5 plans we can make at Christmas with children

It is clear that nobody enjoys Christmas like children. For them it is a magical time in which they will receive the gifts they love the most, as long as they have behaved well throughout the year, of course. But the true magic of Christmas is not in the material: it is the best opportunity for the whole family to make plans and spend unforgettable moments together, which they will remember for a lifetime.

If you want to make the most of these holidays, we recommend these 5 plans to enjoy your family and especially the children.

1. GO TO THE MOVIES

Now that you have more free time, one of the simplest and funniest plans you can do is go to the movies. Christmas movies are released almost every year and the billboard around this time is usually more varied and interesting. For the little ones, ‘Arlo’s Journey’, ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ and ‘Charlie Brown and Snoopy: The Peanuts Movie’ are available. And if the children are older, you may be interested in seeing ‘Eight Catalan Surnames’ or ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. If none of these films tell you too much and you prefer to save the money involved in taking the children to the movies, you can choose to make a marathon of Christmas films , among which you can choose ‘Only at Home’, ‘The Grinch’ or ‘ Polar Express’,

2. GO TO A FLEA MARKET

Christmas markets are set up in most towns and remain open for several weeks. We can find markets that offer a multitude of products: from toys, clothing and footwear to typical food of these dates or the essential decorations for the nativity scene and the tree. If you still need to complete the decoration of your house, a good way to connect with the children is to make them part of this tradition: take their opinions into account and let them choose some part of the ornamentation . Of course, if you decide to go to the market, it is better to carry some coins in your pocket, since surely the children will get excited and they will not have enough with the gifts from Santa Claus or the Three Wise Men.

3. PLAY WITH THE SNOW

If you are, in this case, lucky that you live in a place where it usually snows at Christmas, you already have the perfect plan to have fun with the children. You can have a snowman contest, take a sled and go down a hill (safely, of course), make angels on the ground or a snowball fight. Although you may like the plan for later more: when you are tired of playing in the snow you can go home, put on your pajamas and tell stories while you have a warm chocolate. If you are lucky and have a fireplace that you can light it will be the ideal Christmas picture.

4. VISIT THE NATIVITY SCENE IN YOUR TOWN

The churches or town halls of towns and cities, during the Christmas season, usually organize nativity scene contests or, perhaps, display a large nativity scene in a central and crowded place. It would be fun to take the children to visit the nativity scenes in competition: they are usually very large, with all kinds of scenes, many figures and small and minute details that make them works of art. If the Church or the town hall has been in charge of setting up the nativity scene, unlike the homemade nativity scenes, they will exhibit very large figures, as natural as possible and even, as happens with the monumental nativity scene in Xátiva (Valencia), with an established route so that all the figures that compose it can be seen since there are even live animals, a burning wood oven, a small garden, etc. It is a show that children will like a lot and they will not stop asking questions about this or that figure (especially about the “caganer”).

5. ROAST CHESTNUTS AND COOK CHRISTMAS SWEETS

Gastronomy is a fundamental part of Christmas. There are so many typical edibles of these dates that it is almost difficult to try them all. Therefore, cooking and eating as a family is an activity that children will surely enjoy a lot. One of the most traditional foods in winter is chestnuts. You can all get together to roast them over the fire or if you prefer, it is likely that you have a chestnut tree near you from whom you can buy them. If you are more sweet, what better way than to bake yourself cookies , homemade nougat or chocolates . They may not come out perfect but you will have done them as a family, so it will be much more rewarding.

Hopefully with these plans that we have suggested, you and your family will have a happy holiday season.