas. This is the time of the year that the main channels do away with their bland daytime tv offerings and mix it up with a mixture of Christmas specials and family-favourite films.

On BBC One in the run up to Christmas are such Pixar favourites such as Toy Story 2 and Brave, as well as Wallce and Gromit favourites like A Grand Day Out and The Wrong Trousers. Meanwhile on ITV they’re showing some modern Christmas classics like Will Ferrell’s Elf and The Santa Clause, starring Tim Allen. And as always, in what seems like tradition, Channel 4 are showing Raymond Briggs’s The Snowman.

So there’s plenty to look forward to on the television for the next week-or-so, but if you’re more of a ‘buy a DVD and stick it on’ kind of person, who doesn’t like getting dictated to by the linear channels, then you might want to go out and grab a new film or two to keep the kids entertained, and you can do that for less thanks to Promo Codes For. They have discounts from a range of places such as Argos, Amazon and Simply Home Entertainment, so you can save money on a big range of DVDs, Blu Rays and much more.

Paper Crafts

Arts and crafts are a great way of allowing people to express their imagination and creativity, however sometimes there can be pressure to feel like you need all these fancy art supplies (like coloured paper, fancy pens, foam sheets and pipe cleaners) and potentially messy resources (like PVA glue and glitter) to feel like you’re doing it properly. However, even by using simple and clean household equipment you can allow your kids to create something magical.

At this time of the year there can normally be a lot of paper knocking about the house, and with the leftovers (of which there might be plenty) you can put them to good use. We all remember how to create a paper snowflake, right? In case you’ve forgotten, the National Trust have a good reminder. For that, all you need is a pair of scissors and some A4 paper. Simple. If you were looking to be a bit more advanced, and have children who have been there and done it with snowflakes, then take a look at this Christmas-themed origami.

However, if drawing is preferred to folding, then the youngsters can always create their own Christmas cards instead. By using thick paper or card and a bunch of coloured pens or pencils, they can let their imagination go wild to create cards for the next door neighbours, family that might be visiting on Christmas day, or even as a surprise for Santa Claus and Rudolph for when they come to visit in the early hours of Christmas morning. And speaking of the jolly red man delivering presents...

Tracking Santa

Admittedly this can only be done on Christmas Eve, but it’ll focus the kids minds on what can become a jumpy and excitable night for the little ones. And thanks to the wonders of technology, you can keep the belief in old Saint Nick alive by tracking his journey across the night’s sky as he delivers presents to the children already asleep in Oceanic and Asian time zones. NORAD are the people to go to get the best experience, and their tracker can be found here and will go live during Christmas Eve UK time.

Baking

At Christmas there are two main facets to any successful festive celebration. The first is the presents, and the second is of course the food. A turkey roast will all the trimmings is a festive staple, and many food and drink items become a Christmas staple in most houses. If your children have shown an active interest in the food side of the big day (and haven’t just been wondering what LEGO set they’ll get from Father Christmas), then you can always start them off on their festive food journeys. After all, once they’ve grown up, they might be cooking Christmas lunch for you one day. Baking is a good way of getting them into cooking, and here are a few easy to follow festive ideas like biscuit making and cake decorating.