The best Christmas activities for kids are the ones your family will want to repeat next year: a lights walk in pajamas, cookies that come out lopsided, a library story time, a box of food for the neighbors. Below are 34 ideas sorted by type, from cozy nights at home to free outings and small acts of kindness, with ages, time and cost for each. There’s also a free printable Christmas bucket list to stick on the fridge.
Quick answer: the most loved Christmas activities for kids are baking and decorating cookies, going to see Christmas lights, building a gingerbread house, a Christmas movie night, and doing one kind thing a day in December. Most cost little or nothing. Pick five or six for the month, not all 34, and write them on a printable Christmas bucket list.
Free printable Christmas Bucket List for Kids
Christmas activities for kids at a glance
Short on time? These ten cover every age and budget. Free ones are marked.
| Activity | Ages | Time | Cost | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas lights walk or drive | All ages | 30–60 min | Free | Out |
| Bake and decorate cookies | 3+ | 1–2 hr | $ | Home |
| Graham cracker gingerbread house | 3+ | 45 min | $ | Home |
| Kindness countdown | 3+ | 5 min a day | Free | Anywhere |
| Candy cane experiment | 4+ | 20 min | $ | Home |
| Library holiday story time | 2–6 | 45 min | Free | Out |
| Pinecone bird feeder | 3+ | 20 min | $ | Home + yard |
| Track Santa with NORAD | All ages | Dec 24 | Free | Home |
| Christmas movie night | All ages | 2 hr | Free | Home |
| Family Christmas game night | 3+ | 1 hr | Free | Home |
Cozy Christmas activities for kids at home
Home is where most December memories happen, and these Christmas activities at home need nothing more than an evening and a few supplies from the pantry.
1. Christmas movie night
Pick a movie, make popcorn, and pile every blanket in the house onto the couch. Let each child choose a night and take turns. For little ones, pick gentle, short films and keep the volume low.
2. Bake and decorate cookies
Plain sugar cookies and a few bowls of frosting are enough. Give each child a plate, a butter knife and sprinkles, and expect more frosting than cookie. Keep kids away from raw dough: the FDA advises against eating raw flour or raw eggs.
3. Build a graham cracker gingerbread house
Graham crackers, a carton for support and thick icing make a house in under an hour with no baking. Hard candy and marshmallows are choking risks for young children, so keep them for kids 4 and up. Younger kids can decorate with frosting and big cereal pieces.
4. Read a Christmas book every night
Wrap 24 books (library books count) and unwrap one each night in December. It turns bedtime into a countdown, and kids look forward to it all day.
5. Make paper snowflakes
Fold a square of paper into a triangle twice, snip shapes out of the edges, and open it up. Tape them to the windows. Younger kids can draw the lines and a grown-up cuts.
6. Have a Christmas pajama breakfast
Stay in pajamas, make pancakes in shapes, and eat by the tree. It costs nothing extra and feels like a holiday morning before the holiday.
7. Write a letter to Santa
Kids who can’t write yet can draw their wishes or cut pictures from toy catalogs. Ask them to add one thing they’d like to give someone else. Our Christmas wish list printable has a draw-and-write page.
8. Christmas music dance party
Put on a Christmas playlist and dance in the kitchen. Add freeze dance rules when the music stops, and everyone burns energy on a cold afternoon.
Christmas activities for kids out and about
Getting out of the house matters in December, when everyone is cooped up. Many of these are free.
9. Go see the Christmas lights
Walk the neighborhood after dinner or drive slowly with cocoa in travel cups. Make it a game: who spots the first inflatable snowman, the first blue lights, the first reindeer? It’s free and works for every age.
10. Visit a Christmas tree farm
Even if you buy your tree elsewhere, many farms have hayrides, farm animals and hot cider. Call ahead to check which days kids’ activities run.
11. Go to a library holiday story time
Most public libraries run free holiday story times and crafts in December. Check your library’s events calendar, as spots can fill up.
12. Go ice skating
Many towns open an outdoor rink for the season. Rent skates, hold hands and go slowly. Helmets are a smart idea for young skaters.
13. Watch a parade or tree lighting
Local holiday parades and tree lightings are usually free. Bring a blanket and arrive early for a spot where small kids can see.
Free Christmas activities for kids
The free Christmas activities above (lights walks, library story time, parades) are often the ones kids remember most. A few more cost nothing at all: a Christmas music dance party, paper snowflakes, a pajama breakfast, a family game night and tracking Santa on Christmas Eve. Mark the free ones on your bucket list and mix them in with the bigger outings.
Kindness activities for Christmas
December is a natural time to show kids that Christmas is about giving too, and these work from about age 3 up.
14. Do a kindness countdown
Write one small kind act on each day of December: hold the door, draw a picture for a grandparent, help set the table. Kids tick it off like an advent calendar. Our advent calendar ideas have more.
15. Bake treats for a neighbor
Make an extra batch of cookies and deliver them with a homemade card. Kids love ringing the doorbell. Ask about allergies first or include a list of ingredients.
16. Donate a toy
Before new gifts arrive, let each child choose one toy in good condition to donate. Some charities and shelters take gently used toys, while toy drives usually ask for new, unwrapped ones, so check first.
17. Make cards for a nursing home
Call a local nursing home and ask if residents would enjoy cards. Kids draw and sign them, and you drop them off together.
18. Leave a thank-you for the mail carrier
Tape a thank-you card to the mailbox, or leave a note for the trash and recycling crew. A small way to notice the people who help all year.
19. Make a pinecone bird feeder
Spread vegetable shortening on a pinecone, roll it in birdseed and hang it from a tree. Shortening keeps it nut-free, which matters for kids with peanut allergies.
Christmas STEM and learning activities
These Christmas STEM activities sneak a little science, math and geography into the holidays.
20. Try the candy cane experiment
Drop candy canes into cups of cold water, warm water, vinegar and oil, and guess which dissolves first. Kids draw what they see every five minutes. Warm water wins, which is a nice lead-in to talking about heat.
21. Make fizzy baking soda snow
Mix baking soda with a little water until it packs like snow. Kids build tiny snowmen, then spray or drip vinegar on them and watch them fizz. Do it on a tray, and keep vinegar away from eyes.
22. Build a gingerbread man trap
Read a gingerbread man story, then challenge kids to design a trap from boxes, tape and string. It’s an engineering challenge disguised as a game.
23. Learn how one country celebrates
Pick a country each week: Las Posadas in Mexico, Advent markets in Germany, St. Lucia Day in Sweden. Find it on a map, try one food or song, and talk about what’s the same and different.
24. Track Santa with NORAD
The NORAD Tracks Santa website opens on December 1 with games, and on Christmas Eve kids can follow Santa’s route around the world. A fun way to sneak in some geography.
Christmas crafts and making together
Crafts make easy afternoons, and many turn into gifts or decorations. For 25 more, see our Christmas crafts for kids.
25. Make salt dough ornaments
A grown-up mixes the dough, and kids press shapes and paint them once dry. Salt dough is for decoration only, not eating. All the recipes are in our DIY Christmas ornaments post.
26. Stamp your own wrapping paper
Roll out plain brown kraft paper and stamp it with potato halves, sponges or cookie cutters dipped in paint. Grandparents love getting gifts wrapped in it.
27. Make your own gift tags
Kids can color and cut their own tags for presents they help wrap. Print our free Christmas gift tags, including color-your-own designs.
28. Decorate a paper Christmas tree
Print a big tree outline and let kids add paper ornaments, stickers or torn tissue paper. Our Christmas tree templates come in three sizes.
29. Make homemade Christmas cards
Fold cardstock, add a handprint reindeer or a painted tree, and send them to family. Kids are proud to see their card on someone else’s shelf.
Family Christmas traditions to start
Traditions give kids something to look forward to every year. Start small: one or two that fit your family.
30. Pick an ornament of the year
Let each child choose or make one ornament each December. Write their name and the year on it. By the time they leave home, they have a whole box.
31. Have a hot cocoa bar
Set out mugs, cocoa, whipped cream, cinnamon and a few toppings. Check that the cocoa is warm, not hot, for small hands.
32. Read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve
The same poem, read the same night, every year. It becomes the moment kids know Christmas has really started.
33. Open a Christmas Eve box
New pajamas, a book and a treat to open on Christmas Eve. See our Christmas Eve box ideas by age.
34. Hold a family Christmas game night
Play charades, picture bingo and the left right game. Find 30 games sorted by age in our Christmas games for kids.
Christmas activities by age
Not every idea suits every age. Here’s a quick guide to choosing.
- Toddlers (1 to 3): lights walks, music and dancing, story time, paper tree decorating. More ideas in our Christmas activities for toddlers.
- Preschoolers (3 to 5): cookie decorating, paper snowflakes with help, fizzy baking soda snow, kindness countdown, gift tags.
- Big kids (6 to 10): gingerbread houses, the candy cane experiment, gingerbread man traps, stamping wrapping paper, learning how other countries celebrate.
- The whole family: movie night, lights walk, game night, tracking Santa, ornament of the year.
Free printable Christmas bucket list
Our free Christmas bucket list printable is a 3-page PDF, US Letter, no email needed:
- Page 1: 30 Christmas activities from this list, each with a tick box, and a “We did ___ of 30” line.
- Page 2: twelve blank lines for your family’s own ideas, plus a box to draw your favorite Christmas memory.
- Page 3: a December 2026 planner to pencil in one activity a day, or a few a week.
Stick page 1 on the fridge and let kids tick boxes themselves. Keep last year’s list in a folder: it becomes a small family record.
Christmas safety tips for families
A few quick checks keep the season safe. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends:
- Trees: water live Christmas trees every day, and look for the “fire resistant” label on artificial trees.
- Candles: never leave candles burning in an empty room, and keep them away from anything that can catch fire.
- Lights: turn off tree and decoration lights when you go to bed or leave the house, and don’t link more than three standard light sets on one extension cord.
Also hang breakable and small ornaments high, out of reach of babies and toddlers, and keep light-up toys and cards with button batteries away from little hands.
Christmas activities for kids FAQ
What are some fun Christmas activities for kids?
Fun Christmas activities for kids include baking and decorating cookies, building a gingerbread house, going to see Christmas lights, making paper snowflakes, and a family movie or game night. Pick a mix of cozy, active and giving activities so the month doesn’t feel the same every day.
What Christmas activities are free?
A neighborhood lights walk, library story time, local parades and tree lightings, paper snowflakes, a music dance party, a kindness countdown and tracking Santa on NORAD are all free. Most cozy home activities cost only what’s already in the pantry.
What can kids do at home on Christmas break?
Try one cozy activity, one active one and one making activity a day: a movie, a dance party or snow play, and a craft or baking project. A bucket list on the fridge gives kids something to choose from instead of asking what to do.
How many Christmas activities should we plan?
Plan five or six special ones for the month and fill the rest with small daily traditions like a book each night. Too many plans can make December feel like a to-do list, for kids and grown-ups.
What are good Christmas activities for preschoolers?
Preschoolers enjoy decorating cookies, fizzy baking soda snow, paper tree decorating, a kindness countdown and coloring their own gift tags. Keep each activity short and let them repeat favorites.
What are good Christmas activities for families?
Family favorites include a lights walk or drive, a Christmas movie night, a game night, choosing an ornament of the year, and reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. Traditions that repeat every year matter more than big outings.
