Family Festive Basket

Today we have had a really lazy family day at home, we are currently watching Christmas DVDs whilst munching on tasty festive treats. The weather is awful at the moment in the North East with strong winds and lots of rain, making it impossible to be able to get out and about with the little ones - as I don't fancy pushing a buggy in this weather. So we have taken full advantage of our family festive basket and I thought I would share it with you all as they are quick, easy and inexpensive to create and they are perfect for lazy family days at home. 

Every year I create a family festive basket to keep in the lounge so everything is close to hand and so we can all enjoy it. Basically, it is just a basket filled with some of our Christmas DVDs, books and then a selection of treats to enjoy whilst watching the films and reading the books. I normally switch the contents around every few days as we have quite a big selection of festive DVDs and books and obviously the snacks get eating and need to be topped up. 

In the basket, at the moment we have some of our family favourite DVDs such as Elf, Arthur Christmas, Home Alone and The Polar Express. When we have watched them or get bored of them I just switch them around with some other films that we own. 

We also have a selection of children's winter themed books to read to the little two and they will often pick a one of these to read before bed. Again I switch these around every few days as we have built up quite a big collection of Christmas books over the years. 

Lastly, I have a selection of snacks that we can all enjoy whilst watching the films together, at the moment we have Doritos, popcorn, elf cakes, chocolate coins, a packet of snowmen marshmallows and a few sachets of hot chocolate. When the snacks have been eating I just add some new treats that we have in the house. I sometimes include things like baking kits for the children to bake which keeps them occupied, gingerbread house kits are normally a hit with my eldest. 

Other things that I sometimes add to the basket is just things like Christmas themed colouring books and crayons or craft sets. You could also add things in like a nice box of chocolates or whatever kind of treats or activity your family enjoy. You really don't need to go out and spend a lot as most of the things in our basket are things that we already have around the home and at this time of year, I am always buying little treats with the shopping as I am a sucker for seasonal cakes and snacks. 

So that is it a really quick, easy and simple way to keep your family entertained on miserable days like today when you are stuck indoors. I love that everything in the basket has a Christmas theme to it and it really does help everyone start to get excited about the big man in red visiting. 

Do you have a festive basket in your house?