Fun Things to Do with Kids this Holiday Season

Hi friends! How’s the day going? Hope you’re having a wonderful almost-Friday. I’m looking forward to this weekend because we have some fun holiday activities for the kids planned. I’ll share our holiday bucket list with you below!

It’s been an interesting day over here. P is dancing the “one nap or two naps” dance (always a pleasure) and I’ve been waiting to see what she was feeling like today. We dropped Livi off at school, took the pups for a walk and played all morning. She didn’t go down for her first nap, so I tried again after lunch, and thankfully SUCCESS.

Tonight I teach cardio barre and I’m also spending some time planning out fun things to do this weekend.

Holiday Activities for Kids and Families

San Diego has so many enjoyable holiday events for kids and families, and even more so during the holiday season. I thought I’d put together a little list if you’re looking for ideas for your kids–or nieces and nephews! Please share any of your own ideas below; I’d love to hear them and get some new inspiration!!

-Make a gingerbread house. Trader Joe’s has excellent kits and it’s always a fun activity to make these houses after P goes to bed. The best part is watching the candy slowly disappear from the perimeter…

-Volunteer and focus on giving. I want to teach our kiddos the value of giving to others and try to include them in holiday philanthropy. Liv has helped me pack up food to donate, and each year we sponsor the adoption fees of some of the older dogs at the Humane Society. I’m always looking for ways to inspire gratitude and sharing with the kids, so if you have any traditions, I would love to hear them! This is a purse idea from last year that I’ll likely replicate this year. 

-Drive around and check out holiday lights. This is one of our all-time favorite holiday pastimes. We’ll play Christmas music (Pentatonix and Michael Buble) and drive around the find the best lights. In Tucson, we’ll park the car and walk through Winterhaven, which is a totally decked-out neighborhood (I’m pretty sure it’s part of the HOA agreement that you have elaborate Christmas light displays).

I’m pretty pumped that P can experience it this year! Livi remembers it and can’t wait to go back.

-Watch a Christmas movie and drink hot cocoa. I’ll never forget Liv’s first hot cocoa. (At Starbucks, if you ask for “kids temp” they make it lukewarm instead of hot.) We were outside Nordstrom Rack and I wanted a coffee, so I figured it was a great time to introduce her to this wintery treat. Needless to say, it rocked her world. We love watching movies together and some of our favorites are the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Elf.

–Explore local holiday events. For all of my San Diego friends, here is an awesome list of free activities.

-Bake cookies! Decorate, pack some up to share with friends/neighbors and eat the rest. 😉

-Make a craft. Thanks to Pinterest, there are so many options available, depending on whether you’re a Martha Stewart or a not-so-craftypants like yours truly. I definitely want to make a couple of *easy* crafts with the girls during Liv’s break, and really liked this idea and this idea. One of my favorite holiday creations was this felt tree! I’m currently in the process of digging through storage to see if I can unearth it for miss P.

-Make a holiday food together. Our family’s holiday food is tamales, which is exciting because everyone in the family loves them. I’ll probably bring Liv along for the tamale-making fun and know that we’ll have our New Years menudo together. What foods make you think of the holiday season? Mine are definitely my mom’s grammies and my nana’s enchiladas on Christmas Eve. 

–Matching jammies!! The best. I’m trying to figure out if I can convince the Pilot to wear nutcracker pajamas. Hmmm.

So tell me friends: what are you looking forward to this month? Fun traditions you do with your kids or family?

xoxo

Gina