Merry Making: 50 Things To Do With Kids In December
50 Things To Do With Kids in December:
- Go out and look at Christmas lights
- Bake cookies
- Pick out and put up the Christmas Tree
- Decorate the Christmas Tree
- Make an Ice Wreath
- Make Cinnamon Applesauce and/or Salt Dough ornaments
- Make and decorate gingerbread houses
- Sing Christmas Songs
- Visit Santa
- Buy and donate toys for Toys For Tots
- Help to wrap presents for friends and family
- Act out the Christmas story
- Make Reindeer Food
- Make homemade Christmas color/glitter play dough (and scent it with peppermint) to give to friends
- Make and decorate gingerbread people
- Make popcorn and cranberry garland
- Go on a sleigh ride
- Make paper chains for the Christmas tree
- Write a letter to Santa
- Watch a holiday movie
- Check out holiday books at the library
- Leave out shoes for St. Nicholas
- Eat Candy Canes
- Hang stockings on the mantle or banister
- Put out the Nativity Scene
- Address and Mail holiday cards
- Pick a special family ornament for the year
- Make a special plate for Santa’s cookies and the reindeer’s carrots
- Go to see The Nutcracker
- Go to a holiday parade
- Go to a candy store for a holiday treat
- Tie bells with ribbons and hang them around the house
- Make cards and gifts for teachers
- Go to the dollar store and pick gifts for family
- Make special cards to send to cousins
- Have a Random Acts of Kindness Day(s)
- Make cards to send to troops or to bring to a nursing home
- Grocery shop just to take to a food bank or donation boxes
- Learn a Christmas song on the guitar or piano
- Make a present for Santa
- Celebrate the Winter Solstice
- Make Winter Tea
- Make/Put out food for birds and squirrels
- Make orange and clove pomanders
- Look through favorite Christmas Cards from friends and family from years past
- Start a garland or photo album with your own family holiday cards from years past
- Prep and freeze a special breakfast for Christmas morning
- Make hot chocolate balls
- Make snow globes
- Do research on holiday traditions around the world and choose one to add to family traditions
*Inspired by my friend Maggie, who posted on Facebook that she wanted to think of one activity to do with her boys each day for Advent.
I’d love to hear your favorite holiday activities in the comments! This started as a list planning one thing to do each day with the kids during Advent, but it turned into more as I started to try to compile. I also realize that this list mostly centers around Christmas-related activities, since that’s what our family celebrates, so I’d especially love to hear about traditions for other special holidays during this season of celebration.
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone for stopping by via links from Worpress! Please make sure that you read the comments for even more fun ideas from readers:)
What a wonderful list. Im going to print this and highlight the ones my kids choose to do.
This is a great list! I don’t have kids, but I mentor a young lady who is twelve. This list gives me a lot of ideas to do with her!
oh fabulous! great inspiration, thanks!
Great list! It´s exactly what I do with my kids.
My suggestion:
Go for a couple of hours walk in the country after Christmas dinner. / That is our family tradition.
Great list! I’m doing some of them already
What a lovely way to spend quality time with your children by doing one activity each day of advent. A simple activity as going out for a walk together and looking at the different Christmas lights or putting out food for the birds and squirrels.
It is not all about buying! The most important thing is spending calm, quality time with your children. I Love it!
I see so many stressed out children and parents.The children have the gimmies because parents just buy and buy to get rid of their guilt feeling. This sadly enough creates very demanding children and parents that just want more and more and more and are never satisfied with simplicity.
Thanks for sharing
Astrid
Pre school teacher in Kalmar, Sweden
Welcome to my blog
http://my-way-here.blogspot.com/
Ooh, these are great ideas.
Thanks for the ideas. I’d like to link it to my blog post for this week about our traditions with our son, who is autistic. Enjoy the season!
These are fantastic ideas. I am looking forward to making snow globes this year. Great list.
New to this blog. A much needed break from frenetic pace. I am a single father to a special needs boy and I am not good with crafts. But these are some great ideas anyone can take part in.
I love your list! As I read through, I said, “check, check, check, hmmmm…need to do that, and that, and that…”
So today…we finish decorating, buy a tree, and make a gingerbread tree kit, and perhaps work on some of the ornament gifts for grandparents!
Love your ideas…will use them at home and in my classroom!
Wonderful list! Here’s an article I wrote a few years ago that have a few more suggestions that are multi-generational: http://windowstotheheart.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/15-gifts-of-presence-for-the-holidays-and-beyond/
What is advent? Are you abbreviating “adventure”?
Awesomeness. Kinda makes me wish I had kids already. Or littler siblings.
Really fun ideas – good list! A word to the wise – We made salt dough ornaments one year and our dogs ate them and were sick. Apparently that much salt is toxic to pets
Just hang them high on the tree!
how about we donate some coats for kids with an added twist…
stuff a $20 bill in one of the pockets. it’s like finding money in a winter jacket from last season, but times 100
Don’t forget about making paper snowflakes and hanging them all over the house…It will make it look like the movie elf. I like to get scrapbook paper and have different looking snowflakes everywhere!
I did those using mint dental floss for strings and it made the house smell nice!
Thank you for posting it!
I love this post. My wife just came in on me reading the post and you made me look rrreeaally good ha ha. Thanks! I’m obviously buying gifts but I’m really trying to focus more on the memories created during the holiday seasons. There’s no black Friday sale on those! They’re priceless.
Very nice list! Be careful with that tea though! Licorice root increases blood pressure(sometimes to very high levels all on its own, and shouldn’t be used in ANYONE with high blood pressure) and mimics and increases blood levels of steroids/hormones like prednisone and should be used with caution.
Great list! I don’t have kids and I want to do about half of them.
I love this list!!
Great post. Definitely an interesting read.
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This is wonderful list!
In my family we also have 1 tradition:
from 1st of December till Christmas day Santa helpers come to children and bring small gifts but only to those children who behave well I guess it is like St. Nichola’s day, but here it is every day.:)
what a wonderful list!! I don’t have kids of my own yet but when I do I will refer back! bookmarking for now!! maybe i will do some of the things with my niece!
http://itsawant.wordpress.com/
These are great ideas for me to do with my grandchildren!
You make the season extra special and new again.
Thoughtful good wholesome content—thanks so much!
I love that you have some really meaningful things to do, many of which have never occurred to me! Thanks for a great list, and have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones!
great tips
It’s a wonderful idea.Kids will surely enjoy the holiday season!
This is wonderful! Such a great lis!
this x’mas will be d first time i ll celebrate with my parents adopted baby boy..
so, i will get him enjoying christmas in church
n playing fireworks in the nite
n held an lil operete in x’mas home party, he would act as “baby Jesus”
LOL
Jbu ^^
What wonderful ideas!! Really all I need to get now is some kids lol!
Great list, Lillian! You might like this post I wrote about making recycled holiday wrapping paper with my kid: http://kineticprose.com/2011/12/04/potato-stamps-and-bebehs/
Take care!
I’ve not got children but I can see myself making these things regardless lol!
Much better than a traditional advent calendar! Thanks
How cute
This will help take the sting out of our first Christmas just me and my daughter. We wont see her dad until closer to January. Christmas cookies is this weeks project because the school is having a bake sale! We are excited about her first Christmas at her own school but we have needed more things to do together.
Ohh I like your list! Simple, affordable, but most importantly, meaningful!
Happy Holidays:)
great ideas…love the ideas
“Buy and donate toys for Toys For Tots” is a very good idea!!
This is a great post. Love the ideas. I linked your post on my blog as I completely agree with it.
http://mylibrarycardworeout.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/great-things-to-do-with-kids-at-christmas-time/
love this list! my son turns 3 in january, so this is the first holiday that he really understands. he’s so excited about everything from the lights to the stockings…and of course the presents. his enthusiasm is viral!
Love this post! I left a link of this post on my blog, and made my own to do list for the holidays. I love the idea for the homemade ornament and look forward to making one with my baby. Thank you for the inspiration…
http://lvbaby.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/holiday-inspiration/
Haha this is so cute and smart. Totes adorbs!
-Haleigh <3
Great ideas! I’m glad I came across this today!
Wow, great all around ideas! Parents of kids with autism have trouble finding things to do around this time of the year that involve kids. But many of your ideas are perfect for kids who have barriers, so special thank-you! And congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Hi! You can get the voice activated switch/sensor that is on the voice light boxes at OT that will flash your christmas lights for prosody and other voice characteristics. Try Abilitations company search. Picture cards per day, used like a Christmas chain, help to know what to do and what to expect and what is coming next, as this time of year can have differences in schedule. I dunno what things work well and what the ‘not so much’ categories are for your family. In mine we flip flop depending on..(sometimes a sneeze
)
When my kiddo was younger I’d also make picture cards on a ring, and place a duplicate onto a new seasonal object, such as music, dvds, books ect. I let him bring me the card and then we’d search in the new object bin area, so he’d have to engage and could learn to suit himself to gain interaction. I told people that came over, to expect him to bring them cards, it was how he would say hello back then. Hope this helps!
I love these ideas!
I love your list! Very thoughtful.
Thanks for sharing.
I’m with you on #47. I always try to make a Christmas eve batch of cinnamon rolls so they’re ready Christmas morning. It’s the best!
Fantastic List! Merry Christmas!!!