Features
Stuck for ideas about how to keep the kids happy this holiday? Amanda Kendall has some top tips
Winter wonderland
Unless your family has just stepped out of a frame of a 1950s’ Christmas
film, your kids are probably not now playing quietly with paper dolls
having finished the washing up and being about to go to bed without reminding.
School’s out, and it feels like forever. Are you at a loss to know
how to occupy your kids?
If you want to avoid simply planting youngsters in front of the television
or letting them loose in a computer-generated world, where do you begin?
Well, looking after the children doesn’t have to be costly or fraught
with trouble. As UNISON member Chrissie explains: “I stock up on
colouring books, pens and paint. Old rolls of wallpaper are good for drawing
on – just roll them back up when they’ve finished and you don’t
end up with hundreds of bits of paper all over the place.”
And if all else fails, she notes with a grin, then “pack them off
to their grandparents and assorted aunties and uncles”.
Accommodating family not permitting, local libraries are a wonderful
starting point. Not only do they provide a veritable Aladdin’s cave
of books to discover and borrow, but many organise their own events. And
the library is also an ideal place to find details of the holiday activities
offered by a whole range of local organisations.
Many museums and galleries are now free once more and, especially if
they have anything related to dinosaurs, provide excellent entertainment
– and, whisper it, education – for kids.
Everyone knows how much major sporting events cost to attend, but what
about looking further down the league to football matches in the lower
divisions? Or at rugby league matches in the National Conference? Check
in your local paper for fixture details.
Take the opportunity to go for a bracing walk in your local park and
make a point of watching out for signs of winter wildlife. If it’s
particularly cold and even frosty or icy, then why not encourage the children
to feed the birds? The RSPB has plenty of information about helping our
feathered friends on its website at 
www.rspb.org.uk or call 01767 680551.
Entertaining children doesn’t have to involve leaving the warmth
of your own home, or hearth. You can hardly switch on the TV these days
without a celebrity chef grinning at you over a hob. So why not get the
kids into the kitchen? It doesn’t have to be complicated – simple,
individual cakes with chocolate-covered breakfast cereals are cheap, delightfully
messy and absolutely scrummy when finished.
See www.childrensrecipes.com or get a copy of Cooking with Kids for Dummies
by Kate Heyhoe (1999, IDG). If you go to www.cookingwithkids.com you can
buy it from online bookstore Amazon with a special 20% discount, or pop
down to your local library. You never know, you might come home from work
one day to find your dinner on the table!
Theatres have loads of seasonal offerings to entertain even the youngest
children. And the excellent www.its-behind-you.com offers both a fascinating
look at the history of panto and a list of shows across Britain, from
Aberdeen to Exeter.
There’s never a shortage of films out during the holiday, and this
year is no exception, with plenty to entertain the young at heart, including
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets, the 20th Bond movie, Die Another
Day and Disney’s The Santa Clause 2 .
The second instalment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers,
has just appeared. This will rapidly be followed by The Country Bears,
yet another Disney winter offering.
On 27 December a new, live-action version of Pinocchio hits our screens.
And Star Trek X docks on 3 January.
And if all these films fill your kids with a desire to perform, why not
encourage them and their friends to produce their own play? Or, if you’ve
got access to a camcorder, their own film?
With a minimum of supervision, they can write and rehearse their own
production and, with a little help, deal with any scenery, costumes and
make-up. Then you can
either be in the audience or operate the camera.
That film would make a wonderful souvenir of the holiday. And just think,
it could be the start of a beautiful career: Lights, camera, action!
Contact the article's author Amanda Kendall
CELEBRATE KIDSThe December issue of U magazine sent free to every one of UNISON's 1.3million members has a special kids theme. It is hard not to sound like a trite pop song when we say ‘children are our future’ but nothing is more important than understanding this. UNISON members work tirelessly for this future in schools, social services, community groups and health care. Here on In
New tax credits are being introduced in 2003, for single people, couples and those with children. And Click here to get your sample copy of U magazine or to join UNISON. |
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