by Siobhan O Neill White

Tis the season to be jolly…..but after the last 22 months we can be forgiven if we’re not quite so jolly this year. Many of us are hesitant about socialising too much so we’ve to come up with some ideas for fun things to do at home!Board games may sound old fashioned but once you gather around and pull out a game, it can be great fun. We love the usual games like Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly but this year, we’ve added some new ones from cool Irish company Neverboard.ie They have adult games, kids games and ones for teens. We’ve been having good craic with Cards Against Humanity and Ticket To Ride.Baking is a fantastic way to spend a winter afternoon with kids. We got a cake mixer from Nisbets at the Ilac Shopping Centre and it’s been such a good investment Baking is an activity our children always want to get involved with and the results are deliciously rewarding! As for cooking, a good casserole dish and quality cookware are just the motivation needed to try new recipes. Each week a member of our family takes a turn to pick a recipe from our cookbooks. As we are home more often nowadays, finding new recipes to cook has kept dinner time interesting! No doubt there will be some rainy days over Christmas break so now is a good time to pick up some crafty materials. The Works is a brilliant shop for art supplies, craft sets, puzzle books and games. I picked up a word search puzzle book for our 10 year old and she has been getting great mileage out of it. It was under a fiver too, so great value and lots of quiet time for her (and us!) There is something nice about having a pajama day, throw in some hot chocolate and a movie and everyone is happy. Bronagh chocolates from Co Kerry make yummy stir in hot chocolate sticks. They even come with marshmallows on the sticks! Yummy and easy to make.Most of all, whatever you do and wherever you go, please take care and be safe. For competitions activity ideas and recipes, go to mams.ie free parenting website. Happy Christmas, Siobhán.