This marks the penultimate week for many schools countrywide, with parents now facing the daunting task of keeping children entertained for the longest holiday.
It’s certainly been a stressful year, so you might want to take some time to enjoy family bonding activities that are festive-themed and fairly low effort. Here are our 7 best!
1. Time to bake
Throw the diet book out the window because it’s time to enjoy some tasty, homemade treats. For those of you who are starting out in the world of baking, or just looking for something fairly basic, there are lots of simple recipes to follow here www.tasteofhome.com/collection/easy-baking-recipes/.
You could also get a pack of Marie biscuits and some homemade icing and sprinkles to decorate them. You could even cross some Christmas shopping off your list by baking some cookies and placing them in fancy jars as gifts.
2. Have a pyjama and movie day
There’s been a lot of rain which makes doing anything quite tricky, but that’s not a problem. When the rain starts to fall, just relax in those pyjamas, make a lounge fort and choose your favourite Christmas movie to watch.
Here’s a great list to consider www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/g5016/christmas-movies-for-kids/. If you’ve timed it right you could even eat those baked goods from the day before while chilling at home.
3. Christmas crafting
If your kids aren’t too crafted out from their final days at school, you could enjoy a morning of making Christmas decorations and other assorted crafts for you and the family to enjoy.
There are tonnes of ideas out there but here are a few more www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g5030/christmas-crafts-for-kids/. Alternatively, just find items around the house with potential and type them into Google for some great inspiration.
4. Christmas camp out
When Eskom decides to hit the switch and plunge us into darkness, do not despair! Make the most of this electricity-free time by dusting off the camping equipment and firing up the braai.
Invite some of the neighbourhood kids around for an ‘authentic’ campfire night with s’mores and fireside tales.
5. Play some games
The prevalence of screens has made board and trivia games almost obsolete – so let’s revive them! You can put a bit of a Christmas spin on the games. Here are a few interesting ideas:
• Snowball toss: throw marshmallows into a teammate’s mouth to win
• Two truths and a lie with only Christmas-related items
• Guess the Christmas carol
• 30 Seconds with only Christmas-related topics
• Pictionary or Charades with all Christmas clues
• Christmas movie trivia
• Christmas paper plate: place a paper plate on your head and try draw a tree
6. Go on an adventure
South Africans don’t explore their own backyards enough so why not take this time to research some places of interest in the vicinity, and get exploring!
No matter where you are, there will be a park, nature reserve, game reserve, beach or other nature-based gem you haven’t been to – or haven’t been to in a while.
7. Write some letters
These days, most children haven’t experienced the wonder of writing and mailing letters – it’s actually a novelty for them! Sure, with the South African Post Office not the most efficient of mail couriers in the world, you can’t always be sure it will get to them, but if you’re doing it for fun, so what?
Get the children to decorate and write some Christmas cards or just a message saying hi to family members and friends around the world.
