24 Christmas Activities for Family: Movies, Games, Food & Fun

These 24 ideas run from a roll of painter’s tape to a gingerbread house kit with backup icing, and the one that fits your December depends on whether you have more hands or more hours.

A puzzle stays on the dining table for days; a floor grid game lifts clean after one evening.

The cup-and-bow setup lets a child build alone while adults cook, which is the kind of detail that decides whether an activity lives in the list or stays pinned on a board.

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1. Watching Christmas Movies

A Christmas movie night works best when the room itself feels like part of the show.

I turn the lights down low, run a strand of twinkle lights along the mantel, and stack blankets on the ottoman where anyone can grab one.

I keep a tray ready with hot chocolate in mugs that hold heat, not the thin-rimmed kind that cools fast.

The film matters less than the ritual.

Pick one that works for every age in the room, or rotate who chooses each year. Some families wear matching holiday pajamas; I just want socks thick enough that nobody’s feet end up on someone else’s lap.

Popcorn bowls between people, not in front of one person. What makes it stick is the shared armrest, the tissue passed down the couch, the pause when someone needs more cocoa.

2. Family Game Night

Holiday game night needs one rule: the game cannot take longer than the youngest player can sit.

Mitten Mayhem works because the timer keeps it moving, and the oven mitts level the playing field between adults and kids. You need dice, a scarf, a wrapped gift with too much tape on it, and fluffy mittens that slide.

Board games hold up fine, but the homemade rounds get remembered.

A saran wrap ball with small prizes tucked in layers, unwrapped while wearing oven mitts against a running clock, turns into chaos fast. The timer is the real host; without it, someone quits early.

I would skip the blindfolded spatula games. Too many bumped elbows, not enough laughs per minute.

3. Baking Christmas Cookies

Sugar cookies cut with holiday shapes are the entry point for bakers who do not bake.

Three-ingredient shortbread dough holds together when children press too hard, and the finished cookie tastes like butter even if the decorating goes wrong. Molasses cookies require more timing, but the smell justifies the extra pan.

Set stations if you have the counter space: cooling rack, icing bowl, sprinkle tray.

One wet towel per child, not shared. Snowmen, trees, stockings, the usual shapes, need no special technique, just patience with the outline and a toothpick for dragging color into corners.

Cookies make acceptable gifts if you layer them between parchment in a tin, not a bag. They ship poorly; hand them to neighbors or bring to the office.

4. Decorating Gingerbread Houses

Gingerbread house kits exist because most people do not enjoy baking walls that stand straight.

The kit gives you 4 walls and a roof; the candy aisle gives you everything else. Plain M&M’s, the kind in the brown bag, press right into the roof as tile.

Gumdrops fill gaps where icing failed. Small candy canes become fence posts or porch columns if you angle them right.

The competition element keeps teenagers at the table longer than they admit. Set a time limit, not a theme.

Someone will build a traditional cottage; someone else will add a lawn made of shredded coconut dyed green. Both are valid.

I have learned to buy extra icing. The tube in the kit never lasts through a collapsed second story, and structural repairs at hour three require patience and backup supplies.

5. Put Up Christmas Lights

Driving to look at lights beats walking in most climates, but walking lets you stop without hazard lights.

Warm white along the roofline and garden edges, one temperature all the way through, reads calmer than the carnival mix that wears the eye out after two blocks.

If you are hanging your own, this is the look I would copy.

Hot chocolate in a travel mug is non-negotiable.

The rental party bus one family tried sounds excessive until you count how many grandparents and car seats need moving between neighborhoods. December 22 is late enough that most displays are fully up.

Start early enough that children do not fall asleep before the best house. End before anyone asks if we are there yet.

6. Family Photo Session

A family photo on a beach with a Christmas tree only works in certain postal codes, but the principle travels: pick a setting that means something to your family, then add one clearly holiday element.

The tree and gifts in the sand become the joke everyone remembers, not the sand itself.

Coordinated outfits matter less than coordinated temperatures. Scout the light an hour before you need it; December sun drops fast, and flash on faces at sunset looks like flash on faces at sunset.

I print one photo large enough to see from across the room, not a dozen that live in a phone. Every other year is frequent enough that the changes show, not so frequent that skipping one feels like failure.

7. Hot Chocolate Bar

A hot chocolate bar turns an outdoor table into the main event.

I set out metal inserts with marshmallows, plain M&M’s in the brown bag, and broken candy cane pieces, plus a can of whipped cream that stays cold in a bowl of ice.

Each of my 4 kids has a Santa mug; displaying them makes the setup feel claimed, not staged.

The base matters more than the toppings. My mother’s cocoa recipe is the one that gets requested, but an affogato works for the coffee drinkers who show up.

Skip the flavored syrups unless someone already owns them. They sit half-empty most of the year.

8. Building a Christmas Puzzle

A finished Christmas puzzle stays on display for days. The 300-piece count with glitter finish sits at the edge of what younger children can manage without quitting; the black mat underneath keeps pieces from sliding onto the floor.

Snacks and music are part of the ritual, not afterthoughts. A bowl of something small between people, a playlist someone else chose, these keep hands moving when the sky section stalls progress.

I would not start a puzzle after December 20. The unfinished box becomes stress, not tradition, if guests are coming and the table is still occupied.

9. Making Christmas Cards

Handmade Christmas cards survive because the recipient knows time was spent. Watercolor wreaths with green foliage and red berries need no drawing skill; a round brush and wet paper do most of the work.

Weight the corners flat while the glue dries; pinecones work, so do small jars or a stack of books you already own.

The message inside matters more than the front. 3 sentences, specific to that person, beat a printed signature every time.

Mailing costs add up faster than paper. I send cards to people I will not see, and hand the rest over in person with no envelope.

10. Attending a Christmas Eve Service

A Christmas Eve service gives the holiday a shape that presents and dinner do not.

The candlelight portion comes late; I have learned to feed children first, or the held flame becomes a hazard and a distraction. The room goes dark, candles pass hand to hand, and the collected light becomes the closing act.

Not every family worships regularly. A local church with open doors and a posted time works fine; the service is the point, not the membership.

I would bring a friend or another family. The car ride there and back extends the evening, and the children behave better with witnesses.

11. Christmas Morning Breakfast

Christmas morning breakfast faces one constraint: the cook wants to watch gifts opened too.

Reindeer pancakes with bacon antlers and fruit features look elaborate; cook the bacon first, then use the same pan for the pancake face while someone else arranges the plate. The raspberry nose covers any shape imperfection.

Cinnamon rolls from a tube, a crock pot of taco soup set up the night before, these keep the cook in the room. Opening gifts first, then gathering for a meal others contribute to, keeps the morning from feeling rushed.

Skip anything requiring last-minute oven timing. The morning belongs to paper and ribbons, not a timer.

12. Making Fake Snow

Fake snow answers a specific problem: children who have never built a snowman. Baking soda and shaving cream mix into a compound that holds a shape and feels cold for minutes.

Snowflake beads scattered around extend the play, but they roll under furniture. I would add them only if the vacuum is already out.

The mixture dries out. After active play, it becomes a science experiment in a sealed container, not a kept toy.

13. Making Christmas Garlands

Garlands fill the gap between decorated and done.

Paper chains from last year’s wrapping paper, velvet ribbon draped in loops, or a string of pom-poms hung where wall meets ceiling: each reads as effort without the hours a full room demands.

Pinecones wired to twine need only a walk outside and a hot glue gun. Tinsel catches light but sheds; I would keep it above eye level.

A garland that mixes textures instead of colors holds up longer because you can swap in whatever greenery is fresh or on sale.

Pick one palette and vary the material. A single strand along a window frame changes the whole wall.

14. Building a Christmas Tree Fort

A fort built from the tree itself solves the problem of children too excited to sleep on Christmas Eve.

Branches low to the ground become walls when you drape blankets from the outer boughs inward, creating a pocket of floor space lit by the tree’s own lights.

Pillows fill the gap where roots would be, and a stack of winter picture books gives the evening a shape. The Snowy Day, Animals in Winter, anything with snow and a small hero.

I would not move ornaments to make room; the risk of breakage outweighs the extra space. Work with the tree you have.

15. Setting a Christmas Dinner Table

A set table signals that the meal matters. Plaid cloth, tree-patterned plates, and a small ceramic tree in the center: committing to one look and carrying it through every layer is what makes a table feel finished instead of random.

Check your chandelier height before hanging anything above eye level. The red baubles here work because they sit high enough that seated guests look under, not through, them.

I would set the table the night before. Morning-of, something always breaks or stains, and the cook needs that energy for the food.

16. Cup and Bow Christmas Game

The cup-and-bow game turns a table of identical objects into a hiding spot. Red cups inverted, a bow pressed on top of each: the setup looks like a field of small presents, and one conceals the prize.

A child can build it alone, which matters when adults are cooking. The bows add enough height that cups cannot stack for storage mid-game; plan to unstick and re-stick, or keep extras.

I would use a timer rather than turns. Turns invite argument; a running clock keeps everyone moving and lets the youngest participate without rules to learn.

17. Festive Indoor Christmas Picnic

An indoor picnic moves the meal to the floor without pretending it is summer.

The Christmas tree provides the light and the occasion. No other decoration is necessary, which keeps the prep to pulling bedding from other rooms.

I would skip the picnic if anyone has recently had a cold. Shared floor space is shared germ space, and December is already crowded enough.

18. Writing Letters to Santa

A letter to Santa gives children permission to want something out loud. Stationery addressed to Santa’s Grotto, North Pole, removes the question of where to send it; the child fills the page, and the parent keeps the copy.

Stickers beside the paper suggest a finished look without drawing skill. The envelope is part of the ritual, the sealing and the stamping.

I would not promise a reply unless I had a plan for one. The post office program works in some areas; a handwritten note left by the plate handles the rest.

19. Decorating an Outdoor Tree

An outdoor tree decorated by your own hands claims space that belongs to no one and everyone. Permission from whoever manages the land comes first, or the gesture turns into litter.

Red ornaments read against green needles from a distance. Shatterproof balls matter here, since retrieval means a ladder or a long wait until spring.

Fairy lights need power, which the woods rarely offer.

Battery-operated strands solve this, though cold shortens their run time. I would check the weather and the charge before committing the afternoon.

20. Candy Cane Fishing Game

A bin of dyed rice and upright candy canes becomes a fishing pond with no water required. The candy canes hooked on strings dangle over the rim; the ones standing in the rice wait to be caught.

The rice dyes fingers. I would keep this activity near a sink or on a surface that wipes clean, and skip it if the child is still putting everything in their mouth.

Dyed rice fills the bin; use what you already have or substitute sprinkles if that is easier.

A timer keeps turns from stretching. Rotate turns so the game stays moving and no one hogs the pole.

21. Christmas Floor Grid Game

A grid taped to the floor turns any room into a game board without storage after December. The cups move between squares; the rules depend on who gathered, but the grid itself is the structure.

Painter’s tape lifts clean from wood-look laminate, but test a corner if your floor is real hardwood or aged vinyl. Bright, visible tape matters more than the color; masking tape works, though it blends on pine.

Mark the grid squares large enough that adults can kneel or reach without cramping. A too-tight grid ends the game early.

22. Present Jumping Obstacle Game

Wrapped presents in a line become hurdles without unwrapping anything early. The player stretches between rows, not over them; the game is balance and reach, not height.

The floor is tile, which is hard.

I would keep this to carpeted rooms or lay down a runner, since a stumble onto wrapped box corners hurts. Thicker wrap or a layer of packing tape over the seams keeps the row intact through multiple rounds.

Someone needs to reset the line after each turn, or the game scatters in 3 jumps.

23. Paper Plate Bow Game

Paper plates and gift bows circle into a tabletop game that costs less than a greeting card.

The plates form the base; the bows attach with glue or tape, and the toilet paper roll becomes a central post or a spinner.

The craft glue needs time to set. I would assemble the structure the night before, or the bows peel off in eager hands and the game becomes frustration.

The game suits pairs better than crowds; with more than three players, build two identical stations and race.

24. Wrapped Gift Tube Game

Wrapping paper tubes held upright in a circle become a relay that needs no rules explained. A rug defines the play area and protects the floor beneath.

The rolls are light and prone to tipping. I would weight each with a rolled sock or a small beanbag dropped inside, or the game becomes constant retrieval from the ground.

Matching pajamas work too, though I would not buy them for one night. The game needs only the tubes, the space, and enough people to hand off cleanly.

Planning Christmas Activities

Time picks up speed in December no matter when you start.

A running list on paper of what actually happened, not what got planned, gives me a record of what mattered when next December rolls around. The journal becomes the living document; no need to rebuild from scratch each November.

One or two activities done fully beat four done in a rush. I would rather watch one movie with everyone present than stack three events and lose someone to a nap or a meltdown every time.

Christmas is referred to as the most wonderful time of the year for a reason. People love embracing those classic Christmas symbols while participating in fun Christmas activities with their favorite people as they count down to the big holiday.

— Reader’s Digest

Budget-Friendly Ideas

Baking cookies and making ornaments draw on what most kitchens already hold: flour, sugar, salt, paper, scissors. The gingerbread house kits supermarkets stock in December run cheaper than scratch ingredients once you count the spices you use once.

I focus the budget on gifts and giving, then look for what costs little or nothing for the rest. Free activities carry no January regret.

Creating Lasting Memories

The activities that stick are rarely the expensive ones.

Incorporating Traditions

A sealed box of this year’s odds and ends, opened next December, lets the family see how much changed in a year.

Letters to your future selves, this year’s card, handprints decorated as reindeer or snowmen, snippets of wrapping paper from gifts that mattered: the container becomes a physical memory.

Traditions work when they repeat, not when they impress.

Crafting ornaments, sharing stories, a scavenger hunt: each year adds a layer children recognize as theirs. I would start with one tradition that fits the age you have now, not the age you imagine.

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