Don’t We Love The Festive Seasons!

🎄 Prepping (or Not?) for Christmas While Homeschooling

I am so excited because Christmas season is slowly tiptoeing into our days… even if we haven’t officially stepped into December yet. I mean, let’s be real — the decorations are already up in towns, the fairy lights are quietly “accidentally” flickering in shop windows, and every TV advert seems to assume we’re already wrapping presents. So why pretend the season isn’t here? The kids certainly aren’t pretending. They’ve been building Lego gingerbread houses in their heads since mid-October.
And when you’re homeschooling, Christmas preparations take on a life of their own. You suddenly realise that the usual parent luxury of “pop out during school hours for secret shopping” simply does not exist for us. Nope. Our kids are always there. Watching. Listening. Investigating. They could work for the Gardaí with the level of suspicion they have each time an Amazon box arrives.
Honestly, my husband is the hero in this department. He’s a natural gift-picker. Anytime we enter a toy shop, he observes the kids like some kind of elf profiler — what they touch, what they linger over, what makes their eyes widen — and somehow he remembers it all months later. I don’t know how he does it.

🎅 Where Will We Go for Christmas This Year?

This is the big question floating around our house. Do we go all out and book a magical visit to the Emerald Park Christmas Grotto? Or do we embrace the fairy-lit atmosphere of the Galway Christmas Market, which is always bursting with handmade treasures, hot chocolates, and old-fashioned charm?
Or… do we keep it simple and enjoy our local community Christmas events, which may be small but feel incredibly warm and personal?
I honestly cannot decide yet. One thing I love about homeschooling is that we can go on quieter days — weekday mornings when queues are short and everything feels extra magical. That flexibility is a Christmas gift all on its own

🎄 The Closer We Get, the Fidgetier They Become

Every homeschool parent knows that December (or honestly, late November…) becomes a season of wiggly bodies, short attention spans, and the daily question: “How many more days until Christmas?”
It feels almost silly trying to force long math lessons or deep reading comprehension when the entire world is glowing and jingling and scented like cinnamon. So instead of resisting, we shift. We lean into the energy and turn our learning toward festive, hands-on, creative work.
Last year we made wooden decorations. This year, I am so excited because we’re using the Craftiosity Craft Kit Advent Calendar, which is absolutely beautiful and creative — every day brings a little artistic surprise. If anyone’s curious, Craftiosity’s monthly craft kits are genuinely gorgeous. It’s the kind of activity that fits perfectly with seasonal homeschooling, especially when the weather gets darker and we’re craving cosy projects. If you fall in love with them as much as we have, they offer a subscription box we always look forward to get.

🔬 Inspired by the Cavan Science Festival

Last weekend we went to the Cavan Science Festival and were honestly blown away by the workshops, especially the soap making. The kids LOVED it — the melting, stirring, moulding, decorating… the kind of hands-on activity that lights up their whole faces. And it gave me such a fun idea: why not make our own soaps for Christmas gifts this year? We already own this beginner-friendly soap-making kit (£22) and it’s so incredibly easy to use.

Here’s our plan for the next soap-making day:
We’ll melt the raw soap base in the microwave in short bursts, just enough to liquify it. Then the kids will choose their colours, add a few drops of scent (I’ll reuse the fragrance oils from last year’s candle-making attempt), and sprinkle in things like dried flowers or spices. Once everything is stirred into a glossy mixture, they’ll pour it into silicone moulds and peer into the fridge every 10 minutes to “check” on them. And honestly — the unmoulding moment is magical. The soap pops out perfectly shaped, shiny, scented, and ready to gift. Every time, the kids squeal like it’s Christmas morning.

🎀 Present Ideas for My Older Two

My daughter is already hinting heavily about crafting sets. She is obsessed with making friendship bracelets, so I’ve settled on this lovely wooden bead and bracelet kit from Amazon — it’s only £10 and packed with colours she’ll adore. But here’s the twist: if she makes enough bracelets, we can sell them at our local Christmas market. And if people actually buy them? Maybe that becomes her first little online shop next year. These are the kinds of home-learning adventures I didn’t expect when we started homeschooling, but I absolutely cherish.
As for my nearly-12-year-old son, he is deep into the world of BeamNG, the driving and physics simulation game. Honestly, I used to think it was “just cars,” but it’s actually geography, physics, creativity, and spatial learning disguised as entertainment. He’s constantly exploring new maps, terrains, challenges and driving scenarios.
So I’m thinking of getting him a Podcast Starter Kit so he can narrate what he learns, reviews cars, or even explains game strategies. I found this one on Amazon for just £12.
It feels like such a confidence-building tool — something that blends his interests with communication skills and creativity.

🧸 And the 2-Year-Old… The Wildcard

Shopping for the toddler is always the hardest because she already has ALL the toys from her siblings. (Please tell me I’m not the only accidental toy hoarder? I just can’t throw away “perfectly good toys.”)
So this year I’m leaning towards movement toys — maybe a toddler trampoline, or an indoor climbing structure that can move outdoors once the weather improves. Something that lets her burn all that toddler energy while the older kids work on writing or maths.
I can link some options for you if you want!

🎶 Our Festive Weekly Plan: Hands-On Learning, Music, Maths & Culture

This week, our learning is threading through festive themes — understanding why Christmas starts early, where Thanksgiving fits in, and how businesses everywhere use colours, music, scents, and pricing strategies to shape the season. Instead of tight schedules, we’re blending learning into storytelling, crafting, discussions, cooking, music and play.
We’ll explore why Christmas seems to “begin” earlier every year by looking at marketing cycles, tourism, and historical traditions. We’ll dive into different music genres — from classical Christmas concertos to American jazz to contemporary pop — and talk about how music affects mood and even consumer behaviour.
Maths will become wonderfully practical: learning about currencies, comparing prices, pretending to run our own holiday shop at home, and even discussing how Christmas markets choose what to sell. The kids will help cost out ingredients for homemade soaps and figure out selling prices — a fun introduction to profit margins and financial literacy.
We’ll also touch on Thanksgiving, exploring why it’s celebrated in the USA and Canada, what traditions mark the holiday, and how it differs from Irish winter traditions. It’s such a great way to expand their cultural awareness as the festive season approaches.
By Friday, our house will be filled with music, craft supplies, half-finished soaps, bracelet strings tangled in my jumper, and the smell of orange essential oil. In other words… peak homeschooling Christmas chaos. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Don’t miss out on the previous weeks’ planners!