Keeping Kids Busy During Winter Break

The holidays are right around the corner—which means that along with get together of traveling family members, delicious feasts of food and holiday cheer, come the inevitable—your child’s winter break! How will you keep them happy, busy and active while they’re at home and out of school? Don’t stress, because we have a guide that will keep them busy while you keep your sanity!Here are some great ways to keep children engaged (and out of trouble):

·         An Easy Holiday Craft Project 
Sometimes you have to keep the kids indoors, even if it’s the last thing you want to do. But if your kids go batty when they’re cooped up, all it takes is a simple art project to get them focused and excited about what you have in store. A simple art project, like the following Q-tip snowflake is perfect for ages 4-7, and can be a proud project they’ll want to show off to their entire family over the holidays. Take a handful of Q-tips, some glue sticks, blue or red construction paper and glitter. For younger children, “assemble” them by crossing each Q-tip over one another (making a snowflake shape), and glue it for them while your youngster applies the glitter. For older children, let their creativity go crazy, and allow them to build the biggest, most beautiful snowflake you’ve ever seen!

·         Jump Their Way to Exhaustion
Our spring free trampolines aren’t just fun, they’re functional! That means that while your kids are busy jumping out all of their aggression and expelling their energy in an exhilarating way, you can rest assured that they will be worn out after it is all said and done. Put together a family friendly jumping contest, and make the winner the one who can jump the highest, or sustain the longest amount of time jumping.  You can also make little score cards, and “rate” each of your little jumpers on their progress. If you don’t have one of our trampolines yet, now is the perfect time! With no money down and no interest for 12 months, your investment will last for years and years!

·         Use the Kitchen
Allow you children to be “baker” for an afternoon and assist you with all of your holiday cookie baking tasks. Put a hat on them, an apron and give them jobs they can do successfully, such as stirring, passing you the milk, or being your official “taste tester!”

·         Go Outside and Play on your Swing Set
Bundle your children up for an hour or two on their swing set. When they’re plenty warm (even on a snowy day) with scarves, gloves and a heavy duty coat, spending time on their wooden swing set (or making snowballs near it) can be one of their greatest winter break memories! Allow them some time to enjoy the winter weather by keeping busy with a variety of activity, and they’ll be no reason to stress—but instead, feel merry and bright!