Ah December, the most magical time of the year…which also happens to be the month moms lose their cool while trying to get everything ready for the holidays and entertain their kids at the same time! Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, a work-at-home-mom, or a working mom, you’ll have to find ways to keep your kids entertained over winter break. It may be so you don’t have to hear them whining about being bored, or it may be to keep them out of trouble. Either way, here are plenty of suggestions to last till January:
Day Camps
Libraries are a great resource to find out about day camp programs in your area. Sometimes they’re hosted by the city; sometimes by the county; and other times they’re affiliated with churches, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts. Check out the YMCA. Head to your area community or cultural center and check out any visual art centers near you while you’re at it. Dance schools can tell you if there will be dance and theater programs scheduled over the winter break, too. If you strike gold with one of these, your kids will have something to do every day!
Arts & Crafts
If your kids will be home with you, you might have to get crafty. Pull up Pinterest and find gifts they can make for friends and family members, and science experiments they can conduct to stay busy (and possibly score points in science class when they get back to school). A lot of the supplies needed for these recipes are things you already have on hand.
Field Trips
Now’s a great time to take your kids to area museums and aquariums. Do a Google search and you might be surprised by what’s in your area. Often these establishments offer student and resident discounts. Libraries frequently have museum passes you can borrow to gain free entrance for a day, with some stipulations like being a county resident. Why not have fun and learn something new, instead of staying in and listening to them complain about being bored as they sit in front of the TV for hours on end?
Put ‘em to Work
There’s no reason your kids can’t help out with chores, and by doing so, they can make allowance to use for Christmas shopping! Most kids enjoy this. The really young ones just want to help, and the older ones just want to make money! Do you have neighbors or family members that could use some help with gift wrapping, house cleaning, snow shoveling, etc.? Offer to pay your child to help that person out.
Friends
Encourage playdates. Offer to take one of your child’s friends for a day and allow your child to go over to friends’ houses (with trusted supervision, of course). If you have the ability to take in a child for the day, not only will your kid be effortlessly entertained, but you’ll likely be doing the parent a huge favor. Maybe they need the childcare, or maybe they just need a break!
With these strategies, you can keep your kids entertained over winter break.
