By Kate Hodges
24th December 2020
DO Festive Footing
This year, there’s an even greater spur to celebrate Christmas with a walk outdoors; with smaller celebrations, getting out and waving (distanced) cheery greetings to those you bump into is a way to feel connected and sociable. Hike It Baby have some great ideas for making Christmas walks more fun, from jingle bell hikes and candy cane hunts, to hot chocolate urban strolls and neighbourhood light walks. The big day is forecast to be sunny in many places; make the most of that crisp winter air! Find out more here
LEARN The Night Before Christmas
Did you know that in many countries, Christmas Eve is as important as the day itself? In Sweden, people celebrate with a smorgasbord of ham and fish and eat saffron buns (find a recipe for the S-shaped, fragrant cakes here), and in Norway, presents are brought by gnomes called Nisse. We love the Icelandic tradition of exchanging books on December 24th; perhaps that’s something to incorporate into your Christmas family rituals? Find more about Christmas Eve traditions from around the world here
EVENT Showtime!
For many families, a trip to the theatre is a Christmas tradition, but this year things are a little different. The good news is that there are online shows to fill the gap, some of which are free. So, put your best frocks on, grab some ice-cream, and get ready to cheer around a screen. Perhaps you might take in the National Theatre’s production of Dick Whittington, The Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol, a production of La Cenerentola (based on Cinderella) from Glyndebourne, carols from The Royal Albert Hall and Westminster Abbey, or the joyful (At) Home for the Holidays performed by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Find more yuletide shows here
DO Reindeer Games
Christmas isn’t Christmas without some crazy party game action, but is it time to shake up your selection this year and giggle off those 2020 blues? We have some ideas here (we like the Beard game). Our all-time favourite family game is Musical Hats, which always ends in us all collapsed in heaps of laughter – find the instructions, along with a whole lot of others here. The Guardian also has guides to many other games – we particularly love their ‘blind’ selection, after dinner games and team games (Mummies is an old favourite of ours!)
RECIPE Leftover Magic
Can we let you in on a secret? One of our favourite times of the festive season is just after Christmas; there’s no pressure, no expectations, just acres of space begging to be filled with cosy, fun things to do. We adore recycling our Christmas excess creatively. Find some recipe brilliant ideas for uneaten Christmas pudding and cake here (don’t tell anyone, but we think Christmas pudding ice-cream is better than the hot version!). And there are some really tasty leftover cheese recipes here, for the bits of the board that no-one can face. Or use up your mountain of roast potatoes with these Mashed Potato Pancakes . Finally, Rebecca Oliver has come up with world-beating leftovers sandwich ideas here
BONUS IDEA
We normally try to avoid screens around Christmas, but if you have young children, it’s worth sitting down for five minutes on Christmas Eve to take a peek at the Google Santa Tracker. The company track the fellow in red and white via a real-time uplink from his personal GPS onboard his sleigh (we’re putting our concerns about privacy issues aside for the evening). Follow the trail here
Happy winter holidays to you from all at The Green Parent! We wish you a peaceful, happy, and blissful family time this festive season.
What we’ve been reading this week:
We can have all the magic of Santa without the lies “We should be telling our kids the truth about Santa, and we should be doing it not to bury Santa but to praise him. Because here’s the Christmas secret nobody has let you in on: telling kids Santa is real ruins him. All the good stuff Santa brings is made better by knowing he’s a story, and believing he’s real gets in the way of some of his best features.” Read more here
Found something inspirational to read that you’d like to share? Want to share your creations with us? Have an idea for things to do? We’d love to hear from you. Email Kate
