The Benefits of Spending Distraction-Free Time With Family at Christmas

Many of us are guilty of spending hours on our phones browsing the internet, social media, working, studying and so on. It is no surprise that adults spend a lot of time on their phones. But for children, these screen-time totals, which rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, have become normalised as children continue to spend time online speaking to friends, gaming and completing online homework. According to a survey carried out by BBC Children's and Education, 79% of parents feel that children have used screens more since the pandemic.

With the Christmas holidays around the corner, many parents may be wondering how to reduce their kids' screen time. What better time to do so than the festive period, where there are plenty of activities and family gatherings to keep the kids occupied? Spending time on screens can often detract from family time as it stops people from being present in the moment. Christmas is a time when families get to spend quality time together, offering the opportunity to spend less time on screens and more time with loved ones distraction-free. 

The Festive Period Offers An Opportunity For Kids To Learn From Older Generations

The festive period often involves different generations meeting up and spending the holidays together. Crafting together is a great opportunity to build relationships, create memories and build bridges between generations. Traditionally, needlecrafts have been passed down in this way. Creating opportunities for this to happen at Christmas is a great way to get everyone off their screens and interacting.  

Keeping Crafts Alive For Future Generations

Research by the charity Heritage Crafts has identified 17 heritage crafts that are at serious risk of dying out with the next generation. Although needlecrafts are not yet on this list, it demonstrates how important it is to stay connected with the older generations to learn key skills before they are lost. There are many craft activities kids can enjoy doing with their grandparents and older family members such as painting, drawing, sewing, knitting and much more. 

Advice from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) suggests that children should have TV free days, or have a two hour limit on the time spent in front of screens. So, encouraging kids to take some time out to do something creative is a great way to not only spend time off screens, but also connect with others as well as build mindfulness into their routine. 

Craft Activities That Intergenerational Households Can Do Together At Christmas

Crafting together doesn’t have to be complicated. Even if you are all beginners, crafting together can be fun and a rewarding experience for everyone. There are lots of beginner-friendly free patterns you can download, which is a great place to begin. DMC has just released a beginner embroidery sampler which is perfect to learn and practise 13 different beginner stitches. There are also two more samplers in the collection, to encourage stitchers to build their skills and repertoire with easy and intermediate stitches.

Another great craft project for all the family to get involved in over Christmas is making festive tassels. The step-by-step instructions make it easy, even for beginners, to create luxurious tassels.

The festive period is a great opportunity for kids to take some time off their screens and connect with older family members to learn key skills and express their creativity. There are many creative activities that children can do with the help of their elders, such as painting, drawing and needlecraft which will help build fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. 

DMC inspires makers to create and connect more often to fulfil their aspirations and needs. We believe that what we do is more than craft. This article is the first in a series we’ll be posting that explores what needlecraft means to makers and how working with thread and yarn helps them in diverse and sometimes unexpected ways.