By Jennifer Moore<\/h3>\n\u00a0![\"kids](\"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/kids_winter_holiday_activities.png\" "\\"\\"")
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<\/h2>\n<\/h2>\nThe\u00a0holidays are one of the best times of year to promote family bonding, and doing\u00a0activities as a group can help strengthen those ties even more. Keeping your kids\u2019 brains and hands busy also makes for fonder memories, since boredom and cabin fever are sure-fire triggers for sibling squabbles. The following are a few activities that cost little or nothing and can be enjoyed by children of all ages. With each one, think about your own favorite holiday activities from childhood, and use those fond memories to\u00a0add your own special touch.<\/p>\n
Start making holiday crafts, tree ornaments, wall ornaments, and frames. You’ll get keepsakes you can bring out every Christmas, and your kids will get a kick out of seeing their crafts on display for years to come. (Be sure to have your child add their name and date to each item.) Even if Christmas is over, creating decorations is\u00a0a great way to keep kids busy during the break. Plus, you can see what areas of the house could use some extra adornment next year, then make items just for those spots. This is also a great time to do minor repairs and touch-ups on decorations from years-gone-by.<\/p>\n Kids of all ages love to cook, and the holidays are the perfect time for parents and kids to bond while\u00a0baking. Get out the cookie cutters, icing, and edible decorations (such as sprinkles and candy letters), and create unique cookies, cupcakes, and candies. If you’re not much of a baker, purchase a gingerbread house kit and have fun decorating it. Clean-up tip: If you’re not planning on nibbling on the gingerbread house later, you can adorn it with old candies that are left over from Halloween or school goodie bags.<\/p>\n Don’t forget family movie night! A dreary or cold day\u00a0is the perfect time to pull out all of those must-see holiday classics. Or break out the new DVDs that the kids recently received as presents. This is especially great when siblings are tiring of each other or when they don’t like to play the same games. Having the “shared experience” of watching a movie will provide siblings\u00a0with an enjoyable interaction. Plus, they’ll have something to discuss later, such as favorite scenes, lines, and characters from the film. If they tend to bug each other, be sure to have them be bookends, with you sandwiched between them as a buffer.<\/p>\n The best way to get rid of extra Christmas cookies is to invite some of your kids’ friends over. This may seem like a lot of work when you’re already trying to amuse your own children all day during break, but it actually may give you time to regroup while the kids show friends their new toys and games. You and your spouse can take turns supervising the play date, while the other does chores or relaxes with a good book.<\/p>\n It’s easier to get rid of cabin fever if you don\u2019t spend the whole break in your \u201ccabin.\u201d If you live in a place that gets winter weather, then go out and enjoy the snow. Building snowmen, making snow angels, having snowball fights, and even constructing snow forts or igloos are all classic family activities because they just never stop being fun. But if you live in sunny California or Florida, winter is also the perfect season for a\u00a0family walk in the neighborhood, a sing-along with the local kids, a hike in a local wildlife refuge, or a sight-seeing trip to a local tourist spot. Check out local travel guides and newspapers to see what\u00a0family-friendly events are coming up.<\/p>\n School’s out, but that doesn’t mean your children have to stop learning. Plan an educational family outing to a nearby planetarium, zoo, children’s museum, or state park.\u00a0Many such locations offer free talks from experts, guides, or rangers. (Kids don\u2019t need to know that\u00a0they\u2019re educational!) You can also document the visit with photos, then research fun facts on\u00a0wildlife\u00a0or relevant subject matter when you return home.<\/p>\n When you ask adults what they remember most from their childhood, many will place \u201cfamily game nights\u201d among the \u201cbest nights of their lives.\u201d Though kids will love playing against you on\u00a0some of their video games, they’ll also get a kick out of playing those \u201cold-fashioned\u201d games from your childhood. Get out the Monopoly board or play Clue. Even a game of Scrabble can be fun when you divide the family into teams \u2014 particularly if your teens are obsessed with Words with Friends.<\/p>\n Many public parks set up ice-skating rinks for the winter, complete with cheerful Christmas lights and skate rentals. Or simply grab some hot cocoa, soak up the holiday music, and sit and watch the skaters twirl by. Not a fan of ice? Hit the roller rink or ski slopes instead. Or try a physical activity\u00a0that requires less athletic talent, such as bouncing at a trampoline park, or a different kind of skill, such as playing laser tag. These latter options may be less holiday-oriented, but they’re just as good at burning off holiday-cookie calories\u00a0and kids\u2019 excess\u00a0energy.<\/p>\n Jennifer Moore is a mother of three, juggling work, kids, and family time. Promoting family time is usually a job that falls on Mom’s shoulders, but the benefits are long-lasting, keeping a family united over generations.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christmas break and other holidays can leave kids bored or blue. Beat cabin fever with these low-cost family-fun activities that kids of all ages enjoy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-cover.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[214,994,602,729,791,756,730,719,999],"tags":[289,180,79,827],"class_list":["post-886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-healthy-kids","category-christmas-break-camps","category-crafts","category-hiking","category-holiday-break-camps","category-ice-skating","category-nature-programs","category-play-outdoor","category-winter-break-camps","tag-crafting-projects","tag-holiday-kids-activities","tag-kids-activities","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11371,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886\/revisions\/11371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/dog_craft.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\nFrom Flickr user sararuthberry<\/em><\/p>\nStir Up Some Fun<\/h3>\n
Have a Movie Marathon<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/elf.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\nFrom Flickr user DavidDMuir<\/em><\/p>\nSoon-to-be classic holiday movies >><\/a><\/h4>\n
Throw\u00a0a Goodies-Be-Gone\u00a0Party<\/h3>\n
Get Out of the House<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/folk_singer.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\nFrom Flickr user Michael Allbritton<\/em><\/p>\nBoost Kids’ Brainpower<\/h3>\n
Beat Boredom With\u00a0Board Games<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/playing_candyland.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\nFrom Flickr user Crazybananas<\/em><\/p>\nBurn Off Some Kid Energy<\/h3>\n
Shop for kids’ holiday camps near you >><\/a><\/h5>\n