Spend some time with your kids that won’t cost you your sanity or your weight in gold.

No reruns of coco melon, no annoying Blippi, no Minecraft or TikTok or whiny kids, or bored teenagers or expensive trips to shopping centres. Just pure festive bliss for you and the kids.

Sounds too good to be true? Well – maybe. (A household with zero fighting kiddo’s DOES sound like a Christmas miracle…)

But let’s give it a try?

Dedicate 2 hours each day this festive season to spend together as a family. There’s a saying that if you are not shouting at your kids, it’s because you don’t spend enough time with them…get to know your kids this year, and make some memories – by hook or by crook!

What you will need:

• A well-stocked “Craft box”
• Patience
• A place that can get a bit messy…and more patience.

What is a “well stocked craft box”?

Basically, it’s a box full of stationary, papers and cardboard, and most importantly,

“…knickknacks, thingmabobs and whatsits.”

Empty glass jars, plastic containers with lids, bottle tops, straws, wooden sticks and cutlery, paperclips, glitter, stickers, ribbon and brightly coloured yarn or thread. Beads, cottonwool, fabric snippets, paper bags and crinkle paper – get a big box and simply drop all kinds of interesting bits and bobs into it throughout the year.

Then, when the holidays come, get it out, buy some extra glue (why is the glue ALWAYS finished when you need it), replace dried up felt tips or paint and let the kids dig in and get creative.

Yes – it might get messy, yes, you’ll probably have glitter all over you for the foreseeable future, but you know what? It might also be magical!

We guarantee that even the most fussy, sassy fourteen-year-old might just be lured out of their bedroom/cave by the crinkle of a paper bag snowman puppet. Make the memories while you can.

For more inspiration, look at these craft ideas.