Christmas activities with Rosa & Bo!
Christmas Day is fast approaching! This has got to be one of the best times of year to be a parent! We know, we know… it’s a lot of work! But the look on their little faces Christmas morning will be so worth it. You can add to the anticipation and build-up of Christmas by celebrating the whole season. There are plenty of Christmas activities and ideas out there, but so many are geared for older children, and often it’s the adults that end up completing them. So here are 12 days of Christmas activities for you to have fun with your little ones, that are play-based and age-appropriate for under-fives.
1. Make some festive playdough- add cinnamon, spice and glitter!
Here’s an easy recipe for you to use:
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 cup of boiling water
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- Then add any festive ingredients that you fancy and mix until it’s the right consistency
This is also a great opportunity to use any festive cookie cutters, but if you don’t have cookie cutters our Nesting Babies also double up as a great alternative!
2. Learn a Christmas song!
This is one of my favourites that can be sung to the tune of London’s Burning:
‘’Christmas pudding,
Christmas pudding,
Steaming hot!
Steaming hot!
Sprinkle on the sugar,
Sprinkle on the sugar,
Eat the lot,
Eat the lot!’’
You can add actions to this song to support children even further with their development- you can check out our IGTV here where I demonstrate the actions for you!
3. Have a Santa bath!
Using bubble bath to grow bubble beards and make bubble hats is snow much fun!
4. Messy play!
If you caught last months blog you’ll already know that messy play has so many benefits for our children. You can theme your messy play this month with Christmassy inspiration! Try:- Cotton wool balls as snow
- Using shaving foam
- Sprinkling flour through a sieve onto a black tray
We think our Blue Pastel Nesting Babies would make a super cute addition to any snowy scene!
5. Bundle in the car or walk around your local area to see the Christmas lights!
6. Decorate your own wrapping paper
Is it even Christmas if you don’t use glitter?! You can help the environment and your bank balance by decorating your own wrapping paper. Stickers, stamps or glitter, what do you have you could use? We also love that our Nesting Babies can double up as stamps by dipping them in paint before printing.
7. Setup a Christmas Cafe!
Mince pie anyone?! My answer is always ‘yes’! You can use real or pretend play food and a tea set to make a Christmas cafe. You don’t need much more than your child and their imagination for this activity, but how about making a menu by cutting and sticking some pictures of festive foods and adding this to your cafe. Have a search for the following images to help make your menu more interactive:- Christmas cake
- Mince pies
- Candy canes
- Christmas pudding
- Christmas dinner
8. Decorate a Christmas Tree!
No the green spiky kind… on a large sheet of paper draw a tall thin triangle, and get some stickers (coloured round ones that can act as baubles work well), stick this to a wall or a door and allow your child to decorate the Christmas tree! My top tip for supporting children to use stickers independently is to remove the backing paper from the sticker sheet so that children can remove the stickers independently.
9. Christmas dance party!
Our kitchen is our favourite place to rock our favourite moves! One of the most joyful things about Christmas, and helps build memories, plus a massive dose of nostalgia is Christmas music. So if you need a change of pace or scenery, putting on some tunes and rocking around the Christmas tree never gets old!
10. Memory Game
We have a gorgeous Tops & Tails Matching Game here at Rosa & Bo, and you can add to this and make it festive themed. Have you got two matching baubles, two matching decorations, or two pieces of tinsel that you can add to the game to help your child match real objects as well as the matching cards? This will support your child’s memory building skills and allow them to explore the Christmassy items up close!
We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and would absolutely love to know if you try any of these activities with your little ones. Do let us know by contacting us on our Instagram page @rosaandbo
This blog has been written by our Resident Play Expert here at Rosa & Bo, Sarah Doman. Sarah is a Hypnobirth and Early Years Expert. She helps families from pregnancy to children of school age to give birth and parent with confidence. You can find her on social media @sarahldoman .