{"id":14054,"date":"2018-01-03T17:10:54","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T17:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/?p=14054"},"modified":"2018-01-22T13:26:33","modified_gmt":"2018-01-22T13:26:33","slug":"beat-the-january-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/beat-the-january-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"7 ways to beat the January blues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once the excitement of Christmas has been and gone (boo!), it can often feel like a real struggle for the whole family to keep things fresh and lively at the beginning of a new year.<\/h2>\r\nBut fear not! We have some amazing ways you and the kids can beat the January blues!<\/strong>\r\n

A family read-in<\/h3>\r\nWhen 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!\r\n

Family Bake-Off<\/h3>\r\nWho doesn’t love the Great British Bake Off? Those grey January days offer the perfect opportunity to get into the kitchen and bake up a storm. Yummy!\r\n

Get creative in the garden<\/h3>\r\nOutdoor crafts are a wonderful way to liven up the garden for pennies, using materials you can find outdoors or simply lying around the house. Or add a bird book to the mix and they can pass a few hours identifying and logging the birds that come to visit. Just make sure they wrap up warm!\r\n

Fun in the snow<\/h3>\r\nOf course, snow in January isn’t guaranteed, but if it does snow you have the ideal excuse to wrap up warm and organise snowman building contests and a monster snowball fight. Kids of all ages love playing in the snow, but have you ever played tug of war? Or tried snowball dodgeball? Once that snowman is built, try frisbeeing a hat onto his head or play a game of pin the nose on the snowman using a carrot. So much fun!\r\n

Create rock pets<\/h3>\r\nThe best way to blow away the cobwebs during January 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.\r\n

Have a tech-free day<\/h3>\r\nBe brave and ban iPads, smartphones and games consoles for the whole day! Instead, put out a pile of paper, pens and craft materials and see what your little ones can create. Boredom can be the best motivator for creativity.\r\n

Revive the art of den building<\/h3>\r\nFor younger children, provide blankets, boxes and furniture indoors while encourage older children to get outdoors and get den building in the garden or the woods. Find out who the Bear Grylls of the family is and who can create the best fantasy castle\/spaceship\/dragon’s belly. Den building is for everyone, so get involved!\r\n\r\nOriginal article on ways to beat the January blues at Families Online<\/a>\r\n

Related article<\/h3>\r\n
Try something new this year<\/a><\/blockquote>