Perfect Christmas Gifts for Kids - Fun Activities and Workshops

Christmas is just around the corner! Chances are, your homes are already filled with sparkly fairy lights, Christmas trees of various heights, and wall and window decorations. You are now possibly searching for gifts for your kids, who are eagerly anticipating Santa’s arrival.

You might be eyeing the gazillion new toys and electronics in the market to make your little ones happy. It might even be making you dizzy! There’s so much to choose from - My Little Pony, Elsa-Anna games, Peppa Pig merchandise, Ariel dresses, Iron-Man masks, fancy cars, GPS watches and more. But deep inside your heart you know that all these toys will lose their charm soon after the festivities are over, and you will find these overpriced electronics or plastic toys piled up in the ever-growing mountain of ‘stuff’ in their rooms. 

So what should you get for your children? Let’s try answering this first: what are your own childhood memories like? Surely you fondly recall the good times and adventures you had while learning a new skill or engaging in activities with friends as opposed to being cooped up in your rooms with just another toy or videogame during the holidays. So you have your answer - now is the time to venture out of your abodes, and stir up some fun-filled memories for your precious ones.

Having kids try out new activities and participate in novel events will also allow you, as parents, to get an insight into where your kids’ interests lie, and what their strengths are. This in turn can help you shape their future paths better and with a lot more conviction.

The Hong Kong market is undoubtedly flooded with all kinds of activities and events that you could take your little ones to. Let us help you cherry-pick some really cool ones that are bound to be a hit with young learners. These ideas are sure to get everyone into the holiday spirit!

You can test out some of these exciting winter workshops scheduled over the next few weeks. Most of these camps run for about 2-3 hours a day, 4-5 days a week.

Kids' Gallery

Founded in 1996, Kids’ Gallery has a long history of producing artists, dancers, actors, and singers. They now have centres in Causeway Bay, Central, Bel Air, Yau Tong and Kowloon Tong.

• Olaf’s Night Before Christmas (ages: 4-8 years) – in this Art & Musical Theatre Camp, kids will learn different painting techniques to create a beautiful scene that celebrates the winter festive season. They can then bring the scene to life by becoming their favourite Frozen character, acting and singing out songs from the movie, and lots more.
• My Little Pony: Holly, Jolly, Harmony (ages: 3-6 years) - instead of simply filling your cabinets with countless figurines of My Little Pony characters such as Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, give your kids the opportunity and skill to create a stuffed, cuddly hobby horse toy of their beloved Pony character and let the carols begin.

Plenty of other workshops from Kids’ Gallery - such as Peppa and the Day at Snowy Mountain or New Year Celebration with PJ Masks can be found here.

ActiveKids

Since 2004, ActiveKids has been specializing in delivering top-quality educational programs for kids. Do not miss out on their unique winter workshops in Kennedy Town. Some of their well known programs include:

• Science Adventures (ages: 5-12 years) – a US-based, nationally-accredited science education program Science Adventures has been running for over 35 years. Through its curriculum, children are introduced to science in an interactive and imaginative way. For example, one of the activities that will be offered in the upcoming Science Adventures Winter Camps is The Great Dino Mystery. This will allow children to become junior paleontologists; using their skills in archaeology, chemistry and biology, they will get hands-on with fossils, amber and mighty meteors. They will also explore the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of dinosaurs and the survival of other creatures on our Earth.
• The Chess Academy (ages: 4-17 years) - by enrolling in this camp, gift your child with the ability to develop good character, strong spatial reasoning, strategic thinking, confidence, memory and good sportsmanship as they learn to play chess under the instruction of experienced coaches.
• RoboCode (ages: 7-12 years) - as part of this program, kids will learn about engineering, coding and creative thinking. They can program touch sensors, build a pedestrian traffic light, make a multi-functional car that can be transformed into a robotic arm, or create a delivery robot.

• Mission Runway (ages: 6-12 years) - this one is for your budding fashion designers. Not only will your creative ones gain knowledge of how to conceptualize their ideas into real wearable clothes, but they will also learn textile basics in order to construct a collection of outfits and accessories. So help your young ones take a stab at designing their own costume for the upcoming festivities!

The Genius Workshop

Founded in 2004, the Genius Workshop helps impart valuable science-related knowledge through fun and enjoyable methods of teaching in Kowloon and Hong Kong.

• Mechanic Workshop (ages: 3-4.5 years) – with this workshop, let your kids explore the world of machines, get acquainted with physics concepts, and fine-tune their motor and cognitive skills. They will have lots of hands-on fun as they work with gears, axles and pulleys.
• Senior Santa’s Emergency Camp (ages: 7-14 years) - Let your kids help Santa save Christmas during this 4-day Christmas camp! Global warming has destroyed Santa's Village, and with Chri mas coming up, he’s in trouble. The kids will help Santa rebuild a new “smart” and eco-friendly village in order to save Christmas – they will use LEGO® EV3 robotics to create personalized transportation (controlled using iPads) to race to Santa's Village. Then, they will redesign the layout of the village to incorporate green energy, and build factory machinery to help Santa meet his Christmas deadline (whilst learning coding in the process). Finally, they will help modernize Santa’s sleigh in order to deliver all the presents on time.

Dive into other uniquely packaged workshops such as Junior Santa's Emergency Camp, Engineering Workshop, Robotic Division, and Game Development camps on whizpa.com.

Minisport

Minisport helps children develop skills and build confidence through various sports camps and classes. They will be offering Christmas Camps in Causeway Bay and Pokfulam – here is a popular one:

• Victoria Park Christmas Camp (ages: 2.5-7 years) – this fun-filled camp at Victoria Park will enable children to try multiple activities such as football, tennis, basketball, yoga and more.

See more winter sports camps here.

Junior Snappers

Junior Snappers is the brainchild of a team of dedicated film-makers who are passionate about training young children in this beautiful art of self-expression.

• Film-making Christmas Camp (ages: 8-12 years) - this fun and hands-on film-making workshop will allow kids to use their imagination in areas such as creating characters, developing dialogue and plots, and putting together storyboards. They will learn about cinematography, directing, sound and production.

JEMS Learning House

Located in Wanchai, JEMS Learning House is an English-speaking learning community focused on character education for children. Here’s one of their unique camps:

• Core Level “Save, Spend, Share” Camp (age: 6-12 years) - it is important for children to learn how to make responsible decisions regarding saving, spending and sharing. By choosing this camp, you will help your child understand the importance of saving and how to set goals for saving, the differences between needs & wants, ways to keep track of money spent, and the advantages and disadvantages of using credit.

They also have a junior level camp for ages 3-6 years.

Da Di Mandarin

Da Di Mandarin offers Mandarin lessons in a fun and easy to learn fashion. They have several camps that offer Mandarin lessons through art, dancing, science, cooking and handicrafts. Here’s what will children will learn in the handicraft camp:

• Mandarin + Handicraft Christmas Camp (age: 3-8 years) - this is a fun Christmas handicraft class that combines creativity and language learning. Through the process of doing origami, paper cutting or clay works, children will be taught Mandarin in a fun way.

Southside Mandarin

At Southside Mandarin, children learn Chinese through a Putonghua immersion program that has been developed in-house. Their curriculum is geared towards students from toddler age through the primary years.

• Southside Mandarin Christmas Camp (age: 2.5-5 years, 6-8 years, 9-12 years) - children will be immersed in a complete Putonghua environment while learning, playing, painting, singing and basically having fun. In addition to language learning, they will have the opportunity to try wushu, Chinese dance, calligraphy and STEM activities. Christmas singing, presents giving and Santa Claus are all part of the package.

Prism Art & Science Academy

Prism Art & Science Academy offers a variety of child development programs, including music, abacus, and LEGO® Education programs. They focus on the personal growth and development of children through all kinds of arts and mathematical education. Here is one of their many creative Christmas camps:

• DIY Ukulele Workshop (age: 5-8 years) – in this workshop, children will be able to design their own ukulele with a Christmas theme. They will be taught to play familiar Christmas songs, and experience the joy of singing and playing their own musical instrument.

See more interesting workshops from Prism Art & Science Academy here.

So, what are you waiting for? Sign up by 20 Dec 2018 and spend the first HK100 on us using discount code "XMAS18"! Tell us which camps you end up trying, and don’t forget to leave a review on whizpa.com!