WRITE.
Between cookies and candy canes, presents and snowfalls, kids are sure to be full of energy around the holiday season. But if they ever do get tired of running about, chasing the cat up the tree, and stuffing their little faces with chocolate, writing short stories or poems might be just the right activity to promote creativity and tranquility.
Use the writing prompts below to compose stories or poems. Check out our writing tips for young authors!
- Santa’s elves were on strike, and Christmas was only a week away.
- The snow was falling, the fire was crackling, and the turkey was almost done cooking… but Maya was unhappy.
- This Christmas, Grandma baked special cookies. Each cookie gave whoever ate it a superpower, but only for ten minutes.
- Wyatt wanted to get his friend a special Christmas gift. But what could he buy that would make his friend happy enough to forget what had happened this year?
- Evelyn and Micah grabbed their sleds and ran up the snowy hill. It was the perfect Christmas Day.
COLOUR.
Even adults like colouring books! Sit your kids down with some colouring pages from our popular Charter for Children series and we guarantee they’ll have fun (DOWNLOAD PAGES). And why not listen to some children’s Christmas music while they work?
Or, check out the Christmas colouring pages you can print out from Crayola or Mom Junction
LEARN.
T’was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, children were practicing their rhymes! Get your kids to sit still and think for a few minutes with this Christmas-themed rhyme matching game.
Draw a line to connect the words or images to their rhymes (DOWNLOAD GAME).
BAKE.
Who doesn’t love sweet treats around Christmastime? But with the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations, it’s often difficult to find the time to bake a little something for your kids, let alone take on the challenge of letting them help you in the kitchen. But fear not: this easy chocolate cake takes only a few minutes to prepare and bake in the microwave, and boy is it ever delicious!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp sifted cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2 drops vanilla
- 3 tbsp chocolate chips
Method
Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking powder in a microwaveable bowl or mug. Mix in milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Add chocolate chips. Microwave for one minute and let cool for five minutes. Enjoy!
SCULPT.
Christmas crafts are a classic for the holiday season. You can make gifts without hurting your bank account, spend time with your kids, and show them just how creative they can be. With sculpting, the possibilities are endless, and the cleanup… could be worse.
I’m kidding; it’s not bad at all for this craft! With simple kitchen ingredients, any child can feel like a pro pottery-maker and dazzle the family with homemade tree ornaments, decorations, or figurines.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup salt
- Enough water to make workable clay
Method
Knead mixture until smooth. Use food colouring to add colour if desired. Shape clay. Bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for two to three hours. Allow to cool before painting or colouring with markers.
READ.
By the time their heads hit the pillow after running around all day, you’d think the kids would have had enough. If their brains are still whirring and sleep is not an option, it might be time to crack open a copy of One Story a Day.
The series comprises 365 stories written by Canadian authors divided into 12 books, one per month. Kids 5 to 15 will enjoy the collection, which includes three editions for different age groups and, as of Fall 2019, an additional volume written by Canadian kids in response to DC Canada’s first writing contest.
Inspired by life lessons, fables from around the world, nature, science, and history, One Story a Day is designed to foster children’s total development—linguistic, intellectual, social, and cultural—through the joy of reading. It’s up to you to share the magic of books with your kids this holiday season.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from DC Canada!
