Nursery In a Box presents 10 creative things to do with children over Christmas

Get Creative

If you are running out of ideas for creative things to do with children, then look no further as we have some cracking ideas pulled out of our own Nursery in a box.

1. Get into the festive spirit by making your own mince pies.

   Making mince pies is a great, creative thing to do with children. Not only is this festive, but the children get to understand the process and also see what goes into making mince pies.

   Children also have lots of fun getting messy too. Not only that but you get to taste those delicious treats after baking them, as well as a gift for mum or dad.

2. Get cracking!

   Style and decorate your own Christmas crackers. This gives the children an opportunity to put their own artistic stamp on their very own handmade crackers.

   You will need toilet rolls or kitchen roll tubes, crepe paper, ribbon, glue, glitter and anything arty. Ask the children for any jokes they know to add to the crackers. The rest is up to you!

3. Card and Calendar Making

   It is always nice to send loved ones a card at Christmas so why not decorate your own with themes including Santa with his Elves, Rudolph and the moon and Robin Redbreast with Ivy.

   Some great materials would include cotton wool for the snow and black paper with glitter on it for stars at night. With many different materials out there, the designs can be endless!

   Alternatively you could make your own colour in calendar. Print off images such as Christmas wreaths, angels, snowflakes, robins, snowman and presents etc.; giving the children choice on what to include in their calendar.

4. Carolling

   Singing Christmas carols are a great way of getting shy children to join in and come out of their shells  Why not take in turns to sing a particular word or even split into two groups and see who can sing their Christmas carol the loudest.

   Encourage the children to add their own actions.

5. Have your own Nursery Christmas tree.

   What’s more fun than getting to decorate the tree?  It is always great to display the effort the kids go to and another way to show off their artistic skills.

   Delegate crafts between the children, ie some make paper chains to go on the tree whilst others make other Christmas decorations.

   Need more inspiration on creative things to do with children? Then keep on reading

6. Create your own Father Christmas or Elf Mask

   Another creative thing to do with children is to make a Santa or Elf mask. The children will enjoy using glue, sequins, paint and other arty materials to decorate their very own Santa mask.

   Draw a template of Santa Klaus, cut it out to make a mask and use cotton wool to make his beard. Or if you have more time why not inflate a balloon, paper Mache it and when it is dry use scissor to cut it down the middle creating two 3D masks.

   Cut out the eyes and mouth and you may even be able to use elastic string to keep the masks on the children.

7. Tasty treats for Rudolph and his friends

   Make Rudolph the Reindeer a handy snack by mixing the porridge oats and glitter when dry. Present them in a mini nylon bag, tying the ends with a ribbon.

   Or perhaps you would prefer to make carrot cookies for the Reindeer with plenty of orange dye and get really creative by using green icing sugar for greenery.

8. Operation Christmas Child

   Teach the children all about charity by asking the children to donate a toy or a book to a child who needs it more. Also get them to draw Santa or the Elves to add to the box.

   Collect or ask for shoe boxes and fill your box with the necessary items.
   You can get more creative with the children by asking them to decorate their own Christmas paper to wrap the box in.

9. Scent your Christmas tree

   Make your Christmas tree smell nice with the Christmassy fresh smell of orange and cloves.

   Insert cloves into an orange until it is covered in cloves. Once finished decorate with ribbon and proudly hang it on your tree. A keepsake for the children and the parents

   And last but not least Nursery in a box presents the 10th creative thing to do with children

10. Festive Finger Puppets

    Using felt and stick on googly eyes draw and cut out your favourite Christmas characters to create finger puppets.

    Make a stage using leftover cardboard and shoe boxes and get the children involved in creating a play at the end.

Thank you for reading our blog from Nursery in a Box.

We hope you enjoyed our 10 creative things to do with children over Christmas.