5 Festive Ways To
Entertain The Kids
Maggie & Rose’s Creative Director shows us how
Styling by Thirty30 Creative / Photography by Victoria Tang-Owen
When school is out for the Christmas holidays, it can feels like a stretch to come up with enough ways to keep the little ones entertained for just a couple of days, let alone the whole festive period.
To help spark some inspiration, we asked the CEO, Creative Director and co-founder of Maggie & Rose - the luxury members club for kids and parents which has clubhouses in both London and Hong Kong – how she entertains her four children over the holiday season.
Pens at the ready.
Make a mess in the kitchen
“Christmas is all about family traditions, handed down from generation to generation. I feel that cooking together is a dying tradition among modern families due to the convenience of ready-made meals and foods, but if there is a time to get together and make an effort - this is the day.” In Maggie’s household, the family makes her family’s traditional Christmas pudding recipe. “Have the kids tick off the ingredient list and instructions as you go so they feel like they are part of the process.”
Scrapbook Christmas memories
“You’ll need a Polaroid camera and a scrapbook. Get the kids to collection anything they can glue in the book - Christmas cards, magazine cut outs, glittery stickers - during December. As Christmas draws closer, start taking photos together, such as when guests come over, or during a family day out. The kids can start pulling the book together, sticking in the Polaroid’s, writing funny captions and using all the pieces they’ve collected to decorate each entry. By the evening of Christmas Day, you’ll have a burgeoning book to reflect back on forever.”
Create a DIY wreath for your door
Get the kids to co-create some DIY decorations. “Create the perfect last minute decorative wreath for your front door. Cut out a circular shape - recycle anything you have lying around - grab lots of green tissue paper and scrunch small square pieces by hand, sticking them on to your circle one by one with a little bit of white glue. Add any extra embellishments and hang with red ribbon. Happiness is homemade!”
Snuggle up to a classic Christmas movie
“The festive season can proffer some long and intense days!” Maggie suggests not underestimating, “a good Christmas movie screening for everyone to crash out in front of. I highly recommend Arthur’s Christmas. With it, I like to prepare a piping hot pot of soup and fresh bread for all our guests.”
Decorate tablemats ahead of a festive feast
“Christmas lunch is a big thing for our family,” shares Maggie, who suggests letting your kids be part of lunch’s preparation by getting them stuck into a creative placements project. “Grab a silver cake board for each guest. Cover the top of the board in glue, and cover with lengths of ribbons in a crisscross pattern. Make sure each strip is long enough to wrap over the edge. In our home, we love using a combination of colours.”