Cheap and cheerful Christmas activities for kids

We've put together a list of cheap and cheerful activities to do at home that'll keep the kids busy without you having to fork out too much this Christmas.

The Christmas holidays are great, but they do leave you with a lot of time to fill with the kids. 

It can cost a fortune to keep them entertained throughout the festive season, so here's our list of cheap and cheerful ideas that the kids will enjoy that won't break the bank.

1. Build a gingerbread house 

Depending on how much money you want to spend and how much effort you're willing to put in, building a gingerbread house can be a half-hour activity or a whole afternoon of fun.

Building a gingerbread house from scratch

You need:

• A template to follow (you can download these for free online);
• A good recipe;
• Your basic ingredients (typically butter, flour, golden syrup, brown sugar, bicarbonate of soda, eggs and ginger);
• Decorations (this can be anything you like, from simple icing made from icing sugar and water to chocolates, sweets and edible glitter).

To buy all of the basic ingredients you'll need to spend around £7-9 depending on where you shop, but this will leave you with plenty of leftovers for other bakes.

The price of decorations really varies depending on what you want, but you can pick up a packet of icing sugar for under £1 in most supermarkets.

Ideas for other extras include edible snowflake decorations on the roof (£1 for 65g in B&M), candy canes around the door (£1 for 12 in Poundland) and Smarties for window panes (150g tubes are £1 in Sainsbury's at the moment). 

Total cost: between £11 and £13, but you can swap out the decorating ingredients for different tastes and budgets.

To make sure your gingerbread house is a success, have a look at our sister site loveFOOD's secrets to making the best-ever gingerbread house.

Using a pre-made gingerbread house kit

Don't let a lack of time or construction skills put you off building a gingerbread house, as there are loads of kits out there that can give you a helping hand.

The cheapest kit we found was the Make Your Own Gingerbread House from B&M, which only costs £1.99.

That's one of several kits available from the discount retailer, whilst Asda and Morrisons also have sets for under £5.

All of them come with the pre-baked gingerbread pieces as well as decorations.

If you don't fancy making a full-blown house, you could give gingerbread men a crack.

These are even easier to bake and also get the kids to have fun in the kitchen.

2. Festive movie night

When it's a miserable day outside a trip to the cinema is always a popular option for families with young children. 

But given the staggering cost – a quick look at Cineworld's website showed that a family of four heading to the pictures this December would have to spend £43 just on tickets, whilst a small popcorn will set you back £4.30 per go – why not create your own film screening at home?

How to get cheap and free cinema tickets

Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV all have thousands of films to choose from, meaning you're much more likely to find something to suit the whole family.

Don't panic if you're not subscribed to any of these services, as catch-up sites like iPlayer and ITV player often have films on demand.

Failing that, the TV schedule for December is always packed with plenty of options, so have a look at the line-up and plan an evening in around a family favourite.

Make the popcorn yourself so that it's hot and fresh like it would be from the cinema.

You can get three packs of Propercorn Microwaveable Sweet Popcorn for £1.50 in Asda at the moment or for much better value and only a little bit more effort you can grab a packet of popcorn kernels (500g costs £1.25 in Asda) and cook them on the hob yourself.

Toss in a little bit of salt or sugar to recreate your favourite cinema flavours, or you could try making toffee or tamarind caramel popcorn yourself if you're feeling a bit more adventurous.

For an authentic cinema feel, serve your snacks in popcorn boxes, which can be bought for £1.85 on Amazon.

Total cost: between £2.30 and £2.55 depending on whether you'd prefer to cook your corn in the microwave or on the hob.

See how much you could save with a Sky TV, broadband & phone bundle

3. Make your own Christmas decorations

An afternoon of crafting your own decorations will keep the kids amused and will give your home the personal Christmas touch that you can't get from shop-bought baubles.

There are hundreds of free DIY videos online, covering everything from 10-minute crafts to intricate designs that older ones might also enjoy.

We've priced up a couple of our favourites to see how cheaply you can throw together some Christmas decorations with the kids:

Salt dough decorations

What you'll need:

• Flour;
• Salt;
• Warm water;
• String/ribbon;
• Decorative bits and pieces (e.g. glitter or paint);
• Glue;
• If you have festive cookie cutters these are also handy, but you can also cut the different shapes freehand.

The basic method is that you mix the flour, salt and water to form a dough, roll it out and cut out the shapes for your decorations.

Make sure that you make a hole for the string/ribbon and then pop the dough shapes in the oven on a low heat for about three hours.

Before decorating, leave the shapes to dry out overnight and then go wild with the paint and glitter the following day.

Cost: flour and salt should come to less than £1, whilst you can pick up two metres of ribbon from The Works for £1, if not less at your local haberdashery. 

Extras like glitter and sequins can be found in craft packs for £2 from The Works.

Hobbycraft has a selection of Christmas paints for £4, whilst you can grab a pack of four paints at Asda for £2.50.

Cone crafts

If you have pine or fir trees nearby, you might as well put the cones to good use.

They can be a great basis for some really simple crafts and obviously they're free! 

Adding glitter to the cones can make for a really simple decoration, or you can be a little more imaginative and make Father Christmas or animal cones by adding a splash of paint, felt and googly eyes.

Cost: between 59p and £2. You can get a single tub of glitter from The Works for 59p, or the stationary shop also offers six tubes of glitter for £1.

Assorted packs of felt are also £1.

Christmas tree decorations for food lovers

4. Writing letters to Father Christmas

Getting the kids to write a letter to Father Christmas is a great activity for a bad weather day, and it's a fun way to get a bit of writing practice in over the Christmas holidays too.

Royal Mail's Write to Santa scheme has already closed for 2019 – it allows kids to send their letter to a special address and they will all receive a personalised response from the man himself – but there's still plenty of time for kids to write their letters ahead of the big day, and you can add to the Christmas magic by writing a reply yourself.

There's lots of inspiration online as to how to write letters from Father Christmas, but it's best to avoid print-outs as these will lack authenticity.

Also, make sure your handwriting isn't too obvious and try and get any older siblings to play along to make it more believable.

Cost: between £1 and £5. You can get 30 sheets of white card from The Works for £1, which you can use to make both the card and the envelope if you don't have any at home.

Again there would be additional costs for extra things for decorating.

9 edible Christmas gifts that anyone can make

5. Make your own Christmas presents

There are lots of cheap gifts that you can make at home, and getting the kids involved will definitely add a personal touch.

We've picked out some of our favourite budget-friendly crafts that make for great gifts:

Coupon books

These can be a really amusing gift and could even get the kids doing some chores for you.

Get them to choose things that they could do for the person receiving the gift, like 'Breakfast in bed' or 'Hoovering the living room' and make coupons out of card for each.

These booklets can then be given to friends or family and the vouchers can be redeemed whenever the receiver fancies.

Cost: you can get 30 sheets of white card from The Works for £1.

Picture frames

You can't get a more personal gift than a photo, and why not upcycle the frame to go with it?

Charity shops are often overflowing with old picture frames that you can buy and decorate.

If you want to print photos use an online service like Snapfish, which tends to be much cheaper than high street stores or supermarkets.

Cost: it depends on the type of picture frame you buy, but most charity shops will have something on the shelves for under £10.

Getting photos printed costs 10p per photo at Snapfish, whilst decorating materials will vary depending on what you want to use.

Christmas shopping tips: how to save money by shopping second-hand

Jars of joy

This is another personal gift that should bring out your child's kind (or cheeky) side.

You can get any storage jar – although Kilner jars are particularly nice and not too pricy – and fill it with pieces of card or paper with messages on.

The notes can be anything from good memories your child has of the person receiving the gift to happy quotes that they think would make them smile.

Cost: a good-sized Kilner jar costs around £5-6, and you'll also need card or colourful paper for your notes, which should cost about £1.

6. Christmas treasure hunt

Easter egg hunts are great fun, so why not make your own winter version?

A treasure hunt with lots of clues can keep the kids amused for hours and can easily be kept in the house if the weather is rotten.

It doesn't need to take hours to set up either, as sites like Pinterest are packed with ideas for clues and hiding places. 

If you don't want to spend any money on treats – or you're already concerned about your children's sugar intake this December – you can use any everyday objects as the treasure. 

The best bit is usually the excitement of working out the clues and finding the items rather than the actual treasure itself. 

Cost: free if you use items from around the house, or a couple of pounds if you choose to buy sweets or chocolates as prizes.

7. Games night

The festive season is a great time to turf out the board games and is it really Christmas if you haven't spent nine hours making enemies during Monopoly? 

If the kids (or you) are tired of the selection you've got at home, have a look online for free downloadable games that you can print out, such as on websites like Printable Boardgames.

If you're feeling a bit more creative, you can also design your own boardgame with templates from Twinkl, which you can print out and make your own.

8. Make a family video

Kids love any excuse to dress up and mess around, and channelling that energy into a family Christmas video will leave you with something fun that you can send to relatives.

The video can be anything from a Christmas carol that you've all practised together, to a full-blown play with a script written by the kids.

If your children are a bit camera shy, try making a stop motion video.

Create scenes using paper cut-outs, Lego, drawings or dolls and take lots of photos, moving the objects slightly each time.

When the photos are compiled using an app like Stop Motion Studio or Mega Construx Stop Motion Builder, the end result is a short animated film. 

With the kids entertained, here are some other ideas for making sure your Christmas goes off without a hitch:

The best Christmas crackers for 2019

Christmas recipes: the best baking, leftover, side dish, and main course ideas

Know your rights: the UK's best and worst Christmas returns policies