The holiday season provides excellent opportunities to connect with family and friends, as everyone’s injected with a dose of the warm and cheery holiday spirit. However, even the most patient celebrator can grow sick of the thousandth rendition of “Jingle Bells” or the twentieth showing of “The Grinch” by their younger family members. To keep younger family members entertained without transforming into a holiday ax murderer by the end of “The 12 Days of Christmas,” here are some alternative holiday activities that people of all ages can get behind.

Work together on homemade decorations

When in doubt, expressing creativity or just laughing at your flimsy efforts to make a Christmas stocking or paper snowman is an easy gateway to holiday fun for all age groups. Make sure the crafts chosen are relatively simple since there should be no pressure to end up with a masterpiece: For example, don’t depend on these crafts as gifts for your family members or try making stockings that can hold your stocking stuffers. These crafts should mainly serve as decorations or festive keepsakes, keeping the memory of an exceptionally warm and comforting holiday season. If you’re scrambling for ideas, look no further than a local craft store. The shelves are chock full of kits for merry and bright creations perfect for this time of year.

Engage in outdoor fun

During the holiday break, many people develop a pattern of staying cooped up inside and avoiding any unpleasant contact with the nice-looking, but frigid winter, wonderland beyond the window. Not only will this lack of adventure frustrate younger family members, who enjoy waddling around in layers of coats and scarves outdoors, but it will also contribute to your frustration, as you inevitably reach a tipping point in the consumption of holiday songs, movies and specials. Basking in the refreshing winter of the holiday season is the only aspect of this season that can (hopefully) never be tainted by shallow and cynical consumerism. You don’t have to climb on a ramshackle sled yourself, but merely taking a walk through a special place while the kids roll around in the snow can be the antidote to holiday burn out that you’ve been looking for.  

Go out to see a movie

At this point, I’ve seen the Rankin-Bass production of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” so many times, I can likely recite the whole thing from beginning to end. That’s right; precious brain space that could be filled with terms for an upcoming exam is currently being used on the complete lyrics for “The Island of Misfit Toys.”  To avoid monotony while keeping younger ones entertained when the weather’s too rough or frigid for romping outdoors, take your family to the movies for some fresh popcorn and a new exciting film. The most obvious choice this Christmas is the new Star Wars movie, but there will undoubtedly be plenty of other options, holiday-related or not, to satisfy the entire family.

Clare is a sophomore in Media. 

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