December is finally here! And there’s still no family plans set in motion for the kids to go anywhere.
My friend, a mum of three, was texting me the other day and she was asking for ideas on how she can make her kids feel occupied at home now that they can’t travel.
As the statistics of COVID-19 patients in Malaysia are increasing, she doesn’t dare to take the risk of bringing her kids out.
Truth is the pandemic has put many mummies in a “tough spot” since many of them transitioned from on-site jobs to working from home—and have been not only parenting but homeschooling as well.
Also, let’s not forget about being able to cope with the kids’ constant demands for attention, love, and time.
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My advice: Make a list of fun activities that are beneficial to the kids and easy to be fulfilled to accommodate mummies working from home.
Let this list be the beginning of a unique December break and not the end of a fun family holiday.
The Great Outdoor Activities
So, your travel arrangements are limited within the country but that shouldn’t stop the kids from going out and embrace the sun. Just a stroll around the housing area should suffice.
Here are some ideas on what you and your little ones could try out just outside your house:
Botany Adventure
Gear up with a notebook, crayons, and pencils, and take a walk around your housing area to look for various kinds of plants. You’ll be surprised by what hidden germs you find right off your neighbourhood.
Also, try getting the kids to draw shapes and sizes of leaves and flowers. You can even guide them to categorise the plants by colours, height, and features.
Craft Projects Using Nature As Tools
Collect unique and beautiful rocks and pebbles, twigs, dried leaves, or anything that you can find laying around.
Use them to decorate shoe boxes and turn them into secret safe boxes or beautiful diorama settings. Trust me, you’ll be in awe by how creative your kids can get.
Treasure Hunts
Test their general knowledge and problem-solving skills with treasure hunt activities that you can organise around your housing area. Let them find the clues to complete certain tasks from the hints given to them.
Gardening Activities
If your kids don’t have a green thumb, you might be able to help them develop one with some fun gardening activities.
Take it from me, gardening with kids is downright fun. Your kids are natural explorers who find joy in the simple pleasures of planting seeds or searching for earthworms.
Get Fit
Start a one-week exercise challenge for the whole family. Try jump rope workouts, sit-ups, push-ups, and other family-friendly exercises together.
Organise telematches as simple as an egg-on-spoon race, three-legged race, sack race, and obstacle courses. Divide your family into teams to boost up the adrenaline!
Homemade Bubbles
Who doesn’t love bubbles, right? Everyone loves bubbles! Make a giant wand using wire ropes, utilise your dishwasher detergent to create the bubble mixture, and start chasing bubbles.
Camp Out
How about a fun family camp-out? Set up a tent in your backyard, pack up some picnic food, and have campfire stories and singalongs. If you have an inflatable pool, might as well set it up for the kids and let them soak in the fun.
Awesome Indoor Activities
If outdoor is not an option or appropriate for your kids, you can always bring joy indoors. Try these activities with them:
Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of items at home for the kids to gather as fast as possible. To make it even more challenging, you can write down the hints of the items rather than listing them out directly.
Build Your Own Fort
If the weather doesn’t permit it, just let your kids enjoy camping in the living room. Set up a tent, decorate it with fancy flashlights, and fill it with their favourite toys. If you don’t own a tent, just use pillows and blankets to build a fort. Ahhh… what an experience!
Cook! Cook! Cook!
Let the kids plan and prepare for family lunch. Let them decorate the dishes and set the table like a Master Chef. Have a bake-off challenge, enjoy making ice cream with various flavours, or you can even get the kids to come up with their own creative recipes using their favourite ingredients.
Art Gallery
Turn your living room into an actual art gallery. Provide your kids with the materials and get them to create paintings, drawings, and crafty masterpieces to be displayed at your home art gallery.
Science Experiments
Turn your living room into a science lab. Pick up ideas and methods from the Internet and try out some simple science experiments the kids can enjoy. Volcanoes, crystals, chemical reaction experiments, and lava lamps will definitely be an amazing opportunity for them to have fun learning.
Concert Day
Plan for a concert day in your home and let your kids perform their talents in style. Prepare the props, some music, and decorations, let them dress up accordingly. Record their performances and have fun watching it over and over again. You could even have a dance celebration party after the concert!
Ahhh… even writing these down have managed to make me feel excited enough to do all the activities with my kids. Yay, now I’m definitely looking forward to our December holiday with the family. I know you mummies feel the same way, too!
Year-end holidays are great in so many ways, especially when you have fun family activities to fill up your time. For more fun-filled holiday ideas right within your home, visit our Cuti-Cuti Family articles here!