15 Ways to Celebrate Christmas with Kids

Are you wondering what you can do to make Christmas enjoyable (and build cherished memories) for your family? Here are some cool ideas for how you can celebrate Christmas with your kids. Whatever you choose to do, remember to have fun and enjoy spending time together as a family.

Decorate the Tree Together

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is putting up the decorations. The center of the decorations is, of course, the Christmas tree. Make decorating the tree a family affair. Go pick out the tree together (or make a big ordeal about pulling it out of the attic) and then have a good time getting it all set up and decorated. Make it into a big event by having snacks set out and upbeat Christmas tunes playing to set the mood.

Make Christmas Tree Ornaments

Speaking of Christmas trees, why not get a bit crafty and make your own Christmas tree ornaments. Set aside an afternoon to letting the entire family tap into their creative sides. One of our favorite resources for homemade Christmas ornaments that tell the Christmas story is Truth in the Tinsel.

Buy Cool Christmas Tree Ornaments

When I was a little girl, everyone in my family got to pick one new Christmas ornament to put on the tree. It was a tough decision each year! Now when I look through my collection, so many good memories come back from through the years. When we moved out, we had our own set of ornaments to start decorating our own trees. I’ve started the same tradition for my children except that one family member picks out an ornament for another, wraps it and places it in their stocking.

Decorate a Gingerbread House

Building and decorating gingerbread houses is a sensory and engineering activity wrapped in one! 🙂 Turn on some Christmas carols and work together as a family to build your own unique gingerbread creations.

Go Caroling

Love singing? Love making people smile? Caroling could be just the thing to try out. Grab your family (and maybe even some friends), brush up on the lyrics to your favorite Christmas tunes, and go spread Christmas cheer around your neighborhood or a local nursing home.

Go Ice Skating

Looking for something active to do? Grab some ice skates and hit the nearest ice rink. Follow it up with steaming hot mugs of hot chocolate to warm your bodies up again.

Check Out Christmas Lights Displays

Do the people in your town go all out with their Christmas displays? Makes sure you take some time to wander around town and check them out. Some of them can be really impressive! One of our must-visit displays can be found at our local zoo.

25 Days of Christmas: Literary Version

The book lovers out there might appreciate this one. Buy 25 books and wrap all of them in gift wrap (or create a Christmas Book Book which is what I did) and stack them somewhere in the house. Each night, sit down with the kids to open up one of the books for story time. This is a wonderful way to create memories! Through the years we’ve done follow up activities with some of our favorite books. Be sure to check out our toddler and preschool christmas books list for more ideas.

Volunteer as a Family

Christmas is a time of giving. Embrace this theme by spending time volunteering as a family. Keep an eye out for volunteering opportunities in your area. Our family has started making it a tradition to get up early on Secret Families Day and wrap presents for this local organization. It’s a wonderful thing to work together with your children to give back to others.

Create an Advent Calendar

One simple count down to Christmas project are Advent paper chains. This is a super easy project that children of all ages can help create. Hang the paper chain up and remove a chain each day leading up to Christmas.

DIY Gifts

With so much focus on buying gifts, it can be sort of refreshing to MAKE a gift. Make it a family tradition to make at least one gift for everyone each year. We often make our own lip balms, sugar scrubs, and bath salt soaks. Who knows…you might end up loving those the most.

Watch a Christmas Parade

Take some time on Christmas Eve or Day to check out any local parades. If there aren’t any local parades, you could always check out parades on TV.

Host a Christmas Party or Dinner

Extend an invitation to your family and friends to celebrate the holidays at your home by hosting a Christmas party or dinner. You could even turn that into an opportunity to do a Secret Santa gift exchange.

Gift Treasure Hunt

Bored by just picking up gifts from underneath the tree? Mix things up a bit by making people find their gifts in a treasure hunt!

Set Out The Kindness Elves

The Kindness Elves (aff) are a wonderful way to catch your family members being kind! Instead of the tricky other elf, these elves help children think about others and challenge them to do kind things.