Oh boy. The days when kids are on break from school. And these days we’re all home! All the time! With each other. No one else… days can get, uh, long.

So, I’ve realized that if I can plan one focused activity for my child per day, we might get through this time with a little grace. Maybe not. But maybe!

I’ve compiled a list of 12 activities to stay festive and seasonal! Below you will find ideas for activities, developmental goals that they address, and ways to make them appropriate to each child’s ability level.

So let’s get on with it… sing along if you’d like 😉

On the 1st day of Christmas…put on a show

Put on a Christmas show or pageant! Record or live video it for family and friends! This can be totally religious, non-secular, musical, or not. It could just be your kids and you singing carols. This encourages play, imagination, social interaction, planning and organization, and creativity.

Here are ways to modify for each kiddo:

• Create a program for guests (handwriting or typing)
• Encourage your child to pick costumes and make the story, or copy one that you know already
• Write lines for characters
• Have kids play instruments, clap, or sing along
• Design and set up props and sets
• Make it super simple and put on your favorite tunes, your fanciest outfits, and dance in the living room!

On the 2nd day of Christmas…help in the kitchen

You’ve heard me discuss help in the kitchen before. This is an awesome activity that serves so many purposes for children. From a motor perspective, it is awesome for bilateral coordination, fine motor skills, and visual motor integration. Cognitively, your child is following instructions, measuring, planning and sequencing steps. They are learning to wait, listen, and control any impulses (usually 😉 ). And helping in the kitchen is an excellent way to instill life skill practice and tackle some picky eating!

Some of my favorites to make are pudding or Jello, boxed or bagged cookies or brownies (its just easier), smoothies, or trail mix/chex mix. Encourage washing hands beforehand and cleaning up messes and dishes afterward. I also give my 2 year old her own bowl and materials to let her do her own thing (especially when she is less than helpful).

• Have the child read the recipe, write a shopping list, shop for items, or gather all the materials from the pantry before making everything!
• Measure out ingredients
• Pour items that are pre-measured
• Open packages
• Have them help with prep: stir, whip or blend, spread, cut
• Provide assistance to any of these things by helping their hands do the task

On the 3rd day of Christmas…write thank you notes

What a good habit to encourage! This teaches gratitude and social emotional skills, not to mention handwriting practice outside of school (woot woot!).

• If your child is unable to write yet, talk about the process
• Have them tell you what to write
• Ask them to draw a picture, or even color or scribble on the card
• Use stamps that say the child’s name, or find ones that say “thank you”

(Does your child refuse to do this? You could consider implementing the rule that the kids can play with the toy once a thank you note is sent. My mother-in-law did this for my husband and his siblings and he still writes thank you notes to this day. But you do you!)

On the 4th day of Christmas…make your own game

Time away from screens is a win. Here are some fun games I’ve come across that you can make with your child. These promote motor control, visual perception, bilateral coordination. All games promote turn taking and emotional regulation when they lose. I love games for kids. Playing ones that they come up with or create add more planning and organization (and more time! 😉 )

• Gingerbread marble run: check out this cool one from Glenna @ot_thtnway (she has awesome activities, you should check her out)
• Make a puzzle: Take wrapping paper and glue to thin cardboard, cut into multiple shapes. Or, try putting popsicle sticks or wooden blocks together, draw a picture on top, then mix them up and rearrange! (Picture below, check out @fun4kids.ideas for lots of other great activities)
• Memory: Take wrapping paper with repeated designs and multiple pictures and glue to thin cardboard, cut out squares. Voila! You have a little holiday game!
• Create a board game or put a holiday spin on classics like Chutes and Ladders, Twister, or sequence. Exchange the spaces out with holiday pictures or stickers!
• Have a relay race with Santa clothing, reindeer antlers, elf shoes, holiday jammies, whatever! Have kids start on one end of the room, have kids animal walk to the end of the room, don all of the clothing, and animal walk back, then switch animals!

On the 5th day of Christmas…replay Christmas!

Have children take turns “being Santa” or Santa’s elves. Have them wrap existing toys or have them make each other crafts. This could be fun for imaginative play, social skills, as well as fine motor coordination and dexterity. Wrapping gifts is hard. Kids will likely need help with this, but allow room for errors and help them as needed.

• Allow gift bags and work on putting in, crumple up tissue paper and put on top
• Write out each other’s names and put them on the gifts
• Have a tape dispenser handy to make it easier to grasp, or tear off for them and hand them pieces
• Use precut sheets of wrapping paper, or consider tin foil, it’s easier to manipulate

On the 6th day of Christmas…sensory play

Sensory play is excellent way to give input to the tactile sense (touch). This is awesome for understanding more about a substance. Sensory play also encourages scooping, dumping, stirring, and pouring. All of these skills are excellent for hand use, bilateral coordination, grading pressure and force, and visual motor integration. Use a kiddy pool, large storage bins, or the bathtub! We used a pool below. Feel free to put the substance in the pool by itself, or put buckets within the pool to try to better contain it. I would recommend putting a sheet down outside of the pool as another way to catch the material.

• Use all different types of utensils and cups, with and without handles, buckets to put things into and take things out of.
• Use hands only to reach, grasp, release, squeeze, and sift
• Consider building structures, using sandbox toys and shovels
• Hide objects in the substance and play hide and seek
• Try Kinetic Sand, actual sand, Mad Mattr, or make your own snow with these recipes. If you’re really brave, go ahead and put water in there. I’m not that brave.

On the 7th day of Christmas…ornament making

Everybody loves a good craft! So before you put away your Christmas decor and if you haven’t made an annual ornament yet, try one of these in the picture. You could also use popsicle sticks for this as well! These offer opportunities to work on fine motor skills, dexterity, bilateral coordination, visual motor skills, and following instructions. 

• Lay out all the supplies beforehand
• Use adhesives appropriate to your child, help when needed
• Add additional decorations such as paint, pom poms, stickers, sequins, beads depending on your child’s interest and abilities

On the 8th day of Christmas… obstacle course

Make it holiday or winter themed, or don’t! Use jumping, crawling under or over, throwing items at a target. Use furniture that is acceptable to climb on and establish boundaries and guidelines. This is an excellent way to increase upper body and core strength, get some heavy work in, motor planning and execution, and to encourage some friendly competition.

• Encourage turn taking and have a waiting spot. This can be a way to decrease the chance of overarousal and dysregulation by establishing time to slow down and wait.
• Have your child help create the obstacle course to encourage planning and sequencing. Consider writing out the steps to incorporate writing and following a schedule.
• Start with a 3 step, concrete obstacle course for direction following.
• Assign an amount of repetitions per obstacle, such as counting to 5, jumping to the alphabet, or spelling the child’s name
• Put puzzle pieces on one end of the course and bring to the end for a definitive number of times that the obstacle course should be done

On the 9th day of Christmas… cotton crafts

Again, I love a good [easy] craft. All you need is paper, cotton balls or swabs, markers, and your glue of choice. This offers an avenue to work on dexterity, visual motor integration, and bilateral coordination. Crafts can be as simple or as complex as you and the child want!

• Glue some cotton balls onto 3 circles for a snowman
• Make a snowflake by classically cutting one out and pulling apart cotton to cover it
• Add glitter, sequence, special glue
• Use tweezers to place cotton on craft
• Try a giant piece of paper to make an entire scene and work together for multiple children

On the 10th day of Christmas…contact paper

This one I’ve seen from many other creative folks! This is likely best for younger developmental skills. I love vertical surface play for shoulder strengthening and stability, wrist strength, midline crossing, and visual perceptual skills. Remember, standing on an uneven surface such as a pillow or assuming a tall kneel position (kneeling with butt off of feet) will make this a little harder. Here are some things to decorate and ways to address specific skills.

• Gingerbread: excellent for body awareness, visual motor integration, prewriting skills (similar to this cute idea)
• Snowman: shape identification, visual motor integration (check out more cuteness here)
• Christmas tree: follow and trace lines and give directions (“Put the star at the top. Put the presents under the tree!”)
• Present: add those bows that we find all over our houses! Great for simple grasp, reach, release
• This could be the end of your obstacle course! Start with bows on one end, bring all the way through, and stick to contact paper at the end.

On the 11th day of Christmas… build forts

Building structures is an excellent to incorporate heavy work, spatial planning and teamwork. It encourages imaginative play and creativity. This can be done outside with snow or inside with pillow, boxes, blankets, furniture.

• Make the fort with the child or for the child and allow them to crawl in and out
• Create a play scheme, narrate, and encourage them to follow
• Make signs to put up around the fort
• Use stuffed animals, babies, and “guys” or figurines to join in the fun

On the 12th day of Christmas…homemade play dough

Making playdoh offers the benefits of creation and sensory play while adding the skills such as measuring, pouring, hand strengthening, following instructions, and stirring. Here are some good recipes: Colored Play Dough, Winter Play Dough, Marshmallow Slime

• Make the dough ahead of time for the child
• Measure out the ingredients for the child to pour in (with or without help)
• Present the bowl to them with all of the ingredients ready to be mixed.
• Then, create away! Use stencils, tools, hands
• Make figures, letters, shapes
• Hide small treasures inside and play hide and seek

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So with these, I Ho Ho Hope you get through the break with all the kiddos home, all having varying ability and interest levels. Let me know how it goes! And have yourself some very happy holidays.