It is holiday vacation time, and if you are like many home – based professionals, that means that your children are out of school or home from college. Chances are that you still have at least some work to do. The challenge of holiday vacation is similar to that of spring break and summer vacation, and it has two parts. The first is how to spend enough quality time with your children while still getting some work done, and the second is how to find fun, age appropriate things for your children to do independently or while in the care of others so that you can get some work done.
Fortunately, there are many ways to do both of those things. Of course, when you have just completed the rush of activities leading up to Christmas and you are still in the process of putting your home back together after entertaining family or even just putting that bounty of new stuff away, it can be hard to think of what to do. Here are a few suggestions that could work for your family or could inspire you to think of other ideas that you can use.
Spending quality time with the kids does not have to consist of elaborate and expensive outings that take up your entire day. Depending upon the ages of your children, there are many things that you can do at home that they will enjoy. Things like making home made pizzas and curling up on the couch for family movie night, baking cookies or other special treats together, or doing a craft or a project together all give kids the joy of spending time with their parents. You could also volunteer together, or spend some time cleaning and organizing your home and deciding which items your family no longer needs so that you can donate them to a local thrift store or other charitable organization. Even if you anticipate groans and eye rolls at the mention of some of these activities, kids do enjoy knowing that your time and attention are theirs for the morning, afternoon, or whatever amount of time that you are spending together.
There are many ways to keep your children busy while you do some work. Of course, your options will vary greatly depending upon the ages of your children. Some things to consider include having your children visit friends, having your children invite friends to your house, arranging for the kids to spend a day or part of a day with a grandparent or other relative who lives nearby, and enrolling your children in a class or program that is offered in your community during the vacation time period. If the children are old enough to play outdoors by themselves safely, a snowstorm or two could be just the thing to get them excited to go out and play for a bit.