The school holidays are long, and December excitement is real. Here are 25 simple, screen-free Christmas activities, most of which cost next to nothing.
Creative & crafty
- Make paper snowflakes or stars for the windows
- Design homemade gift tags and wrapping paper (brown paper + stamps)
- Craft a decoration for the tree each year and date it
- Build a gingerbread house (or a biscuit-and-icing 'house')
- Make Christmas cards for grandparents, neighbours or a stranger
Games & puzzles
- Christmas picture bingo, perfect for family gatherings
- Christmas word searches (easy ones for little kids, tricky ones for big kids)
- Mazes: help Santa find the presents
- I spy Christmas: count the reindeer, stockings and candy canes
- Board game night with Christmas snacks
Get outside
- An outdoor Christmas scavenger hunt (leaf, pine cone, something colourful, Christmas lights)
- A walk or drive to see the lights
- A snowman, or a sandman on the beach for a summer Christmas
- Make 'reindeer food' (oats and sprinkles) for the garden
- A Christmas picnic, with hot chocolate or ice-blocks depending on your hemisphere
Kind & cosy
- Drop a treat to a neighbour
- Donate a toy you've outgrown
- Write thank-you notes to teachers and coaches
- Blanket-fort Christmas story time
- Call or video a grandparent and sing a carol
In the kitchen
- Bake and decorate cookies
- Make a simple trifle or fruit Christmas tree
- Set and decorate the table together
Traditions
- An indoor scavenger hunt on Christmas Eve
- The Christmas Eve box: new pyjamas, a book and a treat
Print-and-play in 60 seconds
Our Christmas Activity Pack for Kids has 3 word searches, 3 mazes, 12 picture bingo cards, an I spy page and indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts, with an answer key. Print as many as you like. And to plan the whole season, the Calm Christmas Planner includes a 24-day family advent with ideas already filled in.