20+ CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCES WITH THE FAMILY

With Christmas fast approaching (yay!) it seemed only fitting to write a blog post on some fun family trips out to really get you into the festive mood. Below I've listed some ideas to add to your calendar from attending a pantomime, charitable ideas, light trails to visiting Santa. These will hopefully add some sparkle and magic in the lead up to your Christmas celebrations.

• Shoebox Gift Donation - A perfect opportunity to encourage your children to think of others and give back at Christmas. Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child do their national collection week 14-21 November for 2022. If you've missed this date then add it to the calendar for next year. Your child can get involved by wrapping up the shoebox, going to the shops with you to select the gifts, helping to write a message, and by choosing a family photo to include for the recipient.

• Local Christmas Lights - Visit your local town to see the decorations on display along the high street/in the shopping centre. Are there any local streets that are particularly festive and have put on a display, or any that do the window advent for you to go and enjoy? Or are there any local pop up Christmas stores in a town near you? Big Bee and I had half an hour to kill the other day and the Christmas store in town was a great source of wonder with all the sparkly lights.

• Pantomime - A wonderful evening for lots of festive cheer and a lovely tradition to start as a family. I still have such fond memories of attending each year as a child with my family. It's as much fun for the children as it is for the adults!

• Visit Father Christmas - Visiting Father Christmas in his grotto with the elves is a fun and magical experience for the little ones. Big Bee still talks about meeting him last year and loves looking back at the photos. She is very excited about seeing him next month too.

Little Bee's first encounter with Father Christmas

• Christmas Markets and Fairs - For locally made gifts and produce, and all the festive feels then a Christmas market or fair is for you. It's a great way to support local organisations too.

• Local Garden Centre - We can't be the only family who absolutely love visiting the garden centre?! With young children watching the water features, seeing all the animal ornaments, smelling the flowers and looking at all the pretty colours, to visiting the café for a little babyccino and treat are sure to be a hit alone. But some garden centres may also have a little play area, and when visiting around Christmas when all the lights and Christmas trees are on display it's an added bonus. You can even play a game to count how many Santa ornaments you can see. You may even get roped into buying a little early Christmas present if you find that they have conveniently found their way to the children's gift area.

• Ballet - Christmas is a great time to go and see a ballet performance and is another one you could turn into a yearly tradition when your children are old enough. The Nutcracker is a classic Christmas performance and perfect for those who are old fans and for new ones too.

• Ice-Skating - For those that fancy a special and unique seasonal experience. Our local one has a smaller ice rink for younger children and offer support aids too.

• Lights Trail - With lots of different places offering illuminated Christmas lights trails you are sure to find one near you. Remember to book in advance and wrap up warm! It's a perfect opportunity to make memories with families and friends.

Light Trail: The Twelve Days of Christmas

• Donate to a Food Bank - You can take your children food shopping to make up a charitable food parcel (make sure it's items that they require) and then drop it off at the food bank together. This is a great lesson in generosity and helping to make a difference to other children and families during a time that can be particularly difficult for many.

• Christmas Service - It's likely that your local church will have lots of things to see and do over the Christmas period, such as a crib service and carol singing. It is a wonderful chance for your children to understand the meaning behind all the food and gifts, whilst having some fun in the process. It's also a lovely opportunity for you to meet with people and connect with the those in your community.

• Inviting Over Neighbours - Christmas is a great time to connect with your neighbours too. If there are other families or individuals who would appreciate some company, mince pies, mulled wine and some child friendly alternatives then reach out now.

• Christmas Scavenger Hunt - Before heading out locally make a list as a family as to what Christmas items you need to see on your trip out, such as a snowman, bauble, Santa, reindeer etc. This will help encourage your child's observational/noticing skills and add a sprinkle of festive fun. You could even add an element of competition and split up into teams and include a winning prize.

• Family Walk - Don some Christmas hats/headbands (yes, I’ve done a walk wearing a tinsel and bell decorated Christmas tree on my head) and sing some Christmas songs whilst taking a walk in your local park or woods. Invite some friends or family (pre-warn them that hats and singing is obligatory) to add some more festive cheer. You can even bring mince pies and hot chocolate or mulled wine!

A busy little Santa's helper

• Toy Donation - Encourage your children to sort out their toys and identify the toys that they don't play with as much, so that other children can get more enjoyment out of them. A clear explanation about what you are going to do together and why you're doing it is important. I appreciate that this may be difficult for many children, but it's a good opportunity to nurture compassion and selflessness. It's also practically a good way to clear space for the new toys that will no doubt be descending on your home soon. Once you have sorted through the toys you can go down to the local charity shop to donate them.

• Local Concert/Performance - Check out to see if there are any festive music concerts or performances over the festive period. If there is something on in January it may be a nice pick me up to look forward to in what can be an otherwise gloomy month.

• Carol Singing - On our street some neighbours get together and sing Christmas carols to encourage a sense of community and bring some festive cheer. Is there something similar in the area you live? If not, maybe you could orchestrate something locally? Or, alternatively invite some neighbours, friends or family over to have a good ol' sing along. If you fancy a trip to London you could also tie in some carol singing as mentioned below.

• Pick a Christmas Tree - Make purchasing the family Christmas tree into a fun trip out all together. Maybe find somewhere where they have food and drink stands available and get the children involved in selecting it. Make sure Christmas tunes are being played on repeat on route to collect and back, and then when you're at home to decorate it all together. By the end of the day you should be sufficiently sick of hearing Christmas songs!

Decorating or pulling off the decorations...ummm!

• Visit a nursing home - Assuming rules and regulations permit I'm certain that someone would really appreciate the company and joy that visitors and children bring. Maybe investigate with a local nursing home? Alternatively, are there any neighbours who live alone who would appreciate a neighbourly visit? Christmas time can be a very lonely time for many people, and it's important we all try our best in supporting those that need it.

• Festive Afternoon Tea - If your children are anything like mine then the prospect of a festive afternoon tea would go down a storm. You could dress up and turn it into a special occasion too.

• London - Seeing the Christmas lights and decorations in London are sure to brighten up your winter with all that twinkling. You could wander and soak up the festive atmosphere on famous streets and areas such as Covent Garden, book a performance at They Royal Albert Hall or a 'Bach to Baby' concert, head to the Christmas market on the Southbank, attend Christmas carol singing by the Christmas tree in Trafalgar square (where money is raised for charitable organisations), or (if you're brave enough) a visit to Hamleys. The options are endless!

• Lapland UK - This is somewhere we would like to visit when Little Bee is a little older. We've heard great things, although it is apparently very expensive. If you've been then I would love to hear your thoughts!

I hope that you've found some of these suggestions helpful for either this year or for subsequent Christmases, and that you have a wonderful and stress-free lead up.