My Gym: Seasonal Activities for Kids

Children are always excited by the festive season. There are presents to look forward to, and visiting relatives, and everybody (on the surface at least) is in a good mood. But this excitement can lead to trouble. If there's fierce winter weather outside, your kids may have nowhere to run around and burn off their excess energy.

They may end up being just another source of stress when you've already got far too much to deal with. Here are some simple seasonal games you can get your kids playing to keep them happy no matter what the weather's like.

1. Patchwork Elephants. This is a great way to use up old scraps of wrapping paper. Start by drawing the outline of an elephant, as big as possible, on a plain sheet of paper. Then cut shapes from different pieces of paper and glue them on to make a colorful body. Remember to give him distinct ears, tusks and eyes, as well as a long wiggly trunk.

2. Mini Snow Sculptures. When the now is too deep, or it's just too cols, for playing outside, why not bring a bit of snow into the house? Kept in a plastic container such a washbasin, it'll take a surprisingly long time to melt, and in the meantime you can build miniature snowmen and igloos out of it - or whatever takes your fancy!

3. For the Birds. Encourage your children to think about how birds live in winter, what it's like for them and what they need. Books and the internet can help with this. They can make up a special seasonal food mixture for the birds using kitchen leftovers, nuts, seeds and raisins.

4. Santa's Sleigh. Draw a Christmas sleight, then get each child in turn to name an item which might be given as a present. The next child has to draw that item so that it balances on the sleigh. Challenge your kids to see how much Santa's sleigh can carry in one go.

With all these activities for kids keeping them busy, your only worry will be getting them to go to sleep at night whilst they wait for their presents to arrive.

Labels: activities, childrens, fun