Countdown to Christmas with 12 Fun Children’s Activities

Christmas-time is all about creating magical memories with your kids that they will remember and cherish for years to come! This holiday season, count down to Christmas with these 12 fun Christmas activities for kids.

Day 1: Plan a Christmas Bake-a-thon

Have an all-day bake fest with your kids and make it a yearly Christmas tradition! The kids will love helping you out by mixing batter, cutting the cookies into various shapes, rolling out dough and anything else that you think is age-appropriate for your little one. To help you plan your bake-a-thon, we put together some scrumptious holiday dessert recipes that everyone will enjoy! Click here to read ‘6 delicious Christmas treats to make with your toddler’.

Make extra so you can even give them out as gifts to people during the holiday season!

Day 2: Deck the walls with DIY Christmas decorations

Put together some art & craft supplies and spend the day making DIY Christmas craft decorations with the kids. Here are some of our favourite DIY Christmas decoration craft ideas that are fun & easy!

Another beautiful Christmas decoration you can make with the children is a DIY Christmas wreath to adorn your front door! Check out this great wreath-making tutorial by Happiness is Homemade.

Looking for something a little easier? Teach the kids how to make simple ‘paper snowflakes’ and fill your home with them! Click here to learn how to make paper snowflakes (via First Palette).

Day 3: Enjoy a special evening decorating the Christmas tree together

The real joy of Christmas is in the little memories you’ll be making together. Make sure you decorate your Christmas tree together as a family. Make it special by getting everyone to wear Santa caps or reindeer antlers. Play Christmas carols as you decorate and make sure there are enough cookies for your little helpers.

If you don’t want to get a traditional Christmas tree or don’t have enough space for one, check out these awesome and easy Christmas tree alternatives put together by Real Simple! We also love these ideas by Cool Crafts!

Day 4: Snuggle up together for a Christmas movie marathon

Relax, Moms. This one requires absolutely no effort and hopefully the kids won’t notice if you fall asleep midway through the movie. Cuddle up on the couch and watch your favourite Christmas movies together. Hot chocolate (with tiny marshmallows) is NOT optional, it’s mandatory. Here are our top movie picks to help make your selection easier.

Day 5: Make a Gingerbread house with the kids

This is a wonderful project for you and the kids and can be as easy or hard as you want it to be! Let the kids unleash their creativity with this one and get everyone involved. We promise they’ll be pretty proud of this labour of love! Check out this easy gingerbread house tutorial by Mindee’s Cooking Obsession.

You can even get the kids to invite their friends over for a gingerbread house decorating party! See these great tips for hosting a gingerbread house decorating party by Hey There Home!

Day 6: Spread kindness and cheer

This holiday season, teach your little ones to spread some Christmas cheer with small acts of kindness. You could take them to visit an old-age home and spread some cheer amongst the residents by taking along home-made gifts or simply spending time with them. Another great idea is to ask the kids to help you put together some of their old clothes and toys and then donate them to a children’s home.

Day 7: Organize a Christmas-themed photoshoot for your kids

Create Christmas magic with your camera! Set up a fun photoshoot for your baby or older kids at home and use Christmas-themed clothing and props to bring your ideas to life. Here are a few ideas to help you get started: place your baby in a gift basket under your Christmas tree for a sweet picture, take a festive red & white themed picture, or get your baby’s favourite stuffed toy (like a snowman or reindeer) into the frame, Click here for pro tips on how to take amazing newborn baby photos on your smartphone!

Day 8: Make homemade gifts together

This is one of our favourite Christmas activities for kids! Instead of store-bought gifts, help the kids make personalized homemade gifts for your family and friends! Not only are they fun & inexpensive to make but they will also be appreciated a lot more by the gift receiver. Check out these great DIY gifts that your kids can make, by Red Ted Art!

Day 9: Round up the family for a game of Christmas charades

We love this Christmas game for kids and adults alike! How do you play? It’s just like regular charades, except this one is Christmas-themed. Make two teams. Write a list of Christmas-themed words on slips of paper beforehand and put them in a bowl. Each team member will then take turns to act out those words for the members of their own team, without speaking. Make up the rest of the rules as you go along! You can even download your own set of printable Christmas charades cards online, from Childhood 101.

Day 10: Get creative with holiday crafts for kids

Keep the kiddos busy during the holidays with simple Christmas crafts for kids. Here are some easy Christmas craft ideas to help you get started. This ‘decorate the felt Christmas tree’ craft idea by Buggy and Buggy is a great Christmas activity for toddlers and even helps in building their motor skills.

Looking for Santa Claus craft ideas? These paper roll crafts by Non-toy gifts are so easy and cute! You can even help them make these simple Santa Claus paper plate crafts by A Cultivated Nest. If you’re little one is a snowman fan, try this simple snowman craft for kids by Crafty Morning.

If you’re looking for Christmas art for kids, check out this cute snowman art project by Learn Create Love.

We also love this reindeer craft by A Dab of Glue Will Do.

Day 11: Go caroling

Introduce the kids to your favourite Christmas carols and take them caroling in your neighbourhood. Print out the lyrics beforehand and help the kids practice a few times. If the kids are too shy to go caroling outdoors, call some friends over and enjoy some carol singing at home.

Day 12: Read Christmas classics to your little ones

Make Christmas even more magical by reading Christmas classics to your little one. Here are our top suggestions.