The holidays are a time for family, but sometimes you need to break away from the festivities and have fun with your kids! Once you have finished shopping for the gifts for 14 year old boys, it’s time to have fun. We’ve put together some ideas to get them off of their electronics and onto more productive activities. Check out these great ideas for holiday activities with your kids!
Clean Up a Park or Playground
Children love to do things like this, and it’s a great way for them to learn about their community. Have your children pick up any garbage they see on the ground or in trees. This will teach them how important it is to keep our world clean and help out other people who might walk through that park later.
Visit a Museum and Have the Kids Take Pictures of Their Favorite Pieces
The holidays are typically associated with spending time at home with family members, so take advantage of having everyone together by sending each child off exploring! Give kids an assignment to find their favorite piece in one gallery room (or art museum if there’s enough space) before moving onto another section of the building. Not only does this provide a fun challenge for them, but it also gets their creative juices flowing as they look at and think about artwork in a new way. Annapolis Maritime Museum and Park anyone?
Make Holiday Cards for Friends and Family Members
This is always a fun tradition that can be done in many different ways. You could have each child make their card or work together on one large piece with everyone contributing something different (like drawings, stickers, etc.). If you want to get crafty, why not try making your cards out of recycled materials? For example, old Christmas cards can be cut up and used as wrapping paper for small gifts.
Bake Cookies Together to Give as Gifts
One of the best smells during the holidays is fresh baked cookies! Have your kids help you make a variety of different kinds, then package them up in cute little gift boxes or bags. You could also make it a game where you see who can come up with the most creative way to package their cookies (like in a mason jar, decorated tin box, etc.). Bonus points if you can find some way to personalize each one with the recipient’s name.
Go Ice Skating Together on a Frozen Pond, River, or Lake
This is a winter activity, but it’s so much fun! If there’s somewhere nearby with an ice skating rink open to the public, take advantage of it. If not, venture out into the cold and go skating on a natural body of water. Just be careful and make sure the ice is thick enough before you go out. Just be sure to dress warmly and watch for slippery spots. And don’t forget about the ice rink in Glen Burnie and at Quiet Waters Park!
Have an Indoor Snowball Fight With Your Children Using Pillows
We all know how unpredictable the weather can be during the holidays. If a blizzard hits and you’re stuck inside, why not have some fun with it? Grab some pillowcases and let the kids go wild, throwing them at each other. This is also a great way to work off some of that holiday food! This is also a great way to get some exercise without having to leave the house.
Go on a Holiday Scavenger Hunt
This is another activity that can be done indoors or outdoors, depending on what you and your kids prefer. Split up into teams (or go solo) and see who can find the most items on a designated list. The list could be anything from specific types of candy to reindeer antlers hidden around the house. This is a great way to get some exercise, explore your community, and have some fun competition with your family members. Create a list of items or tasks related to the holidays that the children need to find or do (like finding a red ornament, making a snowman, eating a candy cane, etc.). This is also a great way for them to learn about different holiday traditions from around the world.
Decorate Your Home for the Holidays
This is another activity that the whole family can participate in. Put on your interior decorator hat and spice up your home with festive decorations is a tradition that many people love. Whether you want to go all out with Christmas lights and multiple inflatable decorations or keep it simple by stapling a few cutouts on the wall (like snowflakes, etc.), this is something that everyone can enjoy. Get creative and let each member of the family contribute their ideas. You could even take it one step further and have a contest to see who can come up with the best decoration.
There are so many fun and memorable activities you can do with your little ones over the holiday season. It is important to remember that these memories will last a lifetime, but they can’t be captured without time spent together making them happen! Here’s hoping we all have plenty of wonderful experiences this year during our family traditions at home or in new places too—happy holidays from everyone here.
