Today was our Christmas play date. I wanted to pull together a few activities and snacks that the kids would enjoy, but I also wanted everything to be easy enough to put together that I wouldn’t get too stressed out about it. If you follow this blog, you know that preparation for many of the activities was incorporated into our advent calendar. This helped a lot! Here’s a quick overview of our play date.
Activities for the Kids
1) We set up our felt Christmas tree for the kids to play with.
2) We used our doll bunk beds to imitate a cooling rack where the kids could play with and store the felt gingerbread cookie set.
3) Our Christmas sensory bin was out for the kids to explore.
4) We set up an ornament making station where the kids and their parents made these adorable jingle bell reindeer ornaments from Fireflies and Family.
Watch the video tutorial for this ornament below.
5) All three batches of our holiday playdough (green mint, gingerbread, and peppermint) were out for the kids to play with.
6) I thought the littlest guests would enjoy playing with bows, so I set out a large bin of bows. There were also cardboard circles for the kids to make wreaths with the bows like this bow wreath from Little Learners Lounge.
7) Another station was set up for the kids to make reindeer food. We used a simple mixture of oats, colored sugar, and holiday sprinkles. I used these cute free printable labels from Amanda Parker and Family.
Snacks for the Kids
Parents brought a small appetizer for the adults to enjoy, and Mimi and I (okay, really it was Mimi) put together a few light snacks for the kids.
1) Reindeer PB&J inspired by And Everything Sweet.
2) Cheese Christmas Tree inspired by Cabot.
3) Veggie Wreath Snack Tray
4) Crockpot Hot Chocolate using this recipe from Mrs. Happy Homemaker. Yum!
5) Sugar cookies for the kids to decorate as their last activity of the day.
It is also still 80 degrees where we live, so most of the kids spent the afternoon outdoors in the sandbox and our small bounce house. I think everyone had a lot of fun. I know I loved seeing all of the kids playing and having a good time together, and it was nice to visit with other parents.
Do you plan a holiday play date?
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From the arrival of fall to Halloween to Thanksgiving and Christmas, the last four months of the year can be a wonderful opportunity for making family memories and spending time together, but they can also be stressful as we try to collect ideas, recipes, and activities to try together.
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Katie @ Gift of Curiosity
This looks like an AWESOME play date. Heck, I would have liked to be there myself! 🙂 Thanks for some great ideas.
Shaunna
Glad you found some ideas you liked! We had a great time. 🙂
Miss Courtney
If my littlest cousin is game, then I am! He’s just a tad older than my son. These are all great ideas and I’m going to bring a cheese tree in next year for our office party!
Shaunna
Well, I hope you guys have a good time! The kids here sure did, and I am excited to plan something again next year. I think a cheese tree would be great for an office party…and easy to throw together!
Cara
Thank you for organizing such a fun get together! The kids had a blast!
Shaunna
Thanks! I am so glad the kids had fun. 🙂