How to Beat the January Blues

Beat the January Blues

Once the excitement of Christmas is over, it can often feel like a real struggle for the whole family to keep things fresh and lively in the new year. However, there still plenty of opportunities for you to do things together as a family, so you’ll soon banish the January blues!

Here are a few ideas to keep in mind…

A Family Read-In

When it's blowing a gale outside, there's no better way to spend an afternoon than snuggled up with a good book. For younger children you can encourage them to act out the story and show off your full range of funny faces and voices. For older children, take the opportunity to discuss what they're reading in some depth - talk about plot and characters and why they enjoy a particular type of book. Who knows, you may even inspire them to try writing their own story!

Family Bake-Off

Who doesn't love the Great British Bake Off? Those grey winter days offer the perfect opportunity to bake up a storm in the kitchen. Let younger children indulge in some messy play with their own bowl of cake mix or a piece of pastry - don't get stressed about the mess but enjoy the chance to spend some creative time together. For older children, encourage some healthy competition by going 'full Bake off' and seeing who can produce the best cookies or cupcakes.

Get Creative in the Garden

Outdoor crafts are a wonderful way to liven up the garden for pennies, using materials you can find outdoors or simply lying around the house. It's amazing how ice, berries and watercolours or food colourings can transform tap water into beautiful ice baubles to decorate the garden when set in interesting moulds. Or spread peanut butter all over the outside of an empty toilet roll holder or a piece

of toast, then roll in birdseed to create an instant feeder that the kids can hang outside. Add a bird book and they can pass a few hours identifying and logging the birds that come to visit.

Create Rock Pets

The best way to blow away the cobwebs is to take the family for a long winter walk. It's great exercise, but it's even more fun if you make your walk an excuse to collect items for some winter crafting.

Find a Talking Stick

Another interesting find on your walk might be a stick that transforms, with the help of some beads, feather, paint and markers into a wish stick for younger children or a talking stick for the older members of your tribe. Talking sticks have a long history in tribal cultures

as a way of allowing everyone to have their say - you can only talk when holding the stick - so, for larger families, this could be an ideal way for your kids to create something that will ensure they're heard.

Look to the Heavens

On a clear night, there's nothing better than wrapping up warm and heading outside to stargaze. Download an app and see how many constellations you can find and identify. Younger children will enjoy spotting stars and older ones can test their astronomical knowledge.

Have a Tech-Free Day

Be brave and ban iPads, smartphones and games consoles for the day. Instead put out a pile of blank paper, pens and craft materials and see what your children can create. Boredom can be the best motivator for creativity.