Like most holidays in 2020, this season at Jumbaloo Playgrounds is looking a bit different this year.
As of Monday, November 23rd, the Greater Toronto Area has been placed under a mandatory lockdown for the next 28 days. Unfortunately, this means that any pre-Christmas festivities at our indoor playground will have to wait until next year.
However, the good news is that this doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of fun-filled family holiday activities to plan at home or around the neighbourhood this winter. To help ring in the holiday season the best we can, let’s go over some of the best holiday activities for families and how you and your children can keep your spirits bright!
Sledding
If you have (or know of) a hill near your home or neighbourhood, it shouldn’t be too hard to plan an early day of fun-filled sledding with your children! Few things can beat an afternoon of sliding down a hill that’s laden with some fresh, smooth snow.
The best news? As long as you’ve got access to a local hill and some sturdy, safe sleds, it’s totally free! Better yet, there are plenty of good sledding slopes to scope out in the GTA.
Building Snow People or Snow Forts
Of course, the next best thing to consider (besides a good old snowball fight) right after a snowfall is building a snow person, a snow fort or just about any other fun snow structure.
If your home has a backyard or a sizable front lawn, this will give you enough workspace and snow to go to town with. Always remember that the best results come from freshly fallen snow that’s still fluffy and packable.
Building a snow person is a great way for little ones to take part in a fun, collaborative effort together. There are no set rules on how to give your snow person the perfect face, hair or attire — so feel free to get creative!
Building a snow fort is another activity that’s fun for the whole family. While time consuming, the end result means everyone gets to cozy up inside a mini-igloo and chill.
Holiday Crafts
Let your family share their artistic side with holiday-inspired crafts this year! Craft sessions are both fun, educational and great for encouraging creative thought and stimulation.
Some fun and super simple holiday craft ideas include:
Paper plate Christmas tree: Just roll a standard paper plate into a cone and you’re good to go! Options include painting the cone green to mimic a tree and then using any kind of festive beads, felt balls or other supplies to decorate it.
Toilet roll reindeer: Hopefully, you’ve got enough toilet paper on hand at this point in the year to get crafty with leftover rolls. Simply cut the rolls into halves, decorate them with brown-coloured paper or paint and use pipe cleaners to form reindeer antlers. Once that’s finished, you can give them a face with googly eyes, decorative beads, buttons or whatever’s on-hand!
Family handprint wreath: This is a great way to get the whole family involved! Simply get all family members to trace their hand on some green craft or construction paper. Next, cut out everyone’s handprints and then arrange them so that each finger mimics the tendrils on a pine leaf. This will serve as a great keepsake for future holidays down the road!
Baking
Baking together as a family is a great at-home bonding activity. It also encourages children to use a bit of math in their measurements, making it a great teaching tool for how to weigh and compare different units.
Some fun and simple holiday baking ideas include:
Christmas sugar cookies: A classic, simple recipe with plenty of opportunity for decoration with icing, sprinkles, candies and more.
Chocolate-dipped candy canes: Another simple, fun combination of two of our favourite things — peppermint and chocolate! Similarly to cookie decorating, kids can get creative by dipping the chocolate-covered ends of their candy canes into festive sprinkles.
Gingerbread cookies: Made from gingerbread dough, your little ones can decorate them with candy buttons, festive sprinkles and anything their heart desires.
Ornament popcorn balls: All you need is some popcorn, melted marshmallows and candies to decorate! Take a clump of popcorn, coat it in the melted marshmallow to dry and then treat it like an ornamental snowman head. This, of course, is followed by giving it the perfect face.
Reach Out to Us
If you want to know more about our services or want to know when we might be looking to open our playground to the public again, feel free to reach out to our team at Jumbaloo Playgrounds today!
From all of us, we wish everyone in the GTA and across Canada a holiday season to remember!
