You flip open the calendar and there it is. Christmas is three weeks away. Your kids are already bouncing off the walls with excitement, and you want this season to feel magical, not chaotic.
The hard part? Finding activities that actually work for your kids' ages. Your toddler can't build a gingerbread house alone. Your preschooler gets bored with baby crafts. You need ideas that match where they are right now.
I've pulled together 21 Christmas activities for kids, organized by age. These are simple, doable traditions you can start this year. Some need snow, some work indoors, and a few will become the memories your kids talk about decades from now.
Fill a container with water and add small plastic arctic animals. Pop it in the freezer overnight. The next morning, your toddler gets to rescue frozen polar bears and penguins.
Give them warm water in cups and let them pour. They can use spoons to chip away at the ice. The animals emerge slowly, and your little one stays focused for a solid twenty minutes. That's a win during the busy holiday season.
Press your toddler's tiny hand into paint and stamp it onto paper. Add googly eyes and a red nose to make a reindeer. Turn a footprint into a snow-covered Christmas tree with fingerprint ornaments.
These crafts take five minutes but last forever. You'll pull out that handprint card in fifteen years and remember how small those fingers were. Your toddler loves seeing their mark on something, and grandparents treasure these homemade gifts.
Bundle up your toddler and head outside. Walk around your neighborhood or a nearby park. Point out pinecones hiding under trees and let your little one collect them in a basket.
Back home, those pinecones become decorations. Your toddler just burned energy, got fresh air, and helped create something for your home. Looking for the perfect words to capture these moments? Check out our collection of Christmas quotes for family that express what this season means.
Set up your phone on a timer or ask a friend to take pictures. Pick a spot with good light, maybe near your Christmas tree or outside in the snow. Dress everyone in matching custom embroidered sweatshirts for that coordinated look that makes photos pop.
Your toddler won't sit still for long. Take ten shots and hope one turns out. The blurry, chaotic ones often become favorites years later. These photos capture your family exactly as you are right now, and that's worth the effort.
Grab a plastic container and fill it with holiday textures. Add cotton balls for snow, jingle bells, small ornaments, and pinecones. Hide tiny toys inside for your toddler to find.
Let them dig, pour, and explore. Sensory play helps toddlers learn through touch while keeping them entertained. After all these activities, you might need some gift inspiration. Browse our winter gift ideas for the perfect items to match the magic you're creating.
Pull out a big box and sit with your preschooler. Go through their toy bin together. Ask which toys they've outgrown or don't play with anymore.
Explain that other kids need toys for Christmas. Your preschooler learns that giving feels good. They see how making space for new things starts with letting go of old ones. Drive to a donation center together so they can see where their toys go.
Drape blankets over chairs and couches. Use couch cushions for walls. Let your preschooler help decide where the fort goes and how to arrange it.
String up Christmas lights inside for magical glow. Read holiday stories in there or play quiet games. Forts turn ordinary afternoons into adventures. Your preschooler will remember this cozy hideaway long after the blankets come down.
Clear space in your living room. Announce that everyone gets to perform something. Your preschooler can sing a song, do a dance, or tell a story they made up.
Clap loudly after each act. Record it on your phone if they want. Little kids beam when you treat their performance like it matters. If your kids loved these Christmas activities, don't miss our Thanksgiving activities for kids to keep the holiday fun going year-round.
Set out graham crackers, frosting, and candy. Show your preschooler how to stick crackers together with frosting. Don't worry if the house leans or collapses.
Your preschooler will eat half the candy before the house is done. That's part of the fun. They're creating something with their hands and making choices about where each gumdrop goes. Display the finished house on the counter, crooked walls and all.
Plan the traditional twelve Days of Christmas Session to create core memories. Write them on slips of paper. Each morning, your preschooler picks one from a jar.
Activities can be simple. Make hot chocolate. Watch a holiday movie. Drive around to see lights. The countdown builds excitement without overwhelming you. Your preschooler learns to wait and anticipate, skills they need during this season of wanting everything right now.
Your elf arrives December 1st. Each morning, your kids race to find where the elf moved overnight. Maybe it made snow angels in flour or got stuck in the Christmas tree.
The elf watches during the day and reports back to Santa at night. Kids love the magic and mystery. You get to be creative with silly setups. Some parents stress about elaborate scenes, but simple hiding spots work just as well.
Fold construction paper in half. Cut two slits near the fold line. Push that section through to create a pop-up piece when the card opens.
Your kids can draw a Christmas tree, Santa, or a snowman on the pop-up part. Decorate the rest with markers, stickers, and glitter. They just made a card for grandparents or teachers. Handmade gifts mean more than store-bought ones.
Give your kids paper and crayons. Ask them to write what they want for Christmas. Younger kids can draw pictures while older ones write sentences.
Address an envelope to the North Pole together. Mail it or leave it under the tree for Santa to pick up. Writing the letter helps kids process their wishes and practice writing. You also get a peek at what they're really hoping for this year.
Play holiday music loud. Everyone dances around the living room. When you pause the music, everyone freezes in place.
Start the music again and keep dancing. Your kids burn energy on cold days when they're stuck inside. The silly frozen poses make everyone laugh. Make a playlist ahead of time so you can just hit play when the afternoon gets restless.
Pack real snow into balls outside. Divide into teams. Set boundaries for where the fight happens. Let the snowballs fly.
If there's no snow, crumple white paper or use white socks rolled into balls. Move the fight indoors. Your kids need to move their bodies and be a little wild sometimes. Snowball fights let them do both while keeping the Christmas spirit alive.
Visit your local animal shelter as a family. Meet the dogs or cats waiting for homes. Talk about what it means to care for a pet every day.
If you're ready, bring home a new family member for Christmas. Pets teach kids responsibility, compassion, and unconditional love. Want more ideas that work for all ages together? Our Christmas activities for family guide has options everyone can enjoy at once.
Roll three snowballs in the yard. Stack them tall. Your kids find sticks for arms and rocks for buttons. Wrap a scarf around the snowman's neck.
Take photos with your creation before it melts. Building a snowman is simple, but kids remember these winter afternoons. They remember working together to push that giant snowball across the yard.
Pull out boxes of decorations together. Let your kids unwrap each ornament. They can hang ornaments on lower branches while you handle the top of the tree.
Give kids their own small tasks. Arrange the nativity scene. Put out holiday pillows. Hang stockings by the fireplace. When kids help decorate, they feel ownership over the holiday. The house becomes theirs to celebrate in, not just yours to prepare.
Bake sugar cookies the day before. Set out frosting in different colors, sprinkles, and candy pieces. Give each person a plate of cookies to decorate.
Nobody cares if the frosting gets messy. Your kids create edible art. Some cookies look amazing. Others look like colorful blobs. Eat the mistakes together while decorating. Leave the pretty ones for Santa or bring them to neighbors.
Find a local light display at a botanical garden, zoo, or neighborhood known for decorations. Drive through slowly or walk if the weather allows. Point out your favorite displays to each other.
Stop for hot chocolate on the way home. Our custom embroidered beanies keep everyone warm during evening outings like this. Light shows feel magical to kids. They see ordinary places transformed into something sparkling and new.
Call a food bank, nursing home, or toy drive. Ask what your family can do to help. Sort donations, serve meals, or deliver care packages. Let your kids participate in age-appropriate ways.
Volunteering shows kids that Christmas means giving, not just receiving. They see people who need help. They learn their actions make a difference. These experiences shape how they see the world and their place in it. Our custom embroidered tote bags work great for carrying donations or care packages during volunteer activities.
Christmas activities create the memories your kids will carry forever. They won't remember every gift under the tree. They'll remember the flour fight during cookie decorating. They'll remember the night you all squeezed into that blanket fort.
Mix activities from different sections. Your toddler can help your bigger kids with some projects. Your preschooler might love the letter to Santa. Let the season unfold without pressure to do everything perfectly. Make this Christmas one they'll talk about for years.
Christmas Song Freeze Dance gets kids moving when they're stuck indoors. Snowball fights work great too, whether you use real snow outside or crumpled paper inside. Elf on the Shelf turns the whole season into a daily treasure hunt as kids search for where the elf moved overnight.
Build a blanket fort in your living room using chairs, couch cushions, and blankets. String Christmas lights inside for cozy reading time. Try a family talent show where each person performs a song, dance, or story. Cookie decorating keeps kids busy for an hour while creating treats for Santa. Christmas Pop-Up Card crafts give them something to make with their hands when it's too cold to go outside.
Handprint and footprint crafts create keepsakes you'll treasure forever. Turn a handprint into a reindeer or a footprint into a Christmas tree. Arctic Animal Ice Rescue fascinates toddlers as they pour warm water to free frozen toys. Christmas sensory bins filled with cotton balls, jingle bells, and small ornaments let them explore different textures. Nature walks to collect pinecones get them outside and give you free decorations for your home.
Write twelve simple activities on slips of paper and put them in a jar. Each morning starting December 14th, your preschooler picks one activity for that day. Keep activities simple like making hot chocolate, watching a holiday movie, or driving around to see lights. This builds excitement without overwhelming your schedule. Preschoolers learn to wait and look forward to something special each day leading up to Christmas.
Cookie decorating brings families together on Christmas day or Christmas Eve. Set out frosting, sprinkles, and candy for everyone to create their own designs. Building gingerbread houses runs a close second, with kids and adults working side by side. Many families also drive around to see light shows or attend Christmas Eve services together.
Cameron Hayes
Meet Cameron Hayes, the 32-year-old wordsmith behind Embroly LLC's heartwarming content. This self-taught writer turned his passion for family stories into a career, weaving tales of love and laughter from his bustling Chicago home office. With six years in the content creation world, Cameron has mastered the art of making Gen X and millennials alike misty-eyed over their morning coffee. When he's not crafting the perfect emotional hook, you'll find him attempting DIY projects or coaching little league. His gift-giving advice is significantly more reliable than his home improvement skills.
