Beating boredom at Christmas
Ah, Christmas. A time for rosy-cheeked children peering excitedly through toyshop windows; for the whole family to gather with much cheer and bonhomie to open presents around the tree; and for goodwill and peace to reign supreme. Or is it?
As you’ll know if you have young children, tis the season for tantrums too. And if there’s one thing guaranteed to bring on a tantrum, it’s boredom.
Although in the build-up to Christmas there’s plenty of exciting hustle and bustle, the festive period itself can be marked by long periods of… well, nothing much. There can be few situations more frustrating for an energetic tot than mum and dad having a post-lunch snooze on the sofa while an interminable James Bond film from the 80s plays out on TV.
Another factor that comes into play at Christmas is our desire for things to be ‘perfect’ - whatever perfect means. So if guests are coming round and you're desperately shoving stuffing up a turkey’s backside with one hand and peeling chestnuts with the other while attempting to get the lid off a jar of piccalilli using a combination of your cleavage and gritty determination, it’s not just you who won’t be having a particularly good time, it’s your children. Fed up with all the hanging around and desperate for your attention, they'll probably receive very short thrift if they attempt to get any.
The golden rule when it comes to planning the festive season is that the very best present you can give your children, bar none, is the gift of your time.
Forget about buying expensive presents (especially pertinent given our current financial climate); most kids are over-indulged by grandparents and other relatives anyway at Christmas, and it's very unlikely that they’ll ever say, "Thanks a lot, everyone, but that’s quite enough plastic tat for now."
Focus instead on continuing or creating wonderfully warm and exhilarating family traditions because, long after that Christmas present they just had to have is gathering dust beneath the bed, this is what your children will remember.
Here are gurgle's top ideas for a boredom-free, fun-filled festive season with young children.
1. Avoid the cage rage that can come from being cooped up together over the Christmas period by taking the kids for a romp in the park. Toddlers especially love the feel of crunchy leaves underfoot and seeing their breath billowing out like dragon's smoke in the crisp December air.
2. And while we’re on the subject of getting out and about, kids will love going on a North Pole adventure to see the best decorated houses in the area. Bring torches to give things an even more adventurous feel.
3. Put all notion of a designer Christmas tree with edgy, easily-shatterable black and purple baubles to the back of your mind for the next few years at least, and let the kids help you create a fabulously informal family tree.
Children can help make simple decorations which, with their haphazard charm, will capture your child's creativity at that particular moment in time. The insides of toilet rolls wrapped in shiny paper which is then twisted at both ends make great Christmas crackers (start saving those toilet roll inner tubes now!); or you could help them make, bake and paint playdough ornaments – remember to poke a hole through the top before baking so you can thread string through to hang.
Needless to say (although we’d be failing in our duty if we didn’t say it), young children should always be supervised around Christmas trees, just in case those twinkling lights prove too much of a temptation.
4. Get the kids to make their own Christmas cards. Encourage them to let their imaginations run riot: little paint handprints make fantastic wings for angels, while thumbs daubed in some brown, red and white paint and pressed onto card can create the cutest of robins. Last year’s Christmas wrapping paper and cards can be cut up and turned into collages; snowmen drawings can be made fluffy with cotton wool. Or why not try potato stencils: simply cut a potato in two, then cut the desired shape, for example a star or holly, in bas-relief on the sliced side. Children dip the potato stencil into a saucer of paint and stamp it onto card.
5. Watching nativity plays, attending carol services and going to the pantomime are part and parcel of the festive season for many of us, but can also be overstimulating for a small child with a limited attention span, so try not to overdo it. The pantomime in particular can probably wait until they’re a little older (pantos can also be scary for younger children).
6. One outing that’s usually non-negotiable, however, is a trip Santa’s grotto. But don’t be surprised if your children are frightened when they finally come face-to-face with the big guy; after all, they believe this strange old man with a bushy beard knows when they’ve been good or bad and goes tiptoeing around their bedrooms when they’re asleep.
Reduce the risk of upset by talking to them beforehand about what might happen and how Father Christmas will look and sound. Spend some time with your child watching other children leave the grotto with presents in their arms and (hopefully!) smiles on their faces. Never, ever force an unwilling child to have their photo taken with Father Christmas. Whatever you have paid for the experience, it’s nothing compared to your child’s happiness. Tell your child calmly that it’s absolutely fine if he or she doesn't want to go up to Santa, then take their hand and casually leave.
7. Get the kids to help you rustle up some yummy festive treats. Peppermint creams are a doddle to make and children will love rolling them out and cutting them into different shapes. Wrap them in a fancy box with a bow on the top and, hey presto, you also have the perfect present for Auntie Maud.
A simple recipe for peppermint creams
You'll need 400g of icing sugar, some good dark chocolate, approximately 3 tsps of peppermint essence (you can add more or less, depending on how pepperminty you like them) and around 2 tbsps of water.
Start by getting the kids to thoroughly wash their hands - very important, as there's a lot of hands-on squishing and rolling later. Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl and add the water and peppermint essence a little at a time, stirring it in with a wooden spoon.
Once the icing starts to come together, gently knead it until you have a firm paste. If it feels sticky, sieve in more icing sugar. It should be pliable but dry.
Dust a clean work surface and a rolling pin with sieved icing sugar and roll out the fondant until it is about one centimetre thick. Then use biscuit cutters to cut out shapes, or simply roll them into small balls and flatten. Leave the peppermint creams to dry on greaseproof paper overnight, then half-dip in melted chocolate and leave to set. Store in an airtight container.
8. Host an annual Christmas-themed family night. Have a carol karaoke, play 'pin the nose on Rudolph', eat Christmassy snacks and provide a non-alcoholic punch for the kids. And don't just leave the groan-inducingly awful jokes and puns to the Christmas Day crackers. Why not write some festive funnies down on pieces of paper, put them in a Santa hat and take turns to pick one and read it out. Here are a few to get you started:
Q: What goes red, white, red, white, red, white?
A: Santa Claus rolling down a hill!
Q: What do you call Santa Clause when he doesn't move?
A: Santa Pause!
Q: How many presents can Santa fit in an empty sack?
A: Only one, then it's not empty anymore!
Q: Who says 'Oh, oh, oh'?
A: Santa walking backwards!
If, however, you feel your children are already suffering from a surfeit of excitiment, settle down together to a traditional, feelgood Christmas film. You can’t go far wrong with Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 version takes some beating, although Richard Attenborough’s turn as Kris Kringle in the 1995 remake is eminently watchable), as well as relative newbies The Polar Express and the hilarious Elf. And although not technically a Christmas film, seminal favourite The Wizard of Oz is bound to pop up on the TV schedule at some point over Christmas. Whether you’re seeing it for the first or the forty-first time, it soon weaves a magic spell.
9. Libraries, museums, art galleries, tourist attractions and shopping centres all run Christmas-themed activities nowadays, many of them for free. Keep an eye out for posters advertising events.
10. If you came from a family that wasn’t big into Christmas traditions, start your own. Here are a few ideas:
- Encourage children to write Dear Santa letters (younger children can just draw pictures) and place them in an album to create a fantastic family keepsake that will cause great hilarity in the years to come.
- If you have a real Christmas tree, turn buying it into an event. Go as a family and spend time tilting and shaking out the branches of various trees, looking at them from different angles and humming and haa-ing until you find one you all agree on. If you live close enough, carrying it home together will add to the fun even more.
- On Christmas Eve, make up some hot chocolate, grab a plate of Christmas biscuits and snuggle up with the children and a copy of "The Night before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore before they head off to bed.
- Why not give each child a Christmas decoration every year, which can be placed in a special box with their name on it. That way when they leave home, they’ll have a readymade collection of decorations for their own Christmas tree.
The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.
Published November 2008
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Last Modified: 19/11/2008