Christmas is such a wonderful time of year when we get to spend time together as a family. During the holidays I love planning fun family Christmas activities we can do together to have fun and make memories.
I know that the holiday season can get busy and it’s easy to feel like we need to do it all. But we can’t do it all and it’s okay to say no to things.
Prioritize your time and only put those things that are important to you and bring you joy on your busy holiday calendar. For my family that means we have nights scheduled to watch Christmas movies, decorate gingerbread houses and do the other Christmas activities that are important to us.
In this post, I’m sharing a few fun, family-friendly, Christmas activities to give you some ideas of fun things to do during December. Should you feel like you need to do any or all of these activities? No. This is just a list of ideas to inspire you to have fun and make memories with your family.
You can get the list of these 50 activities at the bottom of the post or you can go get a blank Christmas bucket list here to create your own list of Christmas activities.
50 Family Friendly Christmas Activities
These activities are listed in no particular order and just because they are all included in this post doesn’t mean you should feel like you need to do all of them.
They are here as a resource for those looking for fun holiday activities to do with the whole family.
1.Get a Christmas Tree
We love going to a tree farm and cutting down our Christmas tree each year. It has become the perfect way to start the Christmas season for our family.
2. Make Ornaments
Making ornaments to decorate the tree is always a fun family activity and they become awesome keepsakes you get to enjoy year after year. We have made several fun DIY ornaments over the years and they are some of my favorites to hang on the tree each year. (find DIY ornament ideas here)
3. Decorate the Tree
Have fun decorating the tree together as a family, turn up that Christmas music and have some fun. My kids love helping decorate the tree and though our tree doesn’t look perfect I love seeing the magic it brings to our home as we all decorate together.
4. Bake Cookies
Spend time together in the kitchen making a mess and some yummy Christmas cookies. We love making all kinds of cookies but the kid’s favorite cookies to make are always Christmas Sugar Cookies.
5. Listen to Christmas Music
I love listening to Christmas music it brings all the warm, cozy feelings and memories to our home. We listen to a variety of Christmas music but Mannheim Steamroller is always the music that makes me feel in the Christmas spirit.
6. Christmas Lights Drive
Take a drive around the neighborhood looking at all the Christmas lights. Check out these 3 things to make your Christmas drive extra special.
7. Watch Christmas Movies
There are so many good Christmas movies, each year we try to watch several of them. Home Alone and Elf are a couple of our favorites and we always watch them multiple times. Here are some other fun holiday movie favorites.
8. Call or Write Santa
Help the kids write a letter to Santa with this free printable letter to Santa Coloring Page or give him a call and tell him what’s on their Christmas list. Here is Santa’s phone number. Yes, it really works!
9. Make Christmas Cards
Spend some time making and writing Christmas cards to send to family and friends. We love ordering Christmas cards with our family photos and then adding a family newsletter and personal notes to family and friends we don’t see very often.
10. Dip Chocolates
Growing up each year between Thanksgiving and Christmas we went to my great grandma’s house and dipped chocolates.
Now I love dipping chocolates with my kids because it reminds me of that time I spent with my grandma, great-grandma, and mom when I was growing up.
11. Sleep Under the Christmas Tree
Turn off all the lights except the Christmas tree and have a fun Christmas slumber party. If you’re like us you can even bring down mattresses to put by the tree so you can sleep in comfort during your Christmas slumber party.
12. Read Christmas Stories
Spend some time reading your favorite Christmas books. The past couple of years we have been doing a Christmas picture book advent for the 24 days leading up to Christmas.
13. Drink Hot Chocolate
Make some homemade hot chocolate together and enjoy the sweet drink. We have recently discovered a fun way to enjoy hot chocolate is with a hot chocolate float!
14. Make a Christmas Garland
Making a Christmas garland is a fun way to decorate for the holidays. There are a lot of easy DIY garlands you can try. The kids made this garland with supplies from the dollar store last year.
15. Get Matching Christmas Pajamas
Each year on Christmas Eve we do Christmas pajamas, some years we match and others we don’t. But I personally love it when we do the matching pajamas! I think it makes for such cute Christmas morning pictures.
16. Play Don’t Eat Santa
Remember the classic Don’t Eat Pete game? Don’t Eat Santa is a fun holiday twist to that classic game. All you need is a game board and little treats to play this game. Get the free printable game board here.
17. Make a Gingerbread House
Each year we decorate Gingerbread houses and it’s become one of our favorite Christmas traditions. We have done a variety of different Gingerbread house kits and they have all been fun, but the prebuilt houses are probably our favorite. They are so easy to use!
Check out these awesome Gingerbread House kits, good luck deciding which one to make this year!
18. Do a Christmas Science Experiment
If your kids are like mine they will love doing a holiday-themed science experiment. These Borax Icicle ornaments are a fun crystal growing experiment that look awesome as decorations on your Christmas tree.
19. Color a Christmas Coloring Page
Coloring together is a great way to relax during the holidays and the kids will love it if you spend some time coloring with them. The kids have been loving these Christmas color by number coloring pages this year. If you want more traditional coloring pages here are a few other Christmas coloring pages you might enjoy.
20. Do a Christmas Advent
Christmas advents are a fun way to countdown to Christmas and have a fun time doing it. There are so many advent calendar options out there here are just a few of our favorites.
21. Take Christmas Pictures
Christmas is such a great time to take pictures. With all the magical decorations and Christmas lights don’t miss out on the chance to take some fun pictures.
Get this free printable list of 50 Christmas photos to take this year so you don’t miss any fun photo opportunities.
22. Enjoy this Christmas Activity Pack
This fun Christmas activity pack can be done all at once or spread out over several days. The activity pack has an I-spy page, a Christmas questionnaire, a coloring page, and more.
23. Make a Christmas Wreath
Making a Christmas wreath is a fun activity and you can enjoy the wreath all Christmas long.
24. Go on a Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Go on a Christmas Scavenger hunt and search for common Christmas items or do a Christmas light scavenger hunt.
25. Do A Santa Craft
This tissue paper Santa craft is a fun and easy craft to make with the kids. Head over to this post to get the free printable and instructions on how to make your own.
26. Bake a Pie
Have fun baking a favorite pie together, or if you want to try a new pie this Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie is a family favorite.
27. Make Candied Nuts
Make some cinnamon candied nuts to enjoy as a fun holiday treat. Plus it’s a great way to get your house smelling like Christmas!
28. Take Christmas Gifts to Neighbors
Put together Christmas gifts and drop them off at neighbors’ homes. Enjoy looking at all the Christmas lights while you’re at it. This Merry Twizzmas Gift is a fun and simple gift to put together for your neighbors.
29. Attend a Local Christmas Event
Find some local Christmas festivals and events to attend. Light shows, parades, and holiday markets are all fun for the family.
30. Do a Random Act of Kindness
Christmas is a great time to think of others and provide service. Spend some time doing random acts of kindness as you get ready for Christmas this year.
31. Decorate the House
Decorating the house for Christmas is a fun way to spend time together. You could even make some fun DIY Christmas decorations to enjoy around your home.
32. Eat Candy Canes
Candy Canes are a classic Christmas treat and symbol. Enjoy eating a candy cane or candy cane-inspired treat.
33. Wrap Gifts
Have fun wrapping gifts and setting them out under the Christmas tree for Christmas Morning.
34. Sing Christmas Carols
Have fun going caroling around the neighborhood or at a senior center. Or you could always enjoy singing Christmas Carols at home.
35. Play in the Snow
Not everywhere do you get snow at Christmas but if you do have fun playing in the snow. If you don’t have snow outside no worries you can make some snow to enjoy inside!
36. Leave Cookies for Santa
Leaving cookies for Santa is such a fun Christmas Eve tradition. It’s always so fun to see which cookies the kids pick to leave out for Santa.
37. Have a Christmas Party
Gather family and friends and have a Christmas party, or just have a Christmas party with your family at home. Make it special with fun and different Christmas activities.
38. Go Sledding
If you have snow outside go out and enjoy some sledding.
39. Go on the Polar Express
If you have a train that offers rides chances are they have a Polar Express train ride or another Christmas-themed train. This is a fun activity especially if you have young kids.
40. Make a New Christmas Treat
While making your favorite family Christmas treats is always fun, it’s also fun to try making a new treat or two.
41. Have Candy Bar Sled Races
Candy Bar Sled Races are something we did each year at my grandparents and I can’t wait to start building our sleds and having races with my kids.
42. Play Christmas Bingo
Play Christmas Bingo with or without prizes for a fun and different family game night.
43. Make Christmas Gifts
Have fun making Christmas gifts together for other family members and friends.
44. Celebrate St. Nicholas Day
Celebrate St. Nicholas Day by having everyone put their shoes out and waking up to them filled with fun treats and presents.
45. Make an Olaf Door
If your kids like frozen as much as mine do then they will love helping you make this DIY Olaf Door. It’s a quick and easy DIY and you can leave it up all winter long!
46. Build a Fort
Build a blanket fort and have a fun day playing games, watching movies, and eating Christmas treats in your fort.
47. Play Christmas Charades
Have fun playing a game or two of Christmas charades or if acting isn’t your thing you could always play Christmas Pictionary.
48. Build a Snowman
Head outside and have fun building and decorating a snowman. If you don’t have snow you could make one of these fun snowman crafts instead.
49. Learn About Another Countries Christmas Traditions
There are so many fun and different traditions and treats from different countries you could learn about and try making.
50. Hide a Pickle Ornament
Finding the pickle is a fun Christmas tradition to start especially with young kids.
Place the pickle ornament on the tree as you decorate. On Christmas morning the first person to find the ornament gets an extra present from Santa.
Free Printable List
Get your free printable list with all of these 50 Christmas activity ideas below. Choose the black and white option or the color.
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Make ornaments is definitely a fun activity to do for Christmas!