Fun Christmas Activities for Families: 18 Ideas With Photos

These ideas run from a free afternoon with twigs and stones to a local ballet matinee, and the one that fits depends on how much of the work you want the kids to own.

A floor bin of dyed rice and candy canes keeps a toddler busy through one coffee; a handprint reindeer or a child-chosen donation lets them leave a mark that lasts longer.

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1. Christmas Crafts

A craft stick tree with glitter glue and beads hangs on the tree for years if you seal it with a quick coat of Mod Podge.

Paper snowflakes, popcorn garlands, and salt dough ornaments run on cheap pantry supplies and fill an afternoon.

My preference is the handprint reindeer; the paint washes off fingers easier than you’d think. Young kids need help with the scissors work, but the decorating is all theirs.

There are many Christmas themed crafts that you can do with your children or they can do independently while you take care of your guests. Latin Times has put together 15 crafts for kids that they can do for the holidays.

— Latin Times

2. Baking Cookies for Santa

Sugar cookies with a decorating station let everyone participate at their own skill level. I set out squeeze bottles of icing, sprinkles, and red hots; the competition for ugliest cookie keeps teenagers at the table longer than you’d expect.

Leave the plate near the fireplace with milk and a note. Carrots for the reindeer are a small touch that younger kids insist on.

3. Make Homemade Christmas Cards

An embroidered card with bead ornaments takes more time than a glued version, but the recipient keeps it. For faster results, plain cardstock with a handprint tree or a cut-paper collage still beats store-bought.

I buy envelopes in packs of 50; the unit cost drops enough to justify mailing to neighbors you rarely see. Add a sentence about something that happened this year, not just "Merry Christmas."

4. Attend a Christmas Parade

A nighttime parade with lit floats and costumed characters works for kids who won’t sit through a movie. Arrive early for a curb spot; bring folding chairs and thermoses.

Small-town parade routes mean free parking and thin crowds where you can actually see. Check whether your town runs daytime or evening events; evening skews older, daytime suits toddlers who melt before dinner.

5. Ice Skating

Rental skates fit a size range, so check whether your kid’s boot size lands in the small or large bracket before you queue. A restaurant right at the rink edge matters when someone quits fast and needs to warm up.

6. Visit Santa

Mall Santas with professional backdrops run pricey for a photo package; church and town-hall events often ask only a donation.

Library events that take reservations in short windows mean no line, no crying. Go before December 15 if you want the full costume and energy; the last week, even good Santas look tired.

7. Make a Cozy Reading Corner

A reading corner for December needs a chair you already own, a stack of holiday books, and a string of lights.

The lights matter more than new furniture; a strand of warm white LEDs from the drugstore changes the whole mood of a corner.

I keep our picture books out through the month and rotate in one new title each week. A small basket of hot cocoa packets on the side table means kids use the spot without being told.

Pillows in plaid or solid red read seasonal without going full Santa. My rule is anything that works in January gets stored, anything too Christmas-specific gets donated after New Year’s.

8. Make a Christmas Countdown Calendar

A pocket for each morning of small surprises is the version that stuck in our house.

A quilted wall hanging with numbered slots beats the cardboard chocolate calendars for durability; I fill ours with stickers, a gumball, a note about the day’s activity.

Homemade versions run from paper envelopes on twine to muffin tins with magnets covering each cup. The work is front-loaded: filling every slot at once takes one concentrated session, scrambling each morning takes longer and breeds mistakes.

Start mid-December if you want the shorter countdown, or run a pocket for every day leading up if your kids are young enough to need daily help with patience.

9. Christmas Eve Activities

One gift on Christmas Eve, opened after dinner, stretches the holiday without spoiling the morning. Matching pajamas photograph well but wear thin by February; a new board game or a book per person gives the evening its own shape.

I set out the box or bag after supper, never under the tree, so it reads as a separate event.

The setup happens after bedtime on the 23rd and burns energy on a night when no one sleeps anyway.

10. Gingerbread House Decorating

Pre-baked gingerbread house kits save the structural headache; the decorating is where the creativity lives.

Royal icing from a squeeze bottle acts as glue and snow, and the range of candy at a dollar store beats the specialty kits for variety.

One house and multiple people leads to negotiation; everyone gets their own small wall or roof section if you buy the mini kits or break a large house into panels.

Display the finished house on a cake stand to keep it away from dogs and toddlers.

11. Make Eggnog

Homemade eggnog splits cleanly into 2 paths: cooked custard base for anyone wary of raw eggs, or the quick blender method if your eggs are fresh and your crowd is healthy.

Milk, cream, sugar, eggs, nutmeg; the proportions vary by recipe but the ingredients never do. I make a small batch because even good nog cloys after one glass and the leftovers sit until January.

A pinch of cinnamon on top looks right and smells better. Serve in small glasses; this is rich enough that a full tumbler is a mistake most people make once.

12. Christmas Themed Minute to Win It Games

A red tub of black beans with candy canes standing upright, hooked by another cane on a ribbon, is one station in a rotation of five or six.

Each game runs one minute, scored or not, and the mess stays manageable if you set ground rules before starting.

"Jingle Bell Toss" needs plastic cups and a handful of bells; "Holiday Wrap Race" needs two boxes, two rolls of paper, and tape that will tangle.

I run these after dinner when the kitchen is already wrecked.

13. Seasonal Shows Like ‘The Nutcracker

A local production of The Nutcracker runs shorter than the touring version and usually costs far less.

Community theaters and dance schools mount it in gymnasiums and church halls; the production value is lower but the kids on stage are local, and that matters to young viewers.

Check whether your high school or regional ballet company performs a condensed matinee; an afternoon slot suits younger children who won’t last until intermission at an evening show.

Dressing up is half the ritual for some families, unnecessary for others. I fall somewhere in between: nice clothes, no tights.

14. Indoor Holiday Obstacle Game

Painter’s tape in blue or green, laid in arrow shapes across the living room floor, turns ordinary furniture into a course.

Jump over the couch arm, crawl under the coffee table, balance along a line of tape: the rules are simple to explain and the game burns the energy that keeps kids awake past bedtime.

I set this up after school on a day too cold for the park; the cleanup is the tape roll itself.

Add a bell to ring at the finish if you want scoring, or skip it and let them run until they’re tired.

15. Stacking a Book Christmas Tree

Narrow reusable ribbon in one color keeps the look clean without buying anything seasonal. Check your shelf for books you won’t need before January; a full-size tree takes a large stack of volumes and an afternoon of balancing.

I tried this once and learned that a wall behind the stack prevents the whole thing from listing. The bow on top is optional; the structural stability is not.

16. DIY Holiday Tic-Tac-Toe Game

A tic-tac-toe grid from twigs and painted stones costs nothing if your yard cooperates. Any 2 winter motifs split the pieces cleanly, penguins against snowmen or otherwise.

Paint acrylics over a white base coat; the colors read brighter and the rocks need only one side finished. The board itself is sticks in a hashtag shape, lashed or glued at the crosses.

This sits on a table for the month and stores in a jar afterward. The stones work for other games too; I keep a set in the car for restaurant waits.

17. Santa Hat Brownie Treats

Triangular brownies cut from a standard pan, frosted red with a white band and mini marshmallow trim, read as Santa hats without demanding piping skill.

The shape is the work: bake in a lined pan, chill thoroughly, then slice on a diagonal and make one vertical cut per row to form the triangles.

Warm frosting slides; let the base coat set before adding the white rim.

A single batch yields a good handful of hats depending how generous you are with the corners.

I make these for school parties where nut allergies rule out most homemade options; check your frosting brand for shared equipment if that matters.

18. Candy Cane Sensory Fishing Bin

Dyed rice in a bin with candy canes buried upright, hooked by string-tied canes from above, keeps a toddler busy long enough to finish a coffee.

The rice colors with a spoonful of vinegar and food coloring, dried overnight on a baking sheet.

The fishing rods are simply ribbon or string taped to a cane; the magnet versions I have seen online snag too much rice and frustrate small hands.

This is a floor activity.

The bin contains most of it, but some rice escapes; a vacuum kept nearby handles the cleanup. Best for ages 2 to 4; older kids solve it fast and lose interest.

Creating Family Traditions

A family Christmas puzzle on the coffee table stays out for days, worked in short sessions between other things. The slow pace is the point; no one needs to schedule a block of time.

A holiday book swap with neighbors rotates titles you are tired of reading aloud without buying new ones. Set a date, ask each family to bring 2 wrapped books, and trade by drawing numbers.

A Christmas scavenger hunt with clues written to match your house works for kids who can read and younger ones with a sibling partner.

The prize at the end can be as small as the right to choose the evening movie.

Learning how another culture celebrates December takes one evening. Pick a country, find a recipe, and cook it together; the research is half the activity and the meal is the other half.

Budget-Friendly Ideas

Most of the list runs on supplies already in the house: flour and salt for dough, paper and scissors for snowflakes, twigs and stones from the yard for a game. The cost is time, not money.

The same lights move to a bedroom in January and store for next year.

Community events carry the hidden savings of no cleanup. A town-hall Santa, a library story hour, a local parade: the town pays for the space and the staff, you pay with presence.

Involving Kids in Planning

Let a child choose one small zone, a bookshelf or hallway table, and set the color or theme there. The rest of the house stays yours; they have a territory to plan and defend.

A daily ornament from a family basket builds patience into the decoration process. Each child picks one piece after school; the tree fills gradually and they see their own sequence in the result.

Window clings that move and restick give toddlers control without damage. They can rearrange until satisfied, and the glass stays intact.

A child-made piece from school needs a spot chosen by the kid, not assigned by a parent. The choosing matters more than the placement.

Emphasizing the Spirit of Giving

A donation drive works best when the child picks the item, not the parent. One toy they have outgrown, chosen by them, teaches more than a bag you fill while they are at school.

Baked goods to a neighbor require the child to hand them over at the door. The moment of giving, not the baking, is what they remember.

Cards to a senior center or nursing home need a sentence written by the child, even if you spell every word. A dictated note in their own language, taped to the card, carries more than a perfect greeting.

Random acts of kindness as a family game, tracked on a simple list, turn abstract virtue into countable action. Hold a door, leave a note, surprise with cookies; the running total keeps momentum through the month.

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