Halos N Horns New Year's Resolution: to make sure that everyone has more fun this winter

It's that time of year when the magic (and lets be honest stress) of Christmas has passed and reality sets in again for another 12 months. We're all looking forward to summer when we can get outside again and occupying the little monsters seems so much easier. Mums and Dads need not despair though, as here at Halos House we have made it our New Year's Resolution to come up with some fun activities to tide you and your kids over until spring time. Read on and hopefully you'll be inspired, and if you have any activities of your own to add to our list, contact us and share your ideas. We always love hearing from you- we're in this together troops!

Indoor Crafts & Cookery

When it snows we're all singing for joy- a ready-made winter wonderland is ideal for keeping our little ones occupied over the cold winter months. Be sure to wrap everyone up warm and head out to the garden, or your nearest park, to build snowmen, have snowball fights and perhaps even give sledging a go.

However, the likelihood of it snowing every day until spring is... unlikely, and more often than not the weather is just grey and gloomy or (even worse) raining. There is only so much fun you can have jumping puddles, so sometimes you need things to do indoors, and we have got a few ideas up our sleeves for you. Make the hot chocolates, get your plastic table cloth out and get the magnets ready as there will be lots of art to stick to your fridge this winter!

Recycled Bookmarks:

This is a great way to use up the Christmas cards that are still lying around the house after the festive season. My kids give them as gifts to our relatives as a 'thank you' for their Christmas presents. A bookmark is a lovely way to get your little ones enthusiastic about reading, and even if they're not reading on their own yet they can mark the book that you are reading to them each night to give them a sense of progress.

 This is a really simple project but there are scissors involved so Mum or Dad will need to be on hand to either do or supervise the cutting, depending on that age of your children.

You will need:

o A pile of used Christmas (or other type) of cards
o Thin Cardboard
o Crayons/ felt tip pens/ colouring pencils
o Glue
o Optional glitter, coloured string, stickers, tinsel

Method: 

1) Sift through the cards with your kids and let them choose a character or picture that they would like to be at the top of each bookmark
2) Cut around the picture of character
3) Cut a strip of card to make the body of the bookmark- about 4cm wide x 15sm long
4) Glue the cut-out character or picture to the top of the bookmark
5) Decorate the main card strip with pens, pencils, crayons or more (let them get creative here, this is the bit where you get to put your feet up!)
6) If the bookmark is a gift, you can help your kids to write a message on the main card strip, or you can write it for them and help them to sign it
7) Wait for everything to dry (pen ink, glue etc)
8) Your bookmark is finished!

Puppets:

Puppets are on of our favourite ideas because making them occupies little hands and, after the puppets are finished, little minds can be occupied making up a puppet show to entertain the whole family! There are a few different types of puppets here, they're all pretty simple but will need adult supervision for scissors and staplers. Finger Puppets The simplest type of puppets we've got here. Mum or Dad will need to do the cutting, but you can leave the decoration up to the little ones.

You will need:

o Stiff card
o Scissors
o Paints/felt tip pens/crayons/coloured pencils
o Optional: glue, stick-on goggle-eyes, wool etc.

Method:

1) Mum or Dad (or if your kids are older, Mum or Dad to supervise) to cut out the shape of the puppet. We find that the simpler the better for this, unless you're extremely talented of course. I like to stick to shapes like an egg (simple for me) and the kids can make a Humpty Dumpty puppet.
2) At the bottom of the shape you will need to cut out two finer holes for your child to put their fingers through. If you have chosen an egg shape, their fingers will be Humpty Dumpty's legs
3) Adult bit over! Now it's the kids in control- they can decorate the puppet however they like. I find that using coloured wool for hair stuck to the top of the puppet is a nice touch!
4) When everything's dry that's your puppet finished.
1) 5)
5) Other shapes we have tried: dinosaur, frog, and elephant- the possibilities are endless....
 

Lady Bird Paper Plate Puppet

This one takes a bit more time but looks great!

You will need:
o 2 paper plates
o 7 Pipe Cleaners (black if possible, if not then dip some white ones in black paint)
o Paints/felt-tip pens/colouring pencils/ crayons
o Optional stick on goggle eyes and glue
o Stapler

Method

1) Mum or Dad to place the two plates together (facing each other) and staple around the edges, so that they are completely connected leaving space at the bottom for a child's hand to fit through.
2) Make three holes on each side of the circular plates (going through both plates) and poke the pipe cleaners through to make the ladybird's legs. Secure the pipe cleaners by folding the ends over and taping down.
3) Now for the fun bit. The kids can decorate the ladybird however they wish! The top of the plate (the bottom is where they put their hands) is where the ladybird's face should be. Why not find a picture of a ladybird in a book for them to copy, or you could print one off your computer.
4) The puppet is finished when everything is dry. Just pop one hand into the opening at the bottom and the puppet comes alive!

Paper Bag Puppets

We got this idea from an American friend where the type of paper bags that you need are in abundance as that's what they pack their school lunches in. We found the bags in a stationary shop; they are the same size as those that you get when you pick up a prescription from the pharmacy (without all of the medical writing on them!) If you can find paper bags (either brown or white) then these puppets are easy to make, but look pretty impressive.

You will need:

o One paper bag per puppet (the bag needs to be able to stand up on it's own, with a square base)
o Card
o Scissors, glue, stapler
o Paint/felt-tip pens/ coloured pencils/crayons
o Optional goggle eyes and glue

You can choose to make any sort of animal; we made a bear using a brown paper bag.

1) Lay the bag flat with the square bottom folded over to the front- this make the bear's face.
2) Cut the edges of the square bottom to make a curved shape resembling a round bear's face. 3) Glue the two edges of the bag back together where you have just cut them.
4) Cut out bear ear and arm shapes from card and attach them (stapling is the most secure) to the puppet in the anatomically correct places!
5) The puppet construction is finished. Now it's the turn of your budding little artist to decorate the bear. You can use stick on eyes, or draw them on, you can also stick on fake fur from a haberdasher's if you want it to look really authentic! 
6) And you're done- another addition to tonight's puppet show!

An idea for using up eggshells

Eggs are a great source of protein, iron, minerals and B vitamins and make a lovely, warm breakfast in the winter months. Remember that if your little one is a baby or toddler you should only serve eggs from the age of six months and make sure they are hardboiled, with solid whites and yolks. Nutrition guidelines recommend that you serve eggs no more than 3-4 times per week. Next time you have boiled eggs for breakfast, keep the egg shells and use them to have some eggy fun. Cress Heads: Not so much a craft as a lesson in growing cress, but still lots of fun and tasty too!

You will need:

o Egg shells
o Cotton wool
o Water
o Cress seeds

Method:

1) Clean out the egg shells to get rid of any whites left over from breakfast- this is a it delicate as the shells can break easily so Mum or Dad might want to do this bit.
2) When the eggshells are dry, carefully stuff them with cotton wool and fill up to about 1cm below the rim of the egg shell.
3) Moisten the cotton wool thoroughly, right the way through
4) Cover the cotton wool with a layer of cress seeds, no more than one seed thick.
5) Place the egg shells back into an empty egg carton (with the open top at the top) and leave in direct sunlight on a windowsill.
6) Water the eggs when the cotton wool becomes dry
7) Wait for the cress hair to grow. You can draw faces on the egg shells to make them look like people, the growing cress is the hair.
8) When the cress is fully grown, give the cress heads a hair cut and serve in an egg sandwich, or a salad- yum!
 

Cooking Here at Halos House we like a cake to help us to get through the day! We know that every parent has a different attitude towards giving their children sweet treats, so we're not here to try to change your nutrition regime for your little ones. But if treats are allowed on occasion, then why not get them to make the treats for themselves (with your supervision of course). It'll be a good introduction to helping in the kitchen, which is something we definitely do actively encourage- we need all of the help that we can get!

These two recipes made with puffed rice (that's Rice Krispies or their own-label equivalents to you and me) are very simple and taste delicious. One is made with chocolate, the other without. Chocolate crispy cakes An oldie but a goodie!

You will need:
o  75g butter
o 100g golden syrup
o 60g cooking chocolate broken into small pieces
o 100g Rice Krispies (or equivalent)
o 10 individual paper cake cases

Method:

1) Put the golden syrup, chocolate pieces and butter into a saucepan and melt over a low heat- Mum or Dad should do this bit.
2) Once the golden syrup mixture is melted, pour in the Rice Krispies and mix together with a wooden spoon
3) Line a tray with 10 paper cake cases
4) Spoon the mixed up Krispies mixture evenly into each paper cake case
5) Put in the fridge to set
6) Once they have set- eat (and try to leave at least one for the children!)

Marshmallow crispy tray cake

This version of crispy cakes is made without chocolate. This recipe calls for a metal tray, which the mixture is poured into, but you can use individual cake cases if you would prefer.
You will need:

o 55g butter
o I pack of marshmallows (about 32 large marshmallows) torn into pieces
o 100g Rice Krispies
o A greased metal tray pan (about 20cm x 30cm)

Method: 

 1) Melt the butter over a low heat in a saucepan. Mum or Dad should do this bit.
 2) Break marshmallow pieces into melted butter and mix
 3) Add Rice Krispies to marshmallow & butter mixture, mix with a wooden spoon
 4) Spoon into a greased metal pan and smooth down
 5) Place in fridge to cool and cut into squares to serve
 6) Bon appétit!

Other things to do indoors this Winter:

If you can't supervise the little ones, then why not give them something they can do safely on their own whilst you get on with your list of a hundred things to do!

A few ideas we've had:

o An indoor picnic- you provide the food and a rug, they make their own fun!
o Build a den- duvets, cushions, chairs and tables can all be used to construct an indoor hideaway for a few hours.
o Board games were made for moments like this. Guess Who and Connect 4 are favourites in our house, although we're afraid arguments are inevitable if your children are competitive sorts (ours are!)
o Colouring in- you can print off the outlines of Henrietta Halo and Horace Horn from this website, or find other printables at www.colouringpage.org

Outdoors

Sometimes, despite the weather, you have to get everyone outside to blow the cobwebs away. We like to visit our local park and feed the ducks. If there's a park near you, why not get your little ones bundled up and take them out into the fresh air to play some games. Old favourites that still entertain today are:

o Tag
o Hide & Seek
o Sardines
o Racing Games- hold your own athletics tournament
o Hopscotch (you provide the chalk)

If there is a council-run swimming pool in your area then winter is a great time to sign-up your kids for swimming lessons in preparation for Summer. If your little ones are already budding swimmers then find out about swimming clubs in your area, where they could go training once a week for a small subscription fee.

Winter Dates to Remember

You could hold a themed day with your kids to celebrate one of the up-coming winter events (list below). If you are feeling really brave you could even hold a children's party, but if you don't feel up to that then we don't blame you!

o Australia Day- 26th Jan 
o Chinese New Year- Starts 7th February and lasts 15 days. 2008 is the Year of the Rat.
o Pancake Day- Shrove Tuesday falls on 5th February in 2008.

Have fun and remember to post any pictures of you and your little angels having winter fun in our picture gallery.