Thanks to the coronavirus (or not, as the reader is free to decide), we are currently spending even more time within our four walls than usual. No "Schlöfle", no mulled wine or punch at the Christmas market, no cosy raclette evenings with friends.

Instead: Punch and Judy shows à gogo, baking güetzi in November and Advent decorations that get even me old Christmas grouch in the mood. And lots of time in the nearby forest with a never-ending "stick haul" for the fireplace.

Three ideas that we always enjoy doing at the moment and where we spend quality time together:

We've had a seasons table in our kitchen for some time now. This is a place where the course of the seasons is depicted. During these unusual times, the children have arranged the table particularly lavishly. They brought mountains of flowers, leaves, stones, acorns, chestnuts and nuts and decorated the table with tree bark and small branches. In between, little gnomes and elves romp around - and a little spot made of moss was lovingly prepared for tomcat Carlo. How lovely!

You can buy a shoe rack from a furniture store - or build it yourself with your daughter and son! It may take longer, but it's much more fun. I speak from experience. Even inexperienced DIY enthusiasts without a professional workshop can manage to saw a few boards and screw them together. Once the shelf is finished, the children and father are almost bursting with pride - even if the wall is crooked and the lid doesn't close perfectly. More projects await: How about a bird house? A wooden compost bin? A towel rack?

For reading aloud or reading yourself: Rico, Oskar and the Deep Shadows

Rico, 10, finds it difficult to tell left from right. He feels safest in his street, where you can buy everything and from where he can easily find his way to school.When Rico gets stressed, the thoughts in his head tumble around like the balls in a bingo drum. That's why he calls himself "deeply gifted" So it's a good thing that Rico meets a highly gifted boy with a blue helmet - Oskar. It is the beginning of a wonderful friendship. When Oskar disappears without a trace, Rico knows that he can't abandon his new friend. So he sets off in search of Oskar, who has been kidnapped by the famous Mister 2000. This is the first book in the "Rico and Oskar" series by Andreas Steinhöfel. If you don't know it yet - definitely get it. A wonderful book. To read to yourself or aloud.

To make yourself: Dip dye candles in a colour gradient
This is the second time we have made "dip dye candles". It's super easy, fun and also a bit meditative. The soya wax and these wax colouring blocks can be ordered online. I melt the wax in jars in the oven at 110 degrees.

Important to know: when melting, the wax collapses extremely, so you may need to top it up once. If it thickens during colouring, simply melt it again in the oven, it works better with liquid wax.

We have now "dipdyed" almost 100 candles. Decorated with a beautiful stitch, they make wonderful Christmas presents for all goddads, grandmothers, teachers, tennis coaches, etc. We love it!

Good instructions for the dip-dye candles can be found here:

Playing with children: The reversal day
We used to do the reversal day a lot. The children take on the role of the parents and vice versa. As well as being great fun for the children to educate their parents, it also makes perfect sense. If the parents don't obey, then the children see themselves in the role of the parents, which leads to much more understanding, but works in a very relaxed and playful way. That used to be great fun for us.

To spoil the parents: Ristorante Capricorn
Children cook for their parents. We called it "Ristorante Capricorn". When the children were small and we had bad weather for the first time during the Engadin holidays, we needed an idea. The children designed the menu. Then we went shopping together and helped the children just as much as was necessary. The little ones worked with great passion and diligence. We dined and the children were extremely proud. We parents did the washing up. It was always a big and extremely enjoyable event for everyone. We did it regularly later on, whenever the children asked us to.

Two large sheets of paper and countless pens lie on the dining table, with two girls' heads bent over them. They talk, sing, laugh or remain silent for minutes on end. But they always draw. An entire school building is to be created, with a gym, classrooms, playground, children, tables and chairs. True to detail. That takes time. After about two hours, the personalised hidden object picture is put on the shelf. Girl number 2, best friend and neighbour in one, has to go home. But the work is far from finished. Over the next few days, it is repeatedly dug out and worked on, added to, erased, individual areas painted over, while the little sister - tolerated at the same table - lets off steam with glitter paints and Klebi.

This is what you need for a self-designed hidden object picture: a large sheet of paper, or four A4 sheets glued together, pens, imagination and lots of time.

For adults to listen to: Crime thriller, crime thriller, crime thriller!
When it gets dark and cold outside, you should make yourself cosy at home - for example in the bathtub with a crime podcast. And there's none more exciting than "Zeit Verbrechen" from the German newspaper ZEIT. In the hour-long episodes, true crime cases are told by the court reporter from the Zeit editorial team. Sometimes it sends shivers down my spine, as a listener I feel like I'm right in the middle of the crime. And if you do have to leave the house, this podcast is also a great companion for boring car journeys.

I have the privilege of living right next to a forest, so I'm practically 10 metres away from the front door and onto a mossy path. The forest is my place to recharge my batteries, and nature in general is so good for my head and heart these days. Sometimes I drag the whole family, including the dog, into the mossy greenery on my doorstep. The dog and I lead the way like Aragon, our noses outstretched towards the scent. My favourite time to do this is when it's damp, muddy and foggy. Then we trudge through the forest steaming - the younger ones happily, the older boys a little less willingly. Like the American writer and philosopher Thoreau (1817 - 1862), who famously lived for two years, two months and two days in complete seclusion in a cabin in the woods at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, in order to concentrate on the essentials.

I can sympathise with him, because nature touches me too with all my senses. And so we usually come home with branches, leaves, stones and all sorts of other things from our forays. Sometimes we make something out of them, sometimes we cook a risotto outside over the fire with the mushrooms.

Singing with the whole family: karaoke!
A big family highlight was always singing karaoke with the whole family. Not only was it a lot of fun back then, but it's still a funny and wonderful memory today: my mum recorded the songs my sisters and I sang on cassette - a family hit that still makes us laugh to this day.

Do it yourself: Building hedgehog winter quarters for families with a garden

Unfortunately, the cute little spiny creatures have fewer and fewer opportunities to hibernate. The reason: more and more natural areas are being trimmed to create "English gardens". This leaves hedgehogs with almost no shelter. Yet they are fairly undemanding. The ideal winter quarters are usually piles of branches, dead wood and leaves. Hedgehogs also find protection against the cold in hollows in the ground and under hedges. Tip: Instead of clearing branches and leaves from the garden, you can easily create a hibernation place for hedgehogs or build a small hedgehog house. Click here for instructions on how to make a hedgehog hibernation shelter: www.igelzentrum.ch