If your child likes cooking or creating things, try making some Christmas food together. It’s an opportunity to spend some time together, and get them involved in homemade gifts or decorations.
Find a biscuit recipe online, or buy plain biscuits in advance. Then decorate with sweets and icing pens – you should be able to buy these in your local supermarket.
BBC Good Food has a recipe for Snowmen Biscuits.
Use chocolate to make a thoughtful gift for a friend, family member or teacher. Put your creations in a box or decorate a sandwich bag using felt-tip pens or a chalk pen.
For inspiration, try hot chocolate stirrers or Christmas truffles.
Bake your own decorations and eat throughout the season. Find some cookie cutter shapes you like and add colours or patterns as you want.
Gingerbread stained-glass biscuits are good starting point for some ideas.
Encourage your child to cook a Christmas meal for the family. Help them choose a recipe, write down the ingredients, shop for it and then make it. You can do this together or see if they want to take the lead. Younger siblings can decorate a menu for the family to look at.
Think up some different toppings you could add to pastry and make into the shape of stars. Buy ready-made pastry to save time. Try out a recipe for cheese stars.
Get your teen involved in making different non-alcoholic cocktails. Spend time designing invites and making party decorations. Then get dressed up, listen to some Christmas music, and play silly games together.
Get started with some party drink recipes.
This advice was written by our experienced Parent Talk coaches. Parent Talk is a free online service for parents and carers, provided by the charity Action for Children. For more advice, message our parenting coaches with our online chat.
