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The holidays are often a time of constant hustle and bustle as families rush to prepare for dinner parties, shop for their loved ones, and work extra hard to make sure Santa’s bag is full this year!
At times like this it can be especially hard to spend the kind of quality time with your child that you feel they need. How can we make it through the holidays while still ensuring our children get physical, emotional, and mental stimulation and engagement? In short, how do we make sure they keep learning and having fun?
Well, don’t you worry. Wondrfly is here with a comprehensive list of our favorite holiday themed activities that kids can do all on their own! That means that while you’re roasting turkeys, checking for packages, and working from home all at once, your child can enjoy tons of educational and fun activities!
Christmassy Coloring Pages
Coloring benefits kids by boosting their fine motor skills. It also makes for a mindful and meditative experience that can be very calming. Check out our favorite holiday selections from across the web on these sites:
Seasonal Sensory Play
Besides being an excellent opportunity for kids to experiment with and experience different textures, smells, colors, and sounds, sensory play helps accelerate kids’ brain development! There are a multitude of unique holiday sensory play ideas out there on the internet.
There’s a little initial effort involved in constructing a sensory bin or following a recipe for play doh or slime, but once you’ve done so, it becomes an independent activity for kids to come back to again and again, whenever they’re bored.
Peppermint Cloud Dough
This super silky and mint scented cloud dough is a terrific sensory material for the holidays. It has just four ingredients which combine to create a unique texture kids will love. This cloud dough can be a bit messy but doesn’t stain and vacuums up quickly and easily. Check out the super simple recipe from Growing a Jeweled Rose.
Jingle Bell Sensory Bin
This sensory bin challenges kids to locate little jingle bells by sound in a sea of paper shreds. The added element of sound takes this sensory box to the next level. Put it together with instructions from The Resourceful Mama.
Christmas Nature Sensory Bin
Looking for a sensory experience in your own backyard? Nature brings its own assortment of beautiful colors, scents, textures, and sounds. Find some inspiration to create your own at What we Can Do with Paper and Glue.
Christmas Pompom Sensory Bin
Easy to set up and low-to-no-mess, this Christmas sensory bin utilizes water and pompoms for an exciting texture. Get the full instructions at Happy Toddler Playtime.
Christmas Light Sensory Rice
Picking petite Christmas tree lightbulbs out of rice not only makes for great sensory play, it improves kids’ hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Construction instructions are available from 3 Dinosaurs.
Wintery Writing Prompts
Writing nurtures kids’ creativity, boosts their confidence and self-esteem, and develops their fine motor skills. It also helps them improve their verbal and written communication skills! So, why not check out some of these excellent wintertime-themed creative writing prompts from Journal Buddies?
Happy Holiday Pageants
What could be more adorable that watching your little one (or little ones) perform in their own version of a timeless Holiday reenactment. There are a ton of ways you can go about this, from a classic nativity pageant to other classic holiday narratives. The stories of Rudolph and Frosty, Santa and his elves, and many, many more, make for great holiday pageant fodder. If you have multiple kids, have them work together to write, direct, and perform a stunning pageant presentation. This is a great activity for keeping multiple kids busy rehearsing all day long.
If your child is an only child, they can use toys and stuffed animals to portray other characters. Honestly, toys take direction better than siblings, so this is only a plus.
Projects of this type are categorized under dramatic play, which basically means any type of activity that relies on your child using their imagination. Dramatic play is extremely beneficial to kids of all ages. Make-believe play is great for kids of all ages, even ones who might think they’re too old. You’re never too old to get the most out of your imagination!
December Drawing Prompts
Just like writing prompts, drawing prompts provide a great jumping off point for kids to express themselves through a visual medium. Drawing and creating art have tons of benefits for kids, from improved fine motor skills to an emotional outlet. So, check out these winter-themed drawing prompts from Artful Haven to start your child on their holiday artistic journey.
Festive Fitness Activities
Finally, one of the top things for kids to do when boredom strikes is getting all those wiggles and jiggles out with some fun physical activities. Physical activity is an absolute must for kids, especially when they’re stuck indoors. It builds cardiovascular health, muscle and bone strength, and a healthy lifestyle kids can take with them the rest of their lives. Not only that, but exercise helps to reduce stress, provide an outlet for aggression, and improve brain health. You can keep your kids both occupied and improving their health at the same time with these holiday inspired fitness videos for kids!
Holiday Never Have I Ever- Coach Meger Fitness Games
Twelve Days of Fitness- Kids in Motion
The “Elf” Christmas Workout- Get Kids Moving
Christmas Snowball Game Exercise
Christmas Special- Cosmic Kids Yoga
Looking for more ways to keep your child learning and growing, even when you can’t be right there at their side? Well, your first step is to check out the Wondrfly blog.
The next step, if you live in Jersey City or Hoboken, is to search Wondrfly today! Apply to join our exclusive beta program for access to over a hundred local kids’ activity providers!
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