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Some of these fun Christmas activities are more adult-friendly, and some are more kid-friendly. Take the ideas you like and use them!
1. Twelve Days of Service instead of Twelve Days of Christmas! Pick a friend/a family you're close with, maybe they're going through a rough time or you just want to share the Christmas spirit. Make them something to eat or a cute craft, or even just write them a heartfelt letter. Ding-dong-ditch it at their home and watch the magic unfold!
2. Christmas movie night! I'm actually not a big fan of Christmas movies, but I do have a few favorites like How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original cartoon one), A Christmas Story, and Jingle All the Way
3. Decorate sugar cookies!
4. Family Holiday Pictures
5. Drive around and look at all the Christmas lights!
6. Decorate the Christmas tree together
7. Send Christmas cards to soldiers, missionaries, or other family friends
8. Decorate a gingerbread house
9. I really love this idea from Defrump Me: "If you make New Year's resolutions, write them on a slip of paper and put them in your stocking. Next year you can see how you did!"
10. Pick out a new Christmas ornament that represents something important that happened during the year. Pick one for the whole family (this year Jake and I will get a wiener dog one, since we adopted Zoe!) or one for each member of the family to represent something they personally accomplished.
11. Go caroling!
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| Our first Christmas tree from 2014! |
12. See a local Christmas play or music event
13. Have a Christmas party with friends, complete with ugly sweaters and LOTS of photos!
14. Another idea from Defrump Me is to bake a birthday cake for Jesus. How cute and funny is that?!
15. Do advent calendars! Whether they're store-bought with chocolate, or scripture verses like this blog suggests, make every evening something Christmas-y for everyone to look forward to
16. Make some Christmas crafts like some of the things you can find on my Christmas Pinterest board
17. For kids: get a new Christmas book, whether you buy it or borrow it from your local library, and read it together!
18. The ever classic new set of pajamas on Christmas Eve
19. Have dinner with candles as the only lighting. Focus especially on lighting the area around your nativity set!
20. Instead of writing a letter to Santa, write a letter to Jesus! Tell him about the best parts of your year and what you're especially grateful for, and ask him for one intangible gift (good health, world peace, etc.). Hang a stocking for Jesus, and put the letters inside. Keep them and look back on them every year!
21. Make a Christmas craft together, as your entire family. Have everyone contribute somehow!
22. Set out cookies and milk (or your family's favorite treat) for Santa!
23. Christmas is the perfect time to remember our genealogy. Tell old family stories, look through photographs, and do some temple work!
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| The Sunday before Christmas, Jake and I made sure we were dressed festively! |
24. Play games together, whether they're "Christmas-y" or not! Maybe even take a game and give it a holiday-themed spin!
25. Take some funny photos with Christmas photo booth props!
26. If you haven't been good about doing it throughout the year, now is another great time to get your photos developed and scrapbook them! Project Life is an AWESOME and easy way to document your memories!
27. As a family activity, sit down and make a list for each member of your family of the things you're grateful they did for you this year. It would be great if you could list 25 things (one for every day leading up to Christmas) but start small and see how big your list can get! Slip that list into their stocking for them to find at some point around the holiday!
28. Learn about how families in different countries celebrate Christmas. Research on YouTube, Google, or anywhere else to find out! See if there are any foreign traditions that your family would want to adopt!
29. Even if you don't always love your neighbors, take this opportunity to do something nice for them! Make them a yummy treat or shovel their driveway for them, but make sure you do it anonymously!
30. Make a care package for a loved one far away! Maybe you have family or friends out of state, or you know someone that's in need during this Christmas season who doesn't have loved ones close by. Put together a box of some things you know they'd love, and make sure to include a Christmas card and photo!
31. Make some fancy hot chocolate and cuddle up under a blanket with some loved ones. Enjoy the simple things!
32. Make it snow inside! Whether you live somewhere that actually gets snow or not, you can always create some of your own through making your own paper snowflakes. Hang them up around your home for everyone to admire!
33. Hang up your Christmas lights and make a party out of it! Play some Christmas music, get some cookies, and have a good time! Make sure to save some for Dad, who's probably the one actually doing all the work up on that ladder!
34. Bundle up and get everyone outside, in as quiet a place as possible. Play the song "Silent Night" and enjoy the quiet, looking up at the stars and thinking about Christ.
35. Have a sleepover under the Christmas tree!
36. Do some fun Christmas-y science experiments! Pinterest has a TON of options
38. Take this opportunity to write your own Christmas story! Whether as a family or individually, make up your own story about celebrating Christmas!
39. Enjoy a fire in your fireplace, if you have one
40. Gather up old toys/clothes/etc. and donate them to a nearby charity
41. Do something especially awesome for Mom! Holidays can be stressful when you're the maternal leader of the home, so make sure she feels appreciated and stress-free for at least one night. Offer to help wrap Christmas presents, address cards, or contribute somehow to the holiday baking!
42. Two words: ice skating!
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| Our decorated festive Christmas cookies! Yum! |
43. Animals love Christmas, too! Make a homemade treat for your pet, or for the birds and squirrels that live nearby.
44. Go on a sleigh ride! I've never done this myself, but doesn't it sound so festive and fun?!
45. Have a picnic under the Christmas tree!
46. Try a new Christmas-y recipe!
47. As a future teacher, I can personally advertize for the need for teachers to get some love around this holiday, too! Make sure your kids (or your own; even in college professors need presents!) create or buy something their teacher would love!
48. Learn your favorite Christmas song in a different language!
49. Keep a Christmas Journal. Every year write about how you celebrated the holiday, who you spent it with, and maybe some of your favorite moments from the day. Include any Christmas cards from your spouse or kids in the pages for future fun memories!
50. Remember the reason for the season: CHRISTmas. Take the time to be thankful for what Christ did for us, and think about how you can live better so that you don't take that sacrifice for granted!
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