15 easy Christmas activities your kids will love

The lead up to Christmas is a fun time for kids, their excitement and anticipation grows each day, and for parents, it’s a great time to find some Christmas activities that allow us to slow down, and spend quality time with our family.

Whether your kids love arts and crafts, baking, or watching Christmas movies, there are many easy ways to make Christmas special, without added stress.

These easy activity ideas for Christmas are perfect if you’re looking for simple ways to entertain your kids over Christmas, as well as create family memories that will last for years to come.

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Create a Christmas countdown calendar

Kids love counting down the days until Christmas, and here are some fun ways you can do this together:

• Paper chain countdown – cut strips of red and green paper, loop them together, then get your kids to take turns removing one link each day.
• Countdown cards – write each day of the month leading up to Christmas on small cards, hang them on a string with pegs, and remove one each day.
• Christmas tree countdown – this Christmas tree countdown calendar is a great way to countdown to Christmas, and can be used for future Christmases.

Set up a craft station

Having a few basic craft supplies in a corner of your home that your kids can use whenever their creative mood strikes, is a great way to keep your kids busy this time of year.

Here are some Christmas kid’s craft ideas your kids can make over Christmas:

• Christmas cards
• Christmas ornaments
• Christmas planner
• Paper snowflakes
• Paper wreath
• Popsicle stick reindeer

Here are some craft supplies that will help your kids make these crafts:

• Card stock
• Crayons
• Felt
• Foam stickers
• Gem stickers
• Glitter
• Glue stick
• Jingle bells
• Markers
• Paint
• Paint brushes
• Pom poms
• Popsicle sticks
• Ribbon
• Scissors
• Stickers
• Twine

Make an advent calendar

Another craft idea you can make for Christmas is an advent calendar, which you can fill with these advent calendar fillers, or you can fill with activities such as:

• Bake cookies for a friend
• Do something nice for a sibling
• Donate a toy to charity
• Write a Christmas card for your teacher

Decorate the Christmas tree

One of the more popular activity ideas for Christmas is to decorate your Christmas tree, which is something you can also add to your Christmas to do list for early December.

Build a gingerbread house

This is one of my kid’s favourite Christmas activities, which we do by buying a premade gingerbread house, and then decorating it with sweets.

Do some Christmas baking

Another one of my family’s favourite Christmas activities for kids is to do some Christmas baking, which I do by baking a simple sugar cookie recipe and letting my kid’s roll out the dough, cut out shapes, and decorate the cookies when they’re finished.

Create a hot chocolate station

An easy way to make an afternoon special is to create a hot chocolate station at home, where you can set out cups, marshmallows, whipped cream, candy canes, chocolate chips, and flavoured syrups, and let your kids create their own hot chocolate masterpiece.

Enjoy a Christmas breakfast

A tasty Christmas Day activity is to enjoy a special family Christmas breakfast together, such as pancakes, cinnamon rolls, or eggs on toast.

Make a Christmas playlist

Making a playlist full of Christmas songs is something you can play on Christmas Day, when wrapping presents, while baking Christmas treats, or anytime you feel like a family Christmas dance party.

Some Christmas songs you can add to your playlist are:

• All I Want for Christmas is you
• Jingle Bell Rock
• Last Christmas
• Let It Snow
• Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

Take a family Christmas photo

Taking a family Christmas photo is not only fun, but is a great way to see how your kids grow over time.

You could have a different theme each year, dress up in the funniest Christmas jumpers you can find, or create a photo booth where each family member chooses different outfits or disguises.

Write a letter to Santa

One of the more classic Christmas activities for kids is to write a letter to Santa, where you can encourage your children to write or draw a gift list to Santa, along with some of the things they’ve done that have been nice during the year.

Once your kid’s letter is written you can send them via your mail supplier, or post them in a special Santa mailbox at home.

Host a family game night

Playing games the whole family can enjoy is a great way to spend an evening together, and they even make terrific stocking stuffers.

Some family friendly games are:

• Christmas Bingo
• Christmas Charades
• Dobble
• Guess Who?
• Monopoly Elf
• Pictionary
• UNO

Read a Christmas story

Reading together is a nice way to slow down over the festive season, as well as foster your child’s love of reading.

Some timeless Christmas books include:

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• The Jolly Christmas Postman
• The Polar Express
• The Snowman

Have a Christmas movie night

There’s nothing more enjoyable on a cold December’s evening than snuggling under a blanket with your kids and watching a Christmas movie.

Some family friendly Christmas movies you can watch include:

• A Christmas Story
• Arthur Christmas
• Elf
• Home Alone
• The Grinch

Feed Santa and his reindeer

One of the final Christmas activities for kids that you may like to try is to leave food out for Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve.

This can include leaving cookies and milk out for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer, that your kids will find with bites in them on Christmas morning.

Christmas activities for kids – a recap

Whether baking, building a gingerbread house, creating Christmas crafts, or any other Christmas activity from this list, you’ll be able to find a variety of ways to spend time with your kids this holiday season, as well as create memories for years to come.

If you’d like to make this Christmas super simple, download your FREE Christmas list printable so you’re ready for the big day!

Which of these Christmas activities are you excited to try?

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