Christmas Activities for Fostering Families
Christmas is a time for families and when you are a fostering family, it can be even more important to find activities that the whole family enjoys. We’ve put together a few suggestions of some Christmassy activities that you and your fostering family might enjoy.
Make your own Christmas cards
It’s always nice to receive cards on special occasions and Christmas is no exception. Whilst they may be readily available to buy at the supermarket, why not make the cards from your family a bit more special this year and create your own. If your children are particularly artistic, they could draw a festive scene on the front. If they are younger children, or not too confident in their artistic abilities, you can use their fingerprints pressed in paint or ink to create a string of fairy lights or baubles on a tree.
Cosy Up With a Hot Chocolate
A classic winter activity, guaranteed to put a smile on the face of those with a sweet tooth!Our favourite easy homemade hot chocolate recipe can be made with everyone’s favourite kind of chocolate.
You will need:
300ml of your chosen milk
50g of your favourite chocolate (broken into pieces)
Whipped cream and marshmallows to serve
Method:
Melt your favourite chocolate until completely liquid, either using short bursts in the microwave and stirring in between heating, or in a glass bowl over boiling water. You can also leave the chocolate on a low heat in the slow cooker if you want to prepare early (be sure to supervise the little ones around heat!).
Heat up a saucepan of milk until small bubbles start to form in the milk, don’t let the milk reach boiling point or the texture will be grainy.
Pour the melted chocolate into the warm milk and stir. Serve with whipped cream and marshmallows and enjoy!
Learn about Christmas around the world
Every family has their own Christmas traditions but every country does too! Take some time to sit down with your family and look up how Christmas is celebrated across the world and how it compares to here.
Some of our favourite ones to get you started
In Japan, some families have taken up a recent quirky tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas dinner.
In Gävle Castle Square, Sweden, a 13-metre tall goat has been built every year since 1966 and local residents have created their own new tradition of trying to burn it down! The goat has been successfully burned down 29 times, most recently is 2016.
In Iceland, for the 13 days leading up to Christmas, children place their best shoes out of the window hoping to be visited by the ‘Yule Lads’ who leave gifts for well behaved children and rotting potatoes for the naughty ones.
In Norway, people hide their brooms for Christmas! This originates from people worrying that witches and evil spirits would come out on Christmas Eve looking for brooms to ride on.
In Caracas, Venezuela, people rollerblade to Church!
Go and see the Christmas Lights
The Rotherham Christmas lights were switched on this year on November 14th, have a walk around and see how many you can spot. Which ones are everyone’s favourite? It might even be worth having a look around your local area to see which houses have the best displays.
Decorate your home together
Decorating your home can be one of the most fun parts of the festive season. Make it a family activity by letting everyone play their part in choosing which decorations you use and where they go. You can make it even more special for the children by having them make their own decorations such as paper snowflakes or garlands. Many local Christmas tree farms will let you take the offcuts for free to make wreaths or mantelpiece ornaments.
Want to get out and about in Rotherham? Keep an eye on our events page to find out what’s going on in Rotherham over the Christmas break.