Tips for the Christmas vacations

The Christmas vacations are almost upon us! Fortunately, the holidays fall a bit more favorably than last year and to celebrate, we have tips for the Christmas vacations for you! With these tips, the Christmas vacations will be a party for everyone, whether the winter weather is nice or not.

Visit a Christmas market or other Christmas event

Visiting a Christmas market or Christmas event during the Christmas vacations is atmosphere-enhancing and great fun to do. Especially with kids! Pick out beautiful Christmas decorations, taste tasty snacks and drinks, and sometimes there are also fun things organized for children. Fortunately, there are plenty of Christmas events and markets to visit this year! Because you really don’t have to go abroad for a nice Christmas market.

Ice skating

Red cheeks from the cold, the speed on the rink: skating really is the ultimate Dutch winter activity. Fortunately, there are many places in the Netherlands where you can go wild, especially around Christmas time. We have collected our favorite skating rinks for you in a handy and convenient blog. And afterwards the whole family can enjoy hot chocolate or glühwein at the koek and zopie stall!

Make it cosy at home

In these dark times, we can all use some lights and glitter. Therefore, visit a cute Christmas store before Christmas! You can really unpack a little this year. Let the kids pick out the baubles this year and decorate the garden or your balcony with cheerful lights. You will find yourself doing this not only for yourself but also for that lonely neighbor. Also fun: take your kids to the garden center. Many garden centers these days have a Christmas department. Some look like complete Christmas villages! Super fun to walk through!

Discover a town

Is the weather nice? Then get out and about! See a city in a completely different way by doing a scavenger hunt. There are even special Christmas scavenger hunts to do, such as the Lotje Smartphone Scavenger Hunt. These scavenger hunts are especially for children between the ages of 6 and 12. You can also do a scavenger hunt without the Christmas touch. For example, check out Tour in the City, Children’s Scavenger Hunt Old Town Amsterdam and from Go-Kids in Breda. We have done a scavenger hunt before (in Delft) and wrote a blog about it. It contains even more tips! Inspiration enough! Do you have older children who can take a beating? Then a Horrorwalk from The Little Walk of Horrors is a great idea! Don’t worry: a Horrorwalk contains no scare moments. You’ll pass places and buildings with a spooky history or ghost story with the dark city walk. Super fun and educational for ages 12 and up and completely offline! Prefer exploring a city with an app? Then download the app from Walk the City.

Play a quiet game

Is an escape game a little too much for you but you do like to play a game? Then we have tips for you, too! My son loves games like Exploding Kittens and Throw Throw Burrito, but there are also many classic games that are always good to play. And the great thing is: a game doesn’t necessarily have to be long and complicated. We have previously written a blog about fun and entertaining board games, take for example the games from Jumbo Play. Ideal for the Christmas vacations, because there’s always a moment when you just can’t think of anything else to play. Do you have older children? Then organize a game night!

Visit a nice museum

A day at the museum is fun for the whole family. Choose one that makes everyone happy. For example, do not go see art with a child of 5. In our blog visiting museums for the whole family we have collected some great tips. Also fun to visit is the Hunebedcentrum in Borger, the Toy Museum in Deventer and Ripley’s Believe it or Not in Amsterdam. Or really make it an adventure and visit a hands-on museum like Geofort. Find more tips on fun hands-on museums in this blog.

Get out and about

Yes!!! It is dry and you even see a watery sun. Put on warm clothes and go outside! Because getting some fresh air is not just something for spring and summer. In fact, walking on the beach is much more pleasant in winter. And an additional advantage is that in winter your four-legged friend is also allowed, such as the Ouderkerkerplas. And afterwards you can warm up at Paviljoen A/D Plas, a great place to be in both summer and winter! Our favorite beach walks can be found here. But forests are also beautiful in this period. We love going into the woods to smell the fragrance and to loosen our legs. We love going to Clingendael in The Hague, but we also have other favorites. You’ll find them in this blog. Looking for even more tips for hiking in the woods? Then check out the Zuid-Hollands Landschap website and request a free walking route.

Be creative and get crafty!

Too bad, the clouds are gathering again and it’s starting to rain. High time to grab the craft supplies! There are hundreds of Christmas craft ideas on the Internet (especially on Pinterest). For example, make a Christmas wreath out of paper or craft a beautiful Christmas card for grandparents. Can’t see any more Christmas crafts? Then we also have other crafting tips for kids for you. Are you almost out of craft supplies? Order them easily and quickly from our favorite online craft stores. Baking something during the Christmas vacations is fun, too! Whether it’s Christmas cookies or Christmas muffins, it’s all equally fun and festive.

Tips for teens

Small children are still pretty easy to keep busy. That becomes a different story when you have teenagers in the house. Our intern Noa has collected all kinds of fun tips for your teenager. So they won’t get bored during the Christmas vacations! You can find Noa’s blog here.

Credits photos: www.canva.com