So You’ve Opened Your Presents… Now What?

Posted : November 1, 2019

Our blog is chock full of great ideas for fun things to see and do in York Durham and Headwaters. We are always adding new content and updating old posts, but sometimes you might stumble upon something from our vault. If this article has inspired you to hit the road, be sure to double-check that the featured stops in this post are still welcoming visitors.

For many people around the world, Christmas is a day to relax and rest and spend quality time together. It is a day filled with good food, gifts, and grateful hearts. Or at least, it was before you had a small child waking you up at 5am to rip open the presents they will play with for a grand total of 15 minutes before getting bored and whining, “Mo-o-o-m! Now what!?”

The reality of Christmas for many families is that it is just another day to figure out what you are going to do to keep your kids busy so they don’t drive you absolutely bananas. Don’t get me wrong – we had many amazing traditions in my house growing up… Traditions that I plan to continue with my kids one day when they aren’t small tornados with no means to an end! In the meantime, Christmas Day for us will include a much-shortened version of opening our stockings and reading the story of Jesus’ birth, stuffing down some type of highly-sugared breakfast food, and ripping open gifts that will entertain until nap time (hopefully).

So to help you (and myself) get through the rest of the day, I’ve compiled five things you can do outside of the house with your kids this Christmas:

Put on your snow pants and get outside

It doesn’t seem possible, but kids can play outside in the snow for hours without getting cold. I know as an adult, I last for about 10 minutes before I want to go inside, but if you want to keep your kids occupied for an hour or two, you’ve got to be out there with them building snowmen, forts, and having snowball fights. Don’t worry, when you come inside you can all have hot chocolate and watch a movie under blankets. The perfect way to kill an afternoon!

Kids Playing in Snow

Go on a Christmas scavenger hunt

This can be done on foot or in the car, depending on what you want to do. Write a list for your kids (or if they’re too little, you can just do it verbally as you go!) of things they need to find as you walk/drive. Some ideas would be: Santa Clause, a snowman, a candy cane, or a Christmas tree. This gets you out of the house and doing something fun together that doesn’t include electronics!

Snowman

Rate your neighbours Christmas decor

Everyone loves a good contest! If you really want to make it legit, have all of your kids make signs with the numbers 1-5 on them to carry around while you look at the decorations on your street. Stop at each house and have everyone hold up their rating, and take a picture. Then once you’re done, head back home and look through all the photos to see who won! If you’re feeling extra cheery, take a prize over to the winning neighbours and tell them about your adventure.

House

Have a tobogganing race

This one may be age-dependant, but definitely very fun! Pull out that trusty toboggan (or garbage can lid, if you have to!) and find the nearest hill. Everyone (that means you too, Mom and Dad) line up at the top of the hill and go down at the same time to see who wins! Again, I take no responsibility for any injuries that may occur with this one…

child pulling kids on tobogganing

Go out for coffee and hot chocolate

There are some crazy coffee shops that stay open on Christmas Day. See if you can find one, and take the kids out to get a special treat – and let them have whatever they want, including extra whipped cream!

hot coco

One other great tip I’ve gotten as a parent when it comes to birthdays and holidays is to put away a few of the new gifts your kids get, so that when they become bored of the toys they have you can introduce a new one to the rotation without having to go and buy more! Okay… this will probably only work if your kid is young enough not to notice some of their presents go missing. But hey! Give it a shot!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Written By: Kristin Pitman

Kristin Pitman is a married 30-year old lifestyle blogger from Toronto, ON. Alongside being a stay-at-home mom to her 2-year old son Mason, Kristin is thrilled that The Delilah Blog – which started as a passion project – is now a growing business. Be sure to check her out on Instagram @thedelilahblog for more on motherhood, fashion, beauty, travel, and more! 

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