The holidays are the PERFECT time to bring your family closer, and what better way to do that than practicing teamwork with a fun activity? This Christmas season, share quality moments with your kids and bond through creating unique holiday crafts together. Spend some time building ornaments, exploring new recipes for holiday treats, working on puzzles as a team – there is so much potential when it comes to enjoying quality family time this Christmas! Keep reading for creative ways you can work together as a family while making special memories.
Why mindfulness and teamwork is important for children
Christmas is such a special time of year for children, and it can be made even more magical with the combination of teamwork and mindfulness. Engaging in activities that require a team effort teaches children the importance of cooperation and communication, which creates strong bonds within families. At the same time, mindfulness allows children to be aware of their feelings as well as those of others, allowing them to truly appreciate the togetherness that Christmas brings. It also allows them to fully enjoy the present moments instead of worrying about the past or future. With this newfound understanding, Christmas becomes an even more joyful experience for everyone!
Awesome Christmas activities you can do at home that promote teamwork and mindfulness!
Engaging kids in arts and crafts is a great way to foster healthy teamwork and build focus. These activities help kids understand the importance of collaboration, problem-solving and communication. Arts and crafts also provide them with an opportunity to step away from a world of screens and distractions, allowing them to pay attention to the present moment by focusing on their task. By making something out of nothing and uniting together as a team, kids also gain confidence in their own abilities to create something meaningful. So, if you want to spark creative thinking and mindfulness amongst kids, bust out the craft supplies and have a go out the activities listed below!
Christmas printables:
Printables offer creative and educational activities that will keep children busy, engaged and entertained throughout the holidays. From crafts to puzzles and decorations, printables are great for children to practice their problem-solving skills or develop their motor coordination and imagination. They also provide opportunities for parents and children to work together. Get you and your friends kids together for Christmas and have fun colouring, drawing and crafting together!
Here are some of our Christmas printables (mostly FREE) you can download and print at home:
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6 pages full of fun Christmas characters and objects to colour in, cut out and stick anywhere your kids like!
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Christmas Tree with cut out ornaments- your kids have to colour in the tree and all the decorations and then cut and stick the decorations all over the Christmas tree.
- 9 Christmas activity pages such as colouring, writing a letter to Santa and much more!
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Christmas Cards that you can print on some white card at home and your kids can colour in and give to their best friends, siblings or parents!
- 10 pages of Christmas craft-making activities- design, cut out and make your own gift boxes and cut out fabulous Christmas gift tags too!
- 14 Christmas academic Maths pages to learn numbers, count, solve equations etc.
Christmas crafts you can make at home
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Felt Christmas Tree: This Felt Christmas Tree Kit is a great way to make your own mini 2D Christmas tree. Your kids will have so much fun decorating it with all the little felt ornaments by themselves or with friends/siblings! Get crafty together!
- Christmas Tree Ornaments Kit: This DIY Christmas colouring kit will improve your child’s creativity and imagination. See the sparkle in their eyes when they hang up their finished wooden ornaments and are proud of the end result!
- Christmas slime recipe: Kids absolutely love making slime and can be entertained for hours! This is the perfect recipe to make green Christmassy slime and decorate it with crafty bits and pieces like glitter, pompoms, sequins and more!
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Christmas Stocking: Print out the stocking templates, colouring them in and then tying the two pieces together with string so they can put little gifts inside! Parents can help kids with this activity and each person in the family can make their own personalised stocking!
- Toilet Paper Roll Crafts: One of the most fun Christmas activities for kids. You’ll basically need a bunch of toilet paper rolls that you don’t need anymore to make adorable Christmas characters. Choose from your favourite Christmas characters: Santa, Reindeer, Snowman and Elf!
- Cook delicious food with your kids! Cooking provides lots of messy and adventurous excitement for your kids. Read our blog about Christmas Recipes to make all sorts of yummy foods with your mini chefs!
Other ways to practice being Mindful during the holidays
- Mindfulness colouring pages are a great way to help kids express their feelings and process emotions. The act of putting colour to paper can be therapeutic, and it can provide an outlet for kids who might be feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. We have tons of colouring Printable activities, other than the Christmas ones we’ve already listed. Our printables blog is a great resource to find more info. Get these fun shaped handmade crayons for even more excitement!
- This Bath bomb making kit activity for children is also another lovely mindful activity. They're colourful, fun, and they offer a unique sensory experience. The process of measuring, mixing, and moulding the ingredients helps to promote focus and concentration. After creating them, you can use them to have a peaceful and relaxing bath with your little ones to end a hectic day. A useful tip is to also play some meditative music or some affirmations in the background as you watch the bath bombs fizz around in the water! To make the bombs more Christmas themed, you can use another food colouring colour instead of pink/red- try using green and see how it turns out!
- These ready made bath bombs are perfect for gifting to friends and family. You can also add them to gift bags at a Christmas party!
- Write in a gratitude and mindfulness journal- sit together with your little ones and relax and wind down at the end of the day with your gratitude journal with affirmations. Since Christmas is a time of gift giving, this Mindful Dreams notebook is a lovely way to remind kids to be grateful and appreciate everything they have. It is filled with positive affirmations that motivate them, as well as 'Mummy & Me' Gratitude Journals.
Your child will have lots of fun reading and colouring the affirmations. They are a great way for them to practice loving and believing in themselves.
Christmas team building activities & games
- Christmas Piñata- Can be played inside or outside, in a big open space. Get this awesome Christmas themed Santa Claus piñata one and hang it up. All kids (aged 4+) just need to take turns bashing the piñata with a long stick, while blindfolded, until the sweets or treats fall out!
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Inflatable Reindeer Antler Ring Toss- Such an exciting game for kids to play with their friends, siblings or the whole family during your Christmas party! One person can wear the inflatable reindeer headpiece and the other player has to throw the inflatable tyres onto the reindeer’s antlers!
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Musical Statues- This game is challenging but really exciting and slightly similar to the previous game. The players have to spread out around the room and dance/move around as the Christmas music is playing. When the music stops, the children have to stay as still as a statue! Whoever moves loses and the last person standing wins!
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Button Button- the simplest game that is quite thrilling and makes the kids think and question their guess! All you need is a button! Choose a red or green button to match the festive Christmas theme. Best for kids aged 3-7.
- Musical Chairs- Count the number of people who want to play. There should be the same amount of chairs as there are players, but take away 1 chair. Arrange all the chairs in two rows, back to back and play some fun Christmas music. Players have to walk/move clockwise in a line, around the chairs and when a designated person pauses the music, players have to quickly sit down in a chair. The last person standing (who wasn’t able to find a chair) loses and has to sit out of the game. After each round, 1 chair has to be removed until there's only 1 chair left with 2 players walking around it. The last person who’s able to sit down wins the game!
The Christmas season is a time for family, friends, and creating cherished memories. We hope our ideas helped you think of new ways to spend meaningful time with your kids and create unforgettable memories together. How did you use our ideas? What other activities do you do with your kids during the holidays? Let us know in the comments below! Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!