Ideas for december at home

[nycdisneygal]

Not that we ever take vacation in december since I can never get the time off, but we are itching to do something since we did not do our usual multiple trips this year (my 4 yr old packed a bag this weekend and announced we are going to Disney tomorrow). I had thought about booking a night on a weekend in coastal CT (We live in CT) but I really dont plan on eating out so its complicated. So thinking of ideas for fun things at home in winter/december. Day trips get hard since we have to think about bathroom stops etc.

Was thinking can do a
- hot chocolate bar and maybe some "apres ski" drinks (non alcoholic too)
- pick a xmas movie for every weekend
-we have already been doing a lot of baking but probably that
-We do have a day in NYC when I have to take my little one for her annual physical - we cant all fit in my apartment (1 bathroom!) so maybe will book a hotel for half of us so we can stay overnight and see the decorations. I only have 1 day off.
-puzzles
- online virtual museum tours
-looking into drive through light shows...

So what ideas do you have? I am sure you guys have some creative ideas.

 

[sandam1]

Inspired by someone else, I am planning a virtual vacation to Universal Studios (my happiest place), but you could do the same with Disney. The thought process is to do as much as I can of the things that I love about UO from home. My plans include:

- Dedicating 2-3 days slowly to this "vacation." I have the time off work to take, but also, mentally, I need a break for the day to day things. So I'm going to pretend that I'm on vacation and that the laundry, cleaning, etc. isn't available to be done. I'm going to prepare for my "vacation" in advance so do all of the shopping, the planning - including putting together playlists, etc. - before my "vacation" starts.
- Having UO inspired treat foods (a reasonable butterbeer substitute, fish and chips, pizza tots, Voodoo-esque donuts for me) either available or to be made. There are SOOOO many recipes for these items on-line - and even some directly from the companies themselves
- Create a playlist of my favorite shows (I adore UO's Christmas stuff and might even sneak in a few Disney things here) and play them on my big screen TV. Feet up, on the couch, ah, the luxury!
- Ride the rides - again, you can find so many high quality ride videos to play on the TV
- UO inspired movies- Harry Potter, Minions, Men in Black, Shrek are all on my list
- No cooking other than breakfast (which we usually eat in the room when on vacation) or UO treats. Take out is the name of the game here, just like on vacation.
- I know that our local YMCA (and I think I heard about some hotels as well) was renting private pool time. I may not pull the trigger on this (it seems like an extravagance for one person), but I could see it totally making sense for a family. And what says vacation more than time at the pool!

For me, the key is to make it as much like vacation as I can get. So certain things are must-dos (the food, the shows) and certain things are must-not do (household chores). I can probably only "vacation" (i.e. do nothing) for 2 days, maybe 3 tops before I start going batty, but I think that it will satisfy the vacation urge until we can start traveling again.

 

[nycdisneygal]

Inspired by someone else, I am planning a virtual vacation to Universal Studios (my happiest place), but you could do the same with Disney. The thought process is to do as much as I can of the things that I love about UO from home. My plans include:

- Dedicating 2-3 days slowly to this "vacation." I have the time off work to take, but also, mentally, I need a break for the day to day things. So I'm going to pretend that I'm on vacation and that the laundry, cleaning, etc. isn't available to be done. I'm going to prepare for my "vacation" in advance so do all of the shopping, the planning - including putting together playlists, etc. - before my "vacation" starts.
- Having UO inspired treat foods (a reasonable butterbeer substitute, fish and chips, pizza tots, Voodoo-esque donuts for me) either available or to be made. There are SOOOO many recipes for these items on-line - and even some directly from the companies themselves
- Create a playlist of my favorite shows (I adore UO's Christmas stuff and might even sneak in a few Disney things here) and play them on my big screen TV. Feet up, on the couch, ah, the luxury!
- Ride the rides - again, you can find so many high quality ride videos to play on the TV
- UO inspired movies- Harry Potter, Minions, Men in Black, Shrek are all on my list
- No cooking other than breakfast (which we usually eat in the room when on vacation) or UO treats. Take out is the name of the game here, just like on vacation.
- I know that our local YMCA (and I think I heard about some hotels as well) was renting private pool time. I may not pull the trigger on this (it seems like an extravagance for one person), but I could see it totally making sense for a family. And what says vacation more than time at the pool!

For me, the key is to make it as much like vacation as I can get. So certain things are must-dos (the food, the shows) and certain things are must-not do (household chores). I can probably only "vacation" (i.e. do nothing) for 2 days, maybe 3 tops before I start going batty, but I think that it will satisfy the vacation urge until we can start traveling again.

Love those!! I am looking to see if I can find some private tour or rental or something here too.
May steal your UO ideas -- the last 2 years for MLK weekend I have taken my older DD to UO as a special mother daughter trip. I had put in the time off for next yr but we are not going so maybe for that weekend we can follow your list and no cooking sounds great!

 

[cvjw]

Is there a reason you can’t eat in restaurants? We eat out all the time - everything has been open and normal since May. At first, it seemed scary to be back dining out, but now we don’t even think about it.

And we spent 2.5 weeks at Disney this fall - felt totally safe and almost like normal. We drove from Georgia and had to stop for food and gas along the way. Just wore our masks, cleaned our hands and social distanced. All was fine.

We are a healthy family - 50+ age parents, 20+ age sons. Both my 70+ year old parents and 21 year old son have already had the virus. Sick a couple days, then totally fine.

 

[MomToOne]

A friend and I are going to go to a Christmas Craft fair in a few weeks - it's outside, and we'll go early in the morning when crowds are lower. I haven't seen her since this mess started, so we are both excited.

DD20 and her boyfriend are going to see a drive-thru light display one night that a large church 20 or so miles from here does. It's free, but requires reservations so they can manage traffic. If you don't have something like this, there usually is a neighborhood or two in any area known for their decorating. Load up the family in the car, bring some cookies and put on Christmas music.

DD and I enjoy doing all-day Christmas movie marathons. We stay in our PJs, eat appetizers all day, etc.

DD always decorates a gingerbread house. Even at 20, she was bugging me the other day about when I was going to buy it LOL

We used to make "Christmas ornaments for the birds". Smear a pinecone with peanut butter, roll it in some birdseed, then attach a string and hang it in a tree. Truth is the squirrels got most of it but they deserve a Christmas treat too! It's the sort of craft that's good for even youngish kids - it doesn't take a super long time, so they don't run out of interest and get fussy or walk away mid way through.

I'm looking into trying some Christmas dishes from other countries this year. Kentucky Fried Chicken counts - in Japan, it's big on Christmas Eve!

(I'm not big on going to restaurants these days either. I just live with curbside pickup, or delivery. I am generally healthy, but I have asthma and a few other minor issues that **could** present a challenge with Covid, although I fully acknowledge they may not either. I'd just rather not find out which one it would be. )

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Is there a reason you can’t eat in restaurants? We eat out all the time - everything has been open and normal since May. At first, it seemed scary to be back dining out, but now we don’t even think about it.

And we spent 2.5 weeks at Disney this fall - felt totally safe and almost like normal. We drove from Georgia and had to stop for food and gas along the way. Just wore our masks, cleaned our hands and social distanced. All was fine.

We are a healthy family - 50+ age parents, 20+ age sons. Both my 70+ year old parents and 21 year old son have already had the virus. Sick a couple days, then totally fine.

Not sure of the CT but PA and NJ are covid restricting again closing dining rooms , theaters etc. ...
My kids had so much fun recreating Disney . We bought Mickey premium bars eggo mickey waffles etc. The kids used the desk chair and a fan on the big screen tv / stereo riding pov rides on youtube We would push the chair back and forth. We orderd Doordash for dinner and ate it in the tent " camping" in the living room. We decorated matching tshirts.
The part that made the day special is we did not use our phones or watch tv we just spent the day together.

 

[martikus]

Build a huge fort. My son always thought that was a huge deal.

a day full of xmas crafts

 

[bearzabout]

Check your local tv station websites for posts about neighborhoods with nice Christmas lights. I bet more people are decorating their homes this year. The only reliable bathrooms I have found are in grocery stores, so find some near the houses you plan to see and check their hours.

Our local zoo has a terrific Christmas light display. We go on weeknights to avoid big crowds. Every day is a different experience at a zoo, and they need support more than ever.

Check out virtual reality viewers. You can make one cheaply with instructions from Google using cardboard. Insert your smart phone inside. There are many sites that offer virtual tours using this method.

Make your own Christmas ornaments that you can enjoy when decorating the tree for years to come.

Bake a gingerbread house. Look at videos and pictures from the National Gingerbread Championships in Asheville NC for some motivation. Kids love to decorate them.

Look into projects using Raspberry Pi. It is never too early to teach kids to build their own computers and learn to code.

Look into makers fairs projects for young kids.

Plan a garden for next year. Look into u-pick farms for some great outdoor activities to do in the spring and summer. Learn about canning your own food.

Do your own throw downs by using two recipes from different chefs for the same dish and see which you like best. Start with easy dishes like pancakes or mac and cheese.

Do some research into the way holidays are celebrated in other countries and do projects specific to different countries each week.

Let us know if any of these ideas are a hit.

 

[sk!mom]

Is there a reason you can’t eat in restaurants? We eat out all the time - everything has been open and normal since May. At first, it seemed scary to be back dining out, but now we don’t even think about it.

Not the Op, but for me...I’m avoiding unnecessary indoor activities in a global pandemic. Infection rate and case count around me are the highest ever. Therefore, it’s mostly work, home, grocery curbside.

As far as the original question, make a gingerbread house, have a cookie decorating night, look for outdoor or drive through light displays, movie nights, craft night, gift wrapping night.