With Christmas and the Holiday season right around the corner, what better time than now to plan out a Family Christmas Bucket List, with fun ideas and activities for the whole family.
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I have probably spent weeks—okay, maybe months—counting down the days until it became socially acceptable to do all the Christmas and winter activities we love so much: picking out a Christmas Tree, shopping fun gifts for my toddlers, making lots of holiday crafts, and decorating the whole house. Now that our favorite time of the year is finally here, I want to make it memorable and special for my family and me!
Make the most of your holiday season with my list of the best Christmas activities that the whole family can enjoy. If you have small children like I do, this list is for you. But don’t worry, older kids will still enjoy these insanely fun Christmas activities and they will help you turn every day of December into a special and memorable day.
This post is all about the Ultimate Christmas Bucket List for Families
Things to do as a Family for Christmas
Are these free holiday activities?
Most of these Family Christmas bucket list ideas are free and others are very inexpensive. There are so many ways to enjoy the holiday season with your family without spending any money. Save your budget for amazing food and gifts!
What’s a Christmas bucket list?
Don’t think of a “bucket list” as a must-do list. You don’t need to do all the things on this list, but rather pick a few traditions that you want to enjoy this holiday season. Write down a few of your favorite winter activities and keep the list on the fridge to get new ideas for winter break or anytime you’re looking for a fun activity for the family. The kids can put a checkmark each time they complete an activity, or you can just use it for inspiration for things to do during Christmas time.
1) Bake Christmas Cookies
Children love to bake, and of course, the best part is eating the cookies afterward. We love making Sugar cookies because they are easy to make, and the kids have fun using the different-shaped cookie cutters and decorating them with icing and sprinkles.
2) Make your own Ornaments
Making your own Ornaments is a great Christmas Tradition and the Ornaments made can be used as presents for family or friends.
3) Decorate the Christmas Tree
Probably one of the best memories I have growing up is setting up the Christmas tree and decorating it with the whole family. Put on some Christmas music, get in your Christmas PJs and go crazy decorating the tree.
4) Decorate a Gingerbread House
Decorating Gingerbread Houses are another favorite in our house. We’ve bought store-bought Houses before where all we had to do is assemble and decorate them. Last year we made our own no-bake Gingerbread Houses using Butter Cookies. They turned out so cute, you should give them a try!
5) Wrap gifts together
Kids love helping to wrap Christmas Gifts for friends and family. We listen to Christmas music and make it a fun activity. For the little ones, I keep gifts aside that don’t need to look the prettiest.
6) Make your own Christmas Cards
Receiving handmade Christmas Cards is so special. We’ve started making our own too and the kids love crafting, so this counts as a Christmas craft as well. The internet is full of really cute Christmas Card ideas, check out Pinterest too, we’ve found some really fun ideas there.
7) Donate toys & books
One new thing on our Family Christmas Bucket List this year is donating some toys and books. Christmas is a wonderful time for families to serve others whether it be by volunteering or gifting. Let the kids choose toys to donate to organizations like the Salvation Army or Toys For Tots.
8) Watch Christmas Movies
The good thing about Christmas movies is that you can start watching those early in the holiday season, and there are many to choose from. This list has 75 of the best Christmas movies for families, from classics to animated films.
9) Drive-through lights
Driving around your neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights and lit-up houses costs absolutely nothing (except gas lol) but it is such a fun Christmas activity to do with kids. We have one street in our town that goes all out and it is even fun for us adults to see how they decorated their houses each year.
10) Take a Picture in Matching Christmas Pajamas
Who enjoys wearing Christmas jammies? Almost everyone! Grab matching Christmas pajamas for the whole family and take a picture. Over the years you will have pictures to look back at and they are also great for Christmas Cards.
11) Make Christmas Crafts
Making Christmas Crafts is a Must on every Family Christmas Bucket List! Wheater you are crafty or not, there are so many easy-to-make Crafts that anyone can do, and will be a fun family activity for the holidays.
12) Drink Hot Chocolate
Nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Have a variety of toppings like marshmallows, sprinkles, or whipped cream for the family to choose from to make it a bit more fun.
13) Listen to Christmas Music
For the month of December, we pretty much listen to Christmas music all day every day, in the car, at home and we all just love it. Here is a link to the Top 100 Christmas Songs of all Time.
14) Go Ice Skating
If your children are a little older, this is a fun winter activity for the whole family. My daughter asks about it pretty much all year long.
15) Make Paper Snowflakes
Make Paper Snowflakes and decorate the windows of your home. This makes for easy and affordable holiday decor.
16) Build a snowman
Building a snowman obviously depends on where you live, and if there is any snow, but for most children building a snowman is a highlight of the winter season.
17) Get Christmas Books from the Library
Instead of buying new Christmas books every year, check out your local library and see what kind of Christmas books they have. It’s nice to have the classic Christmas books at home, but can be fun to switch it up and read some new books.
18) Make an Advent Calendar
Advent Calendars are a great tradition leading up to the days until Christmas. Try a Countdown to Christmas this year, make your own, or print a free download. This Free Printable Christmas Countdown for kids, is perfect for a new Christmas tradition and eliminates your kids constantly asking “How many more days until Christmas?”.
19) Do Random Acts of Kindness
As a family try to come up with a list of random acts of kindness you can do together. Then, do them as a family. You never know the impact your simple act of kindness can have on someone else.
Here is a list of some random acts of kindness you can do as a family:
- Compliment a stranger
- Donate or Volunteer at a church or non-profit organization
- Shovel an elderly neighbor’s driveway
- Pay for a stranger’s coffee
- Leave your waiter/waitress a generous tip
- Put a positive note in a library book
- Pick up some litter
- Return someone’s cart at the grocery store
- Make Christmas thank you cards for service workers
- Leave a small Christmas gift for your mail worker
20) Make a Wreath for Your Front Door
Give your guests a warm welcome by placing a beautifully hand-crafted wreath on your front door. There are many Wreath options you can make with children, that are easy to make.
21) Hang Stockings
Stockings are such a fun, and essential, Christmas decoration! They create a cozy atmosphere with their cute appearance, and in addition, they’re a wonderful spot to hide those tiny Christmas presents in. Our family really likes personalized stockings, which we purchased on Amazon a few years ago.
22) Make Your Christmas List
I remember this being such a fun thing to do as a kid and since I’m a parent myself, I enjoy writing Christmas Lists together with my kids.
23) Visit One of the Best Christmassy Towns
Walking around a nicely decorated town is just something special around the holiday season. Grap some hot chocolate and explore all the beautifully decorated shop windows.
24) Volunteer
Volunteering is a great way to spread some joy this holiday season. There are always people in need of some extra Christmas cheer. Pick a cause and spend the day or a few hours at a soup kitchen, nursing home, or children’s hospital. You can find opportunities near you on the United Way or Volunteer Match website.
25) Read the Christmas Story
Last but not least, read the Christmas story as a family. After all, Jesus’ birth is the reason for the season and with everything going on during the busy holiday season we want to always be reminded why we celebrate Christmas.
I hope this gave you a few fun Christmas crafts & activity ideas to do with your toddler or Preschooler this Holiday season. Use these Christmas family activities to enjoy the school break and holiday season with your kids.
If you are looking for more Christmas Activities to do with your kids, check out the following Blog Post:
{ Easy Bo Bake Gingerbread House }
{ The EASIEST Christmas Playdough in under 10 Minutes }
{ Winter Sensory Bin – DIY Fake Snow }
This post was all about The Ultimate Family Christmas Bucket List
