35 Fun Christmas Activities at Home to Do with Kids

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You don’t have to plan crazy, complicated Christmas activities. Sometimes simple is the best because it’s less stressful.

Over the past 9 years of being a mom, I’ve learned that we can plan lots of fun Christmas activities at home that won’t cost a lot of money.

This month we have a lot of Christmas fun planned with items we already have at home or from free printables I found online.

Christmas Activities at Home

1. Wrap kid’s bedroom doors with wrapping paper.

This is such a fun Christmas tradition. My kids love seeing their doors covered in festive wrapping paper.

To keep the cost low, buy inexpensive wrapping paper. I got ours from Dollar Tree. I let my kids pick out the wrapping paper they wanted to use. They thought this was so much fun.

My son added a string of pipe cleaners to the wall and set out his Duplo blocks to look like Christmas lights. It was fun seeing my kids get creative and enjoying their decorated doors.

2. Make sugar cookies.

I like to make the cookie dough ahead of time. That is much easier for me. Making cut out cookies with the kids can be stressful.

So prepare yourself for messes and little hands that will need lots of help cutting the cookies out. To keep it inexpensive, we used Christmas sprinkles from Aldi.

3. Craft a Christmas tree.

Get out your craft supplies and gather the kids around to create a Christmas tree. Use whatever supplies you have and just have fun!

We used a tree stencil and dotted around it with green paint on a q-tip.

I also printed off this free Christmas tree printable and used a watercolor paint set that we already had. Then my kids added stickers to their trees. You could use whatever stickers you have on hand.

4. Look at Christmas lights while wearing PJ’s.

This is such a fun one for the kids! Riding around in the car in their PJ’s is something they will remember for a long time.

Technically, this is not an at home activity, but you cold stay in your neighborhood. It also doesn’t require going to any specific event.

5. Drink hot cocoa.

If there is a cold day coming up, plan on drinking hot cocoa with your kids.

It’s such a fun treat, and you don’t have to use a hot chocolate bar with all the fancy trimmings if you don’t have the time or money.

Keep it simple with hot chocolate and marshmallows!

6. Make homemade ornaments.

Homemade ornaments are a fun family activity that you can look back on for years to come. Some simple ornaments that you can make with cookie cut outs are applesauce cinnamon ornaments or salt dough ornaments.

Most likely you already have these supplies on hand for these ornaments. So you won’t have to purchase new supplies.

7. Listen to Christmas music.

If you’re hanging out at home this Christmas season, be sure to put the Christmas music on when you can.

8. Decorate the Christmas tree together.

I love decorating for Christmas, and my kids have joined in on the excitement as well. They especially love decorating the tree with me.

Each year my kids pick out a new ornament, so they love pulling out their old ornaments and remembering the ones they picked out.

9. Make cards for elderly.

This can be a lonely time for elderly or those who may not have family nearby. Make a list of people who could use some Christmas encouragement and spend an afternoon creating cards.

This is also a great way to help your kids learn how to care for others and not become self-centered which is easy for all of us.

10. Take simple gifts to the neighbors.

Christmas is a great time to reach out to the neighbors and promote neighborly love. You could wrap up some of your sugar cookies or the homemade ornaments to give away.

11. Decorate a gingerbread house.

Making gingerbread houses is a favorite family activity for my kids. I get a small, inexpensive kit from Wal-mart.

However, when I was a teacher, some times we would use graham crackers and canned frosting to keep it cost effective for big groups.

12. Family game night

When it’s cold outside and you’re family is gathered inside, play some board and card games! Game nights always include laughs and bring us together.

13. Christmas movie night

There are so many Christmas movies that you could probably watch a new one every night for a month!

We like to pick about 3-4 of our favorites and watch them throughout the Christmas season. As we watch the movie, we like to have popcorn with red and green m&m’s.

14. Christmas scavenger hunt

Make a list of Christmas items and have all your family members race to find them all. You could also do this outside by walking around the neighborhood.

15. Wear Christmas pajamas

New Christmas pajamas are always fun to get. Make it even more fun by having the whole family wear there new pajamas on the same night.

You could wear them the same night as game or movie night.

16. Wrap presents together

I used to wrap all of the gifts myself. However, my kids wanted to join in the fun too. So I let them help me wrap gifts for our extended family.

We usually put on quiet Christmas music in the background. I have to remember to be patient with my kids and not worry about having perfectly wrapped gifts.

17. Sleep by the Christmas tree lights

One of my favorite Christmas activities as a child was to sleep on the living room floor with the Christmas lights glowing on the tree.

Plan to have a slumber party under the Christmas tree lights on a Friday night near Christmas.

18. Read the Christmas story from the Bible

While I love doing fun Christmas activities that aren’t always spiritual, I also love reading a Bible verse of the Christmas story each day in December using this advent calendar.

Another great time to read the story is on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.

19. Countdown with an advent calendar.

Another fun activity is to count down the days until Christmas. We have a cloth calendar with little pockets on it. Each day my kids move a tiny baby Jesus from one pocket to the next.

20. Read Christmas themed books

Staring in December I pull out all of our favorite Christmas books, and we read them before bed and throughout the day when we can.

I’ve also seen some families wrap books up and have the kids open up one book a day. I love this personalized one that my friend sells: The Christmas Promise

21. Christmas treasure hunt

Treasure hunts are a fun activity to do at home. Pick a simple “treasure” like candy canes or a small toy.

Then create some clues to guide the kids around your house and eventually to the treasure.

22. Make a popcorn garland

Popcorn garlands are fun to put together and reminiscent of Christmas from years ago.

23. Sing carols to neighbors

When you bring a small gift to your neighbors, you can also sing a Christmas carol too! Before you go, be sure to practice the carols together as a family.

24. Do a Christmas puzzle

Cooler weather means you’ll be staying more and putting a puzzle together is a great way to spedn an afternoon or evening.

When you feel like turning on the TV or scrolling the phone, I encourage you to instead pull out a puzzle and enjoy some relaxed time with your family.

As a bonus, you can turn on Christmas music and light a Christmas scented candle to enjoy while you do the puzzle.

25. Make a birthday cake for Jesus

In an effort to remind my kids why we celebrate Christmas, I try to put the focus on Jesus as much as possible. Making a birthday cake for Jesus is a fun way to celebrate.

26. Have a finger food meal

We have finger foods on Christmas Eve. It’s a fun tradition that my kids always look forward to. In fact, they like this meal better than the big Christmas day meal.

Some of our favorite finger foods are sausage balls, bbq little sausages, cheese and crackers, slices of cummer sausage, raw veggies, orange slices, toffee, and sugar cookies.

27. Put a small Christmas tree in kids’ bedrooms

My mom was getting rid of one of her small faux Christmas trees and my son asked if he could have it for his room.

He decorates it each year and loves having a miniature tree in his room.

28. Make a countdown paper chain

On December 1 connect 25 paper loops to create a paper chain and hang it up somewhere in your home. Each day the kids can take one loop off the chain.

This is a fun way to visually see how close Christmas is.

29. Give sibling gifts

Last year my Dad took my kids to Dollar Tree and had the kids pick out gifts for each other and for their parents. They had such a fun time finding gifts for each other and wrapping them.

It was so fun to see the excitiment they had as they exchanged gifts on Christmas morning!

30. Learn about a Christmas tradition around the world

Last year we check out a book from the library about different Christmas traditions around the world. The kids loved hearing how other countries celebrate Christmas.

31. Dry orange slices and make a garland

Your house will smell amazing and you will also enjoy time together as a family as you make these festive Christmas garlands. You could also add cinnamon sticks, cranberries, paper snowflakes, or strips for cloth to the garlands.

32. Make Christmas play doh

Scented playdoh is a favorite of my kids. So making play doh with fun Christmas scents is a great activity.

Try cinnamon or mint scents and add red or green food coloring for a holiday touch.

33. Make Christmas treats

We like to make simple Christmas treats by dipping Oreos and pretzel sticks into melted chocolate. Then sprinkling Christmas colored sprinkles on top. This is an activity my kids love being a part of.

34. Cut out paper snowflakes.

We all dream of a white Christmas! It doesn’t always happen, but making paper snowflakes and displaying them throughout the house or in the windows is so festive.

35. Make wassail.

A favorite family tradition of mine is making hot wassail every Christmas. It makes the house smell like Christmas in my opinion! Plus it’s so warm and comforting.

I want to end this post with this quote that I shared on Facebook.

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