Holly, Jolly Holiday Activities for Kids

The Somerset Valley YMCA staff is chock full of great activities to keep kids engaged, thinking and entertained. Our classrooms and play areas are especially festive during the holidays. Here are some of our favorite holiday activities to try at home! (Drum roll please…)

1. Make a Gingerbread Man that Won’t Crumble!

Your kids love decorating gingerbread cookies with icing and sprinkles, so why not have them decorate a paper one with markers and glitter? Trace an outline of a gingerbread man on brown cardboard paper, and have the kids cut out the shape. Then, let them decorate with shiny rhinestones, glitter glue and anything else you think of using!

2. Create a Winter Wonderland

Ever want to have your own winter wonderland right inside your home? Now you can! Do as we did, and create your very own snow with a box of cornstarch and a can of shaving cream. Slowly mix the shaving cream into the cornstarch until you form the perfect texture of snow. Once it’s ready, try molding a mini snowman or forming mini snowballs!

3. Read Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini, and Make Mistletoe!

Mooseltoe is a very silly moose who’s all ready for Christmas, or so he thinks! When Mooseltoe realizes he’s forgotten the tree, there’s only one thing left to do; decorate his moostache with ornaments and become the tree himself. At the Somerset Valley YMCA, we love reading this holiday tale while coloring in mistletoe on a coloring book page. Read this book with the kids, and keep them busy with coloring the mistletoe while you finish baking the turkey.

4. Create “Christmas Lights” that are Merry and Bright

Every room should be bright and cheerful during the holidays, and that’s exactly why we paint Christmas lights to hang up in our child care centers! To do this activity at home, you’ll need a circular sponge and the paint of your choice. Have the kids dab the paint across a large sheet of paper, and hang it up to “light up” the room.