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91�ȱ� > Tips and advice > Seasons and Festivals

Ahhh, the festive period. On the one hand, it can be lots of fun as families spend more time together than usual. On the other hand, it can be quite stressful, and for exactly the same reason – families spend more time together than usual!

One way to have a fun time getting merry together is to play games around the kitchen table or in a circle after dinner. This can be great for babies and toddlers’ language learning too – bonus!

Speech and language therapist Janet Cooper has given us some creative ideas for turning festive mealtimes into fun, interactive times for all the family, including babies and toddlers.

Hide the toy

• Give everyone a tea cloth, napkin or piece of kitchen roll.
• Choose a small object that baby recognises (this might be a tree decoration or favourite toy – but be careful of anything baby could choke on).
• One person should hide the toy under their napkin without baby seeing who has it. Go around the group saying ‘where is it?’ / ‘has (insert name here) got it?’.
• The family member named lifts their cloth to show if they have the object or not. If not, they say ‘no, not here’.
• Encourage your baby to point to whose cloth they want lifting next.
• With each person, ask ‘has mummy got it? / ‘has Uncle David got it?’.
• When you find the toy, say ‘there it is!’ and everyone clap.
• See if your baby would like to play again with a different person hiding the object.
• Try to make your voice as animated as possible to keep your baby’s interest.

This game is great for building looking and listening skills and teaches ‘object permanence’, that objects can still exist even when they are out of sight - a key skill in babies’ development.

Festive musical statues

• Play some music (any music will do but Christmas tunes are great for this).
• Everyone wriggles and dances about to the music in their chairs (or around the room if you have finished dinner).
• Encourage your baby to wave their hands or clap if they can.
• One person is in charge of turning the music off and says ‘stop’.
• When the music stops everyone must stay very still.
• The person in charge then says ‘go’ and turns the music back on.

Babies love to watch you dancing and having fun and will learn to listen for stop and go commands. This game is great to develop early listening skills. Older brothers and sisters will enjoy being in charge of the music too!

Pass the hat

• Get a hat or selection of hats – you could use the hats out of crackers for this if you like.
• Pass the hat around the group and sing (to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down): ‘Pass the hat around and round, Round and round, Round and round, Pass the hat around and round, Whose turn is it?’.
• When the singing stops the person who is holding the hat puts it on and pulls a funny face at the baby.
• If you have enough hats each person gets to keep the hat on when it lands on them until eventually everyone is wearing hats including baby.

This game helps baby learn to listen and anticipate what’s coming next, as well as looking out for faces. Babies love looking at faces. They find faces fascinating and learning about faces helps babies to make brain connections and bond with those around them.

Funny faces

• Sit in a circle close enough to reach the person next to you. Each person takes turns to offer their finger to the person next to them. If it is just you and baby this will still work too.
• Ask them to hold your finger. When they do, pull a funny face like sticking your tongue out or making a raspberry sound. When they let go, stop. Then it’s their turn with the next person along.
• One person will play with baby – it can be nice if there’s an older child who can play with baby to help them to bond together.
• See how many different funny faces and sounds you can make and who can make the family laugh the most.

Did you know that babies are short-sighted when they're first born? This means that they struggle to hold their attention on things that are happening too far from their face. This game is great for developing early attention and listening skills as well as encouraging your baby to look at faces.

Making music

• Give everyone something that can make a sound – a wooden spoon, a rattle, a spoon and tin drum, or crinkly wrapping paper.
• Sing your favourite Christmas songs together and play your ‘instruments’ as you sing.
• Get all the family to choose their favourite songs.
• Encourage baby to play along too – they might need help at first but will soon learn to bang or rattle along with the music.

Making sounds with simple ‘instruments’ is good for both children’s motor skills as well as their sense of rhythm, which can help with their language skills too.

Some tips for making your life easier over the festive period

As well as introducing some family games, there are all sorts of ways you can make the festive period run a little smoother. Here are some of our top tips:

• Allow others to hold the baby – try and establish a bit of turn-taking with your partner or other family members so you can crack on with whatever you need to do
• Ban the phones – from the dinner table at least. Older siblings and family members will hopefully engage with baby and keep them occupied
• Try using a baby sling to carry your little one – this will free up your hands to allow you to do the things you need to do, whether it’s wrapping gifts, cooking, decorating the tree or holding a snack/drink!
• Involve older children in decorating/wrapping – this gives them a role and helps them feel important. Kids often love the magic of festive rituals like hanging tree decorations.

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