How to Plan Christmas Activities for Toddlers

So many of our previous blogs and articles focus on the role of nursery in creating a routine for children to follow. Not only does having a routine make drop off, meal times, pick up, and bedtime much easier to manage, but it is also known to help children settle in new surroundings.

One of the first things we tell parents when they enrol their child to nursery, is to try and adopt a routine that’s manageable every day. While every child is unique and will have their own way of dealing with things, one thing that unites almost all the children we work with is the comfort they derive from familiarity and routine.

Of course, keeping those same timings around the Christmas season can be incredibly difficult, especially as you spend time visiting family and away from your home life. However, even simple elements such as sticking to the same nap times and meal times can help, as well as bringing along the books your child loves and toys that help them feel settled.

·        Stick with foods that you know they like for the core daily meals – with a few additional festive treats if they want them in between their meals

·        Keep your nap schedule as consistent as possible

·        Wind down at the end of each day with reading, and keep bedtime the same as usual

·        Make sure that you always have toys and home comforts to help them feel settled

·        Don’t neglect some of the learning they’re doing at nursery

Because Christmas has become so much more than a religious celebration, there are tons of ways that we celebrate and acknowledge the festive season in the nursery setting, regardless of the diverse beliefs and viewpoints that we have in the class.

At My Ohana, we actively encourage children to share and incorporate their different ideas and personal beliefs as part of our commitment to inclusion – with Christmas just one of the themes that we tap into with festive activities and crafts.

We also work hard to keep parents and guardians involved in the activities that we offer, and make sure that our extended families are comfortable with the way we approach seasons like Christmas before we dive into our favourite activities.

These include simple tasks like making Christmas cards and labels for loved ones, making paper angels to decorate the Christmas tree, and decorating Christmas cookies and other bakes. We also like to get children out and about, spotting how each nursery’s outdoor space changes with the arrival of winter and the winter season.

Once we come back inside, Christmas story time helps us all to relax – whether it be an old classic like ‘The Night Before Christmas’, or something more modern like a Julia Donaldson festive story.

And what better way to celebrate the festive period and the end of a year, than by discussing and sharing our goals for the new year?! Open conversations about what we want to do in the new year always makes for a fun Christmas activity – especially when we write everyone’s goals down and read them back 12 months later!

From throwing ourselves into making decorations and Christmas cards, to enjoying more subtle winter walks and stories, Christmas is a wonderful time of year for your child to enjoy with their nursery family. Regardless of their beliefs at home, our goal is always to make the festive season as accessible and inclusive as possible. We invite parents to be open with us regarding any concerns, and to let us make their child’s Christmas as exciting as possible.