Outside Activities for Kids During Christmas Break

Christmas break is upon you and you do not know what to do with the kids? Or are the kids moaning and whining about being bored and that they have nothing to do during Christmas break? Here are some quick ideas on activities you can do with your children.

The Holidazzle: In Minneapolis, Target sponsors a yearly holiday parade, complete with floats, lights, marching bands, and costumed creatures. You can go for free or you can pay a couple of bucks to get a seat in one of the heated tents with complimentary cocoa and cider. If you do not live in Minneapolis, many communities have something similar to this. For example, La Crosse, Wisconsin decorates their largest park in Christmas lights and holds events in that park between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Ice Skating: Want to get out in the cold and get some exercise too? Christmas break is the perfect time to take the family ice skating. Many places that allow you rent ice skates also have a warming house for you to warm up in (and sometimes has treats to boot!).

Sledding: Christmas break is the perfect time to take the kids out, get them some sleds, dress them warm and take them to a very large hill. When I was a kid, we had a hill called 'Kill Hill" that was a very large and steep hill. My parents took me up there and we brought all kinds of different sleds - from the card board box to the hand made sled my grandfather made. We spend hours going down the hill on the different sleds.

Shopping: This works during Christmas break - especially if you have older children. In Minneapolis, we have Mall of America which includes an indoor roller coasters and an aquarium. Even if you do not have a large mall nearby, after Christmas shopping is a American tradition.

Cross Country Skiing: Cross Country Skiing is a hoot if you never have done it before. In Minneapolis, nearly all the county park and recreation departments have one or more locations for cross country ski rentals. So find one near by and go rent some. Be sure to dress in layers and be sure to wear some kind of waterproof pants. You will be falling down a lot if it is your first time, but it do not hurt because you are not moving fast enough and when you do fall you will be falling in the snow. For a special treat, look for a park and recreation department that has "Midnight skiing" for extra fun. Midnight skiing is cross country skiing with miners lights on your head to light your way.

As a last resort for kids during Christmas break, you can always get some work books and some computer learning programs and they can do school work when they get bored. But you kids will probably appreciate the time you spend with the doing the above activities better.