In just a few short days the kids will be home for school for a few weeks. Although the holidays may take up some of this time, there’s a good chance your children may be climbing the walls before they’re sent back to school. This time of year is especially hard to plan activities due to the money that’s already been spent on the holidays, but luckily there are a few ways to keep your kids busy without having to shell out even more money! With these ten winter break ideas your kids will be busy having fun without wanting or needing you to buy them anything to pass the time. So, don’t cut your holiday budget short just to find the money to keep your kids entertained!
1. Holiday Crafts
If you celebrate the holidays then you’re in luck because holiday crafts are one of the best ways to keep your kids occupied during the long winter break. From making their own decorations to coloring print outs, the options are endless when it comes to crafts. Before the kids are let out of school make sure your crafting supplies are ready to go. You may also want to browse around to find a few ideas to plan throughout the days. With a little preparation you should be able to plan enough craft time to take up a few hours of each day which means less time the kids will complain about being bored. You may want to start out with making homemade holiday cards, so you can mail them out as a family. Creating DIY gifts for friends and family is also a fun way to make the holidays even more meaningful while also taking up quite a bit of time. When you run out of crafting ideas then take a trip to a pottery shop. Usually you can create cheap decorations here which will be ready when it’s time to decorate. Of course, if you don’t want to pay extra then make homemade playdough and bake the decorations in the oven!
2. Bake
Nothing says home quite like an afternoon of baking in the winter time. This year bring the kids into the kitchen and have them help out. You can make cookies for Santa Claus or baked goods for your holiday feast. You may even consider baking items as gifts for friends and family. One of the best things to make for the holidays is bread, which takes a lot of work so it’ll keep kids busy for longer. Make sure to give each child a job based on their age. Kneading dough is great for all ages though and will make kids feel like baking is a lot of fun which will encourage them to want to develop more skills. Another great thing to make while you’re baking is a ginger bread house. You can easily look up a recipe online and then pull out your decorating kits. Kids will love creating a candied home which will serve as a lovely decoration too! The best thing is, while you’re baking you won’t have to run the heater as the oven will do all the work. Thus, you’ll save even more money by just having fun with the kids.
3. Snow Fun
Snow is a great part of winter break and can be one of your best ways to avoid spending money during the season. Send the kids out to play in the snow for a few hours, but make sure they’re bundle up and have supervision. Urge kids to build a snowman or snow angel to pass some time. You may also want to start a snowball fight or help the kids create an igloo. Gathering up pool toys or sleds you already own and enjoy sledding on nearby hills can bring hours of joy for the whole family. When snack time rolls around have the kids collect untouched now then bring it inside and make snow cones or snow ice cream. You can find a recipe online if you’re not sure where to start. Of course, not everyone gets snow but this doesn’t mean you have to skip out on the fun. Instead, have the kids cut our paper to make a snow man. You can also use paper plates and markers! When you have all the pieces ready to go pin it to the wall. Pillows can also take the place of snow for an epic snowball fight, but make sure you’ve moved breakables before the fun begins. You can also make shaved ice snow cones to finish off the fun.
4. Dance
By the time you’re into the first couple of days of winter break it will probably be very obvious that the kids have quite a bit of excess energy going on. One way to remedy this problem is to break out the music and dance it away. Dancing is a fun way to get kids to exercise without actually forcing them to go out and run laps. You have a lot of options when it comes to dancing too, so it can speak to kids with different interests. One way is to put on a dance channel on the TV or look up video tutorials. Kids can learn just about any form of dance this way and they may even be able to work out a routine to perform for family and friends during the holidays. Another way to inspire kids to dance is to break out dance videogames. There’s an assortment of these games that speak to very young children as well as teens. You can also just break out some music and have the whole family dance together. If the kids are arguing a lot during break then have them do a dance off to solve the problem. It may sound cheesy but kids will forget about the argument, burn some energy and will be occupied so they won’t find another reason to fight right away!
5. Playdates
Kids are used to seeing their friends almost every day at school, so they’ll probably start missing them after a couple of days of not being able to see them. Rather than let this happen try to get together with their friend’s parents to see if you can schedule a playdate or two. Simply getting the kids together for a few hours will help ease boredom and will make winter break fly by even faster. You don’t have to go all out to entertain the kids either. Usually playing out in the snow as well as with toys or videogames will satisfy most children that haven’t been able to see their friends in a few days. However, if you want to be the cool parent on the block then try to plan a slumber party. You can gather the kids for crafts, holiday stories and even prepare cheap and easy foods to make the night a success. With all of the fun had your children won’t feel bored for a second. You never know, other parents may decide to do the same thing which will give you a chance to catch up on all of the wrapping you’ve been putting off!
6. Be Charitable
It’s always a good idea to be charitable, but this season is one of the best times to give your time to a good cause. Teaching kids to give to charities is a good gift to give during this season, so when you’re all feeling bored over winter break try to find a charity you can volunteer your time to. With teenagers, a soup kitchen is always a great place to start. You may also want to look into charities like Habitat for Humanity. It is a bit harder to find things for younger children to do; however, one really great gift you can give to your community is visiting an elderly home. This will bring smiles to lots of faces and will teach children how it feels to help others. There’s lots of charities around so ask your community center about volunteering or look online. If you don’t want to go to a location, or you have very young children then you can start at home. Try donating used clothes, furniture and toys that you no longer have a use for. You can also have children volunteer their leaf raking or snow shoveling skills to the neighbors!
7. Holiday Light Viewing
One great tradition to have is to enjoy looking at the neighborhood’s holiday light displays together. If you want to maximize your savings then simply walk around a block or two and check out whatever one has to show. If you’re feeling adventurous then hop in the car and drive around for a while. With a little holiday music you’ll be on your way to a good time. You could also look online or in the local newspaper to find out which neighborhoods are participating in holiday competitions. These homes are usually a sight to see and will help you make amazing memories with your family. Some communities will also provide open light shows for free or a low cost, so make sure to look around so you won’t miss out on the beautiful displays!
8. Homework
Your kids might not be crazy about the idea, but having them sit down and do some homework on the break will benefit everyone. Generally, kids begin to lose information when they’re not in school for periods of time, so don’t send your kids back to school out of practice. You can pull questions from their textbooks, old homework or online to give you ideas on math or reading assignments. You could also get a jump start on bigger assignments, like the upcoming science fair. With a few of the projects out of the way it’ll make transitioning back into school a little easier on everyone.
9. Explore
You don’t have to be cooped up inside all winter break just because you’re on a tight budget. Instead, get out on the town and do some exploring. Look online to see if there’s a free museum day coming up and take the kids. You could also spend a day at the library as most will have crafts for the kids as well as story time. If you don’t have any free events in your area then walk around town and check out independent stores. You never know what you may find there which could give you ideas for last minute shopping or shopping after the holidays. You’d also be doing your local community a big favor by shopping at an independent store. Finally, get outside and be active. If the weather isn’t too bad then check out a new hiking trail, go bird watching or play a sport in the park.
10. Prepare for New Year’s
Getting ready to start a new year can be work. Have the kids sit down and think about improvements they’d like to make and then share them with the family. This will help start a support group early on and can even help everyone make plans to get their resolutions started on the right foot. You can also use this time to plan out vacations for the upcoming year as well as activities and sports that need to be penciled into schedules. Finally, you can really start the New Year off right by giving the house a scrub down from top to bottom!
Winter break should be a nice relaxing time for the entire family. However, with school out of the way it may seem boring for the kids. With these ten ideas you should be able to plan some seasonal magic which will make the entire family happy during this brief period away from the typical schedule. So, have some fun and enjoy spending this lovely time of year with your little ones without worrying about money, boredom or arguing!
