Have a Cracking Christmas!

It’s time for our 2024 Christmas holiday at Bearsprings; we have all had a wonderful time reading winter stories, talking about seasonal changes and nocturnal animals, decorating our setting for Christmas and making our own paper embellishments to take home, before walking around our local community to enjoy the lights at this time of year. We wish all of our Bearsprings children and families a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to enjoying some quality family time. So, this raises an age old question for parents and families; how exactly can we have a balanced and relaxing Christmas break without compromising on the quality of our family time?

We know that costs are already high at this time of year and don’t recommend buying any expensive extras in order to make valuable family memories. Instead, we would suggest lots of family walks in the evening to enjoy the lights and winter weather together, while also suggesting lots of cosy group activities. Family films and activities are key; feel free to sit down together and enjoy an evening watching a Christmas family classic such as Raymond Briggs’ ‘The Snow Man’ or ‘Mog’s Christmas Calamity.’ Such films can be rented from local libraries for free or watched online/ as part of a streaming service. Many used DVD or Bluray copies are also sold quite cheaply and they are an excellent resource for discussion and family bonding as they often have accompanying books too. This could be used as a Christmas theme at home and an entire week of activities could come from just one film and book combination.

A favourite among Bearsprings children and staff is ‘Robin Robin.’ This film/ book combination is about a Robin who fell into a mouse hole as an egg. Once she hatched the mice decided to keep and raise her. She wishes to be a better mouse and even uses spare mouse fur as ears but unfortunately she cannot become a mouse, though her family love her very much. The story is one of acceptance and building strong bonds over the Christmas period. Robin gets involved in many wild adventures and there is never a dull moment.

You could for example, have a sneaking activity game (can you sneak like a mouse, Robin can’t).

Have a bits and bobs tea (find quick finger foods you can grab and use for a picnic out of as the mice can’t stay in one house for too long while looking for food).

You could make your own bird or mouse costumes or pictures etc.

We also highly recommend family jigsaws as a relaxing group activity and a chance for not only siblings but also adults to bond with children; it’s a group project and everyone plays their part in completing the picture. Board or card games are a fun addition for slightly older children.

These activities, while partially involving technology, do not rely on it entirely and you will find that the removal of social media and applications etc in order to enjoy family time will make it a lot less stressful and more meaningful in a modern ‘back to basics’ sort of way.

Do try some tasty treats if you are brave and feel like having a go at baking. How about a basic sponge cake that you can add some jam to (make a victoria sponge) or eat with some warm custard if you like a warmer cake. Shortbread biscuits are an excellent and relatively simple recipe to try at this time of year; they also hold up well when being handled by younger children (should you decide to decorate them afterwards).

We have also been exploring winter stories about cold climates and adventures in the snow. Below is a sneak peak at our pick for December’s book at the Bearsprings Early Years Book Club.

Join us over at the Bearsprings Early Years Book Club for our Christmas read! Will Stick Man make it home in time to spend Christmas with his family?

Bobbin hopes to see you over there and can't wait to share many book picks with you; maybe some pollinator based ones?