It’s the most wonderful time of the year! If you’re looking for fun Christmas activities for your family, have I got a list for you. This big list of fun Christmas activities has something for everyone.
Please do not try to pack all 75 activities into your holiday season! Use this list to pick and choose a few that your family will love. Some of these, our family does every year and they have become beloved Christmas traditions. Other activities we do occasionally, as we have time. Most years, I choose 24 activities to create a Christmas Fun List with something special each day leading up to Christmas. I include any specifically planned Christmas events, and fill in with simple but fun Christmas activities that can be done anytime.
My kids look forward to seeing the Christmas Fun List hit the fridge on December 1st. If you want a pared down, easy to follow list with 24 fun Christmas activities you can easily do in December, grab my free printable Christmas Fun List ready to download, print, and put on your fridge.
For ALL the fun Christmas activities…read on…
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Going Out Activities
Here are some activities that mostly require you to leave the house. Given the state of the world in 2020, the options for going out are likely to be limited. In light of that reality, I have suggested 2020-friendly options for some of these activities.
Take a drive to see Christmas lights
Our kids are still young enough that they love to put on cozy pajamas and bring hot chocolate or popcorn for our annual Christmas lights drive. Check your local community Facebook pages for suggestions about which neighborhoods have great light displays.
Go Christmas shopping
My three girls love to shop for one another and find little surprises for their sisters. I try to build in a little time to shop with each of them individually, but I’ve been known to wrangle all three of them together shopping for each other—mama might have needed a glass of wine, or chocolate, or both, after that shopping trip đŸ™‚
Go to a holiday bazaar
There are virtual options, of course! Search “virtual christmas bazaar _______” or “virtual holiday bazaar_______” and add your state or city in the blank.
Visit Santa
Stay-at-home options:
Virtual visit with Santa Ed
Virtual Santa visit from JingleRing
Attend a Christmas concert
Stay-at-home options:
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Livestream on December 18th (ticket purchase required)
Josh Groban Holiday Concert on December 19th (ticket purchase required)
Go to the Nutcracker ballet
Stay-at-home options:
The Nutcracker New York City Ballet on YouTube
George Balanchine’s Nutcracker Ballet on Amazon Prime
Go caroling
Stay-at-home options:
Online Carol Service: a 35-minute online service complete with bells, organ, carols, choirs, and readings
Home.Hope.Song: Virtual carol concert on December 3rd in the UK to benefit homeless services
Christmas Carols Spectacular from Hillsong Church
Go to a Christmas parade
Our little town normally has a Christmas parade, which will sadly not be happening this year. A drive-by option is in the works. If you love parades, though, here is a virtual option: Once Upon a Christmastime Disney Christmas Parade.
Attend a tree-lighting ceremony
You can always watch the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Get a Christmas tree
Staying Home Activities
The simple things are sometimes my favorites. I’ve included ways you can make these activities a treasured tradition for your family.
Read a Christmas story
Even older kids enjoy a read-aloud time. Find an evening to snuggle up and read a book, or a chapter, together. My kids often like to work on a project while I read—knitting, drawing, or coloring are frequent choices.
Wrap up 24 Christmas books and have your kids open one each day in December leading up to Christmas Day. Check thrift stores for inexpensive book options to build up your stock of Christmas stories. One year, back when I apparently had way too much time on my hands, I wrapped up a book for each of my three kids for every day: 72 books! We couldn’t keep up with reading all the books and I quickly abandoned that idea. During the week after Christmas, I wrap up the 24 books we will use the following Christmas, label each package with the date (1st-24th), and name of the child that should open it. Adding the name is a sanity saver—I don’t have to remember whose turn it is!
Pick a favorite Christmas book and read it in December every year. Your kids will remember and look forward to a classic like “Twas the Night Before Christmas“ or “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Older kids will enjoy reading through a chapter book like “A Boy Called Christmas,” or the classic “Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”
Some great Christmas book options available on Amazon…
Watch a Christmas movie
Our kids love Elf, Home Alone, The Grinch, The Star, and more recently, The Christmas Chronicles. I have nostalgic memories of watching A Christmas Carol when I was younger, but my kids are not impressed with any version I’ve shown them so far! Pick a day to have a Christmas movie marathon to make it even more memorable for your kids.
Watch Funny Christmas videos on YouTube
Who doesn’t love to laugh? When planning my fun Christmas activities, I like to include a few things that we can do on even the busiest days of the hectic holiday season. Word to the wise: preview the funny Christmas videos before showing them to your kids.
Sleepover by the Christmas tree
My kids love this tradition. Each year we pick one night for a sleepover by the tree. They set up with sleeping bags and books and high spirits. We turn on Christmas music and the tree lights and wish them sweet dreams.
Work on a puzzle
Every year we designate a table (or sometimes a piece of plywood covered in gift wrap!) as our puzzle area. I choose a Christmas or winter scene and we all work on completing a jigsaw puzzle between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have nostalgic memories of doing this at my great-aunt’s house as a kid—she always had a puzzle partially completed in her living room.
These puzzles are some of my favorites…
Read: 25 Fun and Educational Card Games for Family Game Night
Have a game night (with treats!)
Our kids love our Christmas “game night with treats” tradition. We usually plan this one for mid-December, after we’ve done a little Christmas baking. Each child lobbies for their favorite games, and through a complicated process of voting, complaining, and motivating with the promise of treats, we decide on one or two. I lay out a Christmas goodie buffet and pretend not to notice they are skipping my perfectly arranged broccoli and cherry tomato Christmas tree platter and loading up on cookies and M&Ms. We turn on Christmas music and play cards, dominoes, Chinese checkers, or Pictionary. We’re fans of the classics!
Some of our family favorites…
Christmas scavenger hunt
I’ve got a free Christmas scavenger hunt included in my huge pack of free Christmas printables. It’s sure to be a hit with your kiddos.
Read: Huge Christmas Activity Printables Pack
Christmas music singalong
Turn up the tunes and belt ’em out. Bonus if you add a dance party for genuine rockin’ around the Christmas tree. Your kids will love it!
Watch video of previous Christmas activities
This is a recent addition to our fun Christmas activity repertoire. On your phone and/or computer, create an album or folder labeled Christmas memories and add photos and videos each year. You can watch a Christmas memory slideshow every year and reminisce about the sweet and silly moments.
Family photo shoot
Take a family Christmas photo. Traditional, coordinating outfits, or silly dressed-up movie parody—your photo shoot can fit your family’s style.
Fancy family dinner
One of my kids loves any excuse to get fancy, and Christmas provides the perfect backdrop. Merry music, twinkling lights, twirling dresses…add pretty dishes and cloth napkins and even pizza looks fancy. We do try to get a little fancier than pizza. For us that means little things like adding an appetizer, salad served on separate plates, and of course, dessert.
Make a Christmas list
You can download my free printable Christmas wish list for your kids to fill out. My kids enjoy making their lists after Thanksgiving, and I snap a picture of their lists to have on my phone for reference. They also LOVE making a gift list of ideas for the siblings and cousins, so I’m including a free printable Christmas gift list in this download too!
For color coordinated Christmas activity cards to make an advent calendar or Christmas fun list display, check out these cards available in my Etsy shop…
Food Related Activities
- Drink hot cocoa
- Bake Christmas treats
- Drink eggnog
- Make fancy dipped pretzel sticks
- Eat a candy cane
- Make fudge
- Have a picnic by the Christmas tree
- Decorate sugar cookies
- Have a cookie exchange
- Make a gingerbread house
- Use Christmas mugs all day: your kids will get a kick out of eating cereal, drinking water, or slurping soup from their hot cocoa mugs
- Have a fondue night
Decorating Activities
- Trim the tree
- Make a popcorn garland
- Hang mistletoe
- Put up Christmas lights
- Wrap Christmas gifts
Craft Activities
- Make Christmas cards
- Do a Christmas craft
- Make a homemade gift
- Write a letter to Santa
- Make an ornament
- Pre-make thank you cards for kids to fill in after Christmas
- Make paper snowflakes
- Create a Christmas memory scrapbook or journal
- Make a holiday wreath or swag (I’ve done this with a class of 3rd graders. If they can do it, you can too!)
- Christmas coloring or activity pages
Cold-Weather Activities
- Go ice-skating
- Build a snowman
- Go sledding
- Make a snow angel
Gift Activities
On December 1st when I post our annual Christmas Fun List, I usually give my kids a Christmas shirt or pajamas. I know a lot of people enjoy the tradition of opening new pajamas on Christmas Eve, but I prefer for my kids to get the use of Christmas-themed clothing throughout the entire month of December.
- Christmas pajamas
- Holiday shirt
- Christmas coloring or activity book
- Advent calendar
Christmas Gift Guides
Giving Back Activities
- Take treats to neighbors
- Be a secret Santa for someone
- Do a random act of kindness (or make it a 12 days of Christmas activity)
- Donate to a giving tree
- Support members of our military with letters (through Support Our Troops) or by donating filled holiday stockings (through Soldiers’ Angels)
- Donate toys, time, or money for kids (Toys for Tots, Operation Christmas Child, Make-a-Wish Foundation); many police and fire departments also run toy drives during the holiday season
- Send an online card to a child at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
- Make cards for hospitalized kids (CFHK)
- Send your card fronts to be recycled by youth at the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
- Volunteer in the community
- Pay for someone in line behind you
- Write letters to family or friends letting them know what you appreciate about them
- Make blessing bags to hand out to someone in need
- Drop off a meal to a friend (Most moms are pretty stressed out during the Christmas season; make someone’s day by providing a complete meal she doesn’t have to prepare herself.)
Reason for the Season Activities
- Read the Nativity story (Luke 2, Matthew 1)
- Make a birthday cake for Jesus
- Attend a Christmas Eve service
- Set up a Nativity scene
- Advent activities
Read: Advent Scripture Reading Plan
Printable Fun Christmas Activity List
Download my free printable list of fun Christmas activity ideas and choose a few favorites to do with your family.
That’s a whole lot of Christmas! I love the baking and crafting and planning of Christmas, but if that’s not you, that’s ok too. Your kids don’t need ALL the things. A simple tradition of a pajama day spent playing Monopoly and drinking hot cocoa is just fine.
Check out my Google Sheets Christmas Planner to organize your holiday season!
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Big List of Fun Christmas Activities
These are great ideas!!!! I loved going to the Nutcracker when I was a little girl. Christmas is my favorite time of year.
Mine too! ?
This is such an awesome list. There’s really so much to do when you think about it. One of my favourites would have to be Christmas movies.
Confession time…we just might have already watched a Christmas movie in my house. My kids love them!!