The Best Christmas Activities To Make Your Holiday Merry and Bright

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! With that comes searching for fun Christmas activities since kids will be home for Christmas vacation. I have searched the internet and compiled this huge Christmas activities list for you. There are some things that we do every year and some things that I want to try out this year. I’ll tell you which ones in a moment, but first, let’s get to the Christmas activities list so that you can find fun things to do in December.

Related: 7 Tips for a Stress-Free Christmas

(This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I receive compensation. Thank you for your support! For more information, please see my disclosure.)

Christmas Activities for Kids PreK and Under

If you have small kids, trying to get them to sit still to do any sort of Christmas activity can feel like herding cats. No matter how small my kids were, they always seemed to soak in everything that happened around this time of year. Christmas brings with it a lot of excitement for kids. Let’s look at some of the best Christmas activities that you can do with smaller children.

1. String Popcorn garland
2. Make Reindeer food
3. Make homemade tree garland (construction paper)
4. Craft paper or coffee filter snowflakes
5. Make Holiday footprint or handprint art
6. Homemade wrapping paper
7. Make a Santa Key
8. Track Santa online
9. Build a blanket fort

The Activities List for Children of All Ages

My kids are no longer PreK, but that does not dull the excitement of Christmas for them. We look forward to many Christmas activities all year long. Some of these we have tried, while others we have not. What’s your favorite one? My kids will make a pallet on the floor and sleep in front of the Christmas tree the night that we put it up. This really helps us create a mindful holiday where we do the things that we enjoy the most. Sometimes simple little things make the best memories.

1. Christmas Themed Scavenger Hunt
2. Make Christmas Cards
3. Hot Cocoa Bar
4. Family Time Capsule Ornament
5. Have a 1 on 1 date with each child
6. take a kid Christmas shopping by themselves and let them pick a gift for a loved one
7. Have a shadow show
8. Write your child a letter about how much they have grown over the past year
9. Tell Christmas stories in the dark with flashlights
10. Make an ornament from nature
11. Decorate a table cloth with a permanent marker for a lasting keepsake
12. Write letters to Santa
13. Make a music video/lip-sync
14. Let the kids sleep on a pallet in the floor in front of the Christmas Tree

The Best Christmas Activities for Families

Christmas activities are a great time for families to bond together. I especially love them because quality time is one of my love languages. Since my husband usually has some vacation time, we try to incorporate Christmas activities into our schedules.

1. Go look at Christmas lights
2. Choose a cut tree
3. Read Scriptures every night as a family
4. Watch Christmas movies
5. Look at family photos over the past year
6. watch old home videos
7. Do a “Secret Santa” gift exchange with your immediate family or co-workers
8. White Elephant gift exchange
9. Go Sledding (if you don’t have snow, then you can use a grassy hill and a piece of cardboard)
10. Build a Snowman (if no snow, then build one indoors as a craft. You can use a range of materials.)
11. Host a Christmas Craft party
12. Make Snow globes from Mason jars
13. Take a photo for a holiday card
14. Have a family photoshoot
15. Take a road trip
16. Visit friends
17. Visit family

The Best Christmas Activities at Home

I used to think that I had to leave the house to have fun with Christmas activities. I was always looking for something to go do. However, the past few years have impressed upon me how precious home and time at home is. You can make some great memories with Christmas activities at home.

1. Make a Christmas Playlist
2. Have a Christmas Dance Party
3. Gratitude jar
4. Make Christmas Popcorn
5. Make Christmas Candy
6. Have a winter fire outside
7. Decorate the Tree
8. Make a Holiday Greeting Video
9. Hang lights outside
10. Bake cookies (Ninja Bread Men are a favorite at my house. Gingerbread men are apparently much more fun when they are ninjas.)
11. Set up a photobooth
12. Make cinnamon ornaments
13. Make fudge
14. Decorate the house with Christmas lights inside
15. Spiced Apple Cider in the Slow Cooker

The Best December Date-Night Ideas for Couples

My husband and I love date nights. It does not always have to be fancy. We all go over to my brother’s house sometime before Christmas and help him put up and decorate his tree. Then, the kids spend the night with him, while my husband and I have a date night and usually go Christmas shopping for the kids. We have done other things. A few years ago, he took me to see the Nutcracker Ballet and took a nighttime walk.

1. Attend a Nutcracker ballet
2. Take a nighttime walk
3. Go on a hike
4. Cook your favorite meal
5. Have a date night
6. Go Christmas shopping for the kids – together.
7. Take a blanket and watch for shooting stars outside
8. Lay in the floor and look at the Christmas tree lights
9. Plan your perfect Christmas together 5 or 10 years from now
10. Set goals together for the upcoming New Year

101 Christmas Traditions for Couples

The Best Activities to do Alone in December

If you are alone, Christmas can be a challenging time. You can be alone and not be lonely, though. Start planning some Christmas activities. If you do not want to be alone, think about planning a party, volunteering, or doing something nice for someone else. These can help you feel more connected during the holiday season. You may have to reach out to someone else first. Even if none of these Christmas activities don’t appeal to you, plan something to make Christmas special for you.

1. Plan a Christmas Party
2. Host an ugly sweater contest
3. decorate a wreath
4. Send out Christmas cards
5. Make a wreath from natural materials
6. have a cookie swap
7. Practice Ninja gifting! (Make or buy a present for a neighbor, leave it on the doorstep, ring bell and RUN!)
8. Offer to babysit for a friend or relative. (Borrowing a kid can be a great way to get into the Christmas spirit!)

Tips for how to cope when you’re alone at Christmas

The Best Christmas Activities to do Locally

You don’t have to go far to enjoy Christmas activities out of the house. Most communities have many events going on that surround the holidays, some at very low cost or no cost. For Christmas plays, check your local school schedule. Often times, high schools put on plays for very low admission.

1. Attend a Local Christmas Play
2. Go ice skating
3. Attend local tree lighting festivals
4. Attend a “Breakfast With Santa” Event
5. Go to a local festival of lights
6. Go to a local coffee shop
7. Holiday carriage ride
8. Drive through a living Nativity.

Charitable Activities

The holidays are a great time to give back. You will have the opportunity to participate in many charitable Christmas Activities. How do you give back during the holiday season?

1. Donate Toys
2. Donate Canned Goods
3. Volunteer
4. Adopt a Senior
5. Adopt an Angel
6. Leave a Thank-you note for the mail carrier
7. Make care packages
8. Give to Toys for Tots
9. Visit a nursing home
10. Be an ELF I had no idea this one even existed, but apparently the US Postal service keeps letters to Santa and volunteers can answer kid’s Christmas wishes
11. Take lunch to someone that has to work on Christmas

The Last Thing You Need to Know About Christmas Activities

While you may actively be looking and planning Christmas activities for you and your family, it’s important to not overload yourself. Remember to choose the ones that mean the most to you and your family. Don’t stress over not doing everything. The list of Christmas activities is not meant to be a checklist; it’s meant to give you some ideas of fun things to do in December. Time spent making memories is one of the most precious things that you can do with your time. Something does not have to be huge to be meaningful or memorable.

What are your favorite Christmas Activities? Leave me a comment below!