25 Christmas Activities for Kids (That Aren't Just Opening Presents)

Christmas morning is magical. But the four weeks leading up to it? That can feel like a lot — hyped-up kids, packed schedules, and the pressure to make everything feel special. Here's the thing: the magic doesn't have to wait until December 25th. With the right Christmas activities for kids, the entire countdown becomes part of the celebration — and some of the best memories get made before anyone unwraps a single thing.

These 25 activities span crafts, sensory play, learning, family traditions, and outdoor fun. Pick the ones that fit your family and let December feel like the month it's supposed to be.

Christmas Crafts & Art Projects

Hands-on making is one of the best ways to slow kids down and channel all that holiday excitement into something creative. These five christmas crafts for kids work for ages 3 and up.

1. Paper Plate Wreaths Grab paper plates, green paint, and some holiday stickers or ribbon. Cut the center out of the plate, let kids paint the ring green, then decorate with whatever you have on hand. Simple, beautiful, and the result is something they're genuinely proud to hang on the door.

2. Salt Dough Ornaments Mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water. Roll it out and cut holiday shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 200°F for 2–3 hours, let cool, then paint and seal. These last for years and the imperfect, handmade ones are always the most loved ornaments on the tree.

3. Watercolor Christmas Cards This is one of my favorite fun christmas activities because the results are genuinely beautiful. Set up a watercolor station and let kids paint their own cards to send to grandparents, neighbors, and friends. The Kids Watercolor Paint Set ($16.99) is perfect for this — washable, vibrant pigments that produce cards worth keeping. Toddlers can paint freely; older kids can try simple Christmas trees, snowflakes, or reindeer shapes.

4. Paper Snowflake Garlands Fold squares of white paper and cut patterns into the folds. Every single one comes out different and kids are always surprised by the results. String them together for an all-handmade garland that looks amazing on a mantle or across a window.

5. Christmas Collage Portraits Cut Christmas shapes (trees, presents, stars, stockings) from magazine pages, wrapping paper scraps, and colored paper. Let kids arrange and glue them onto black cardstock for dramatic, graphic results. Even toddlers can do a version of this with pre-cut shapes and a glue stick.

For even more craft ideas, check out our full guide to holiday crafts for kids.

Christmas Sensory Play & Science

Christmas activities for toddlers don't need to be complicated — they need to engage little hands and curious minds. These five setups do exactly that.

6. Snow Sensory Bin Mix shaving cream with a little cornstarch for fake snow that actually feels cold and fluffy. Add small plastic animals, toy trees, and a few plastic gems. Toddlers will play in this for 30–45 minutes straight. Keep paper towels nearby — the mess is 100% worth it.

7. Candy Cane Science Experiment Drop a candy cane into a glass of warm water and a glass of cold water. Ask your child to predict which will dissolve faster, then watch together. The color swirling off the candy cane into the warm water is genuinely mesmerizing. This is a simple introduction to the concept of temperature and solubility that toddlers and preschoolers love.

8. Frozen Treasure Discovery Freeze small plastic Christmas figures or toy animals in a block of ice overnight. Give your toddler a dropper of warm water (or salt shaker) and let them excavate. It takes time, which is the point — focused, patient, absorbing play that also teaches kids about melting.

9. Cinnamon Ornament Dough Mix 1 cup cinnamon with 3/4 cup applesauce. Roll it out, cut shapes, and let them air-dry for 2–3 days. They smell incredible and aren't for eating (make that clear!), but the scent lingers on the tree all season. The process of mixing, rolling, and cutting is deeply sensory for toddlers.

10. Christmas Color Mixing Fill three small containers with water tinted red, green, and gold (yellow). Give toddlers droppers and empty cups and let them mix colors freely. Red + green = a muddy holiday brown, which leads to great conversations. This is color theory and fine motor work dressed up as holiday play.

Christmas Learning Activities

December is actually a fantastic time for sneaking in some learning — kids are engaged, everything is themed, and christmas activities at home can double as genuine skill-builders.

11. Christmas Alphabet Matching Write each letter of the alphabet on a Christmas ornament cutout. Write matching lowercase letters on smaller ornament shapes. Spread them out and have kids find the pairs. For a ready-made version that saves you setup time, the ABC Coloring Pages PDF ($3.97) has 26 illustrated letter pages you can print, cut, and use in all kinds of seasonal matching games.

12. Christmas Counting Activities Count ornaments on the tree. Count the stockings hung by the fireplace. Count the days until Christmas on the calendar. For kids ready for a more structured number activity, the Numbers Worksheets PDF ($3.97) has 20 printable pages covering 1–20 with tracing, counting, and coloring — all in one instant download. Themed counting games make number sense stick in a way that worksheets alone never will.

13. Christmas Storytime Build a cozy reading ritual this December. Get under a blanket, put on some soft holiday music, and read together every night. The Goodnight Safari Storybook ($12.99) is one of our favorites for littles — rhythmic, calming language that winds kids down beautifully before bed. The My First ABC Learning Book ($14.99) is a lovely addition for toddlers who are working on their letters.

14. Christmas Word Writing Practice Give older kids a list of Christmas words — tree, star, snow, gift, joy — and have them practice writing them in different ways: bubble letters, tiny careful print, rainbow writing with markers. Word writing practice that feels like art stays way longer in memory.

15. Reindeer Name Matching Game Write the names of all eight reindeer on cards. Cut each name in half, shuffle, and have kids reassemble them. For younger kids, draw a simple reindeer on each card so they have a visual anchor. This is letter recognition and word-building dressed up in a holiday costume that kids actually care about.

Want to turn the whole month into a learning adventure? The Christmas Activity Bundle ($7.97) includes the Advent Calendar + ABC Coloring Pages + Feelings Worksheets — 3 instant-download PDFs for one low price. Grab the Christmas Activity Bundle →

Christmas Family Traditions to Start This Year

The activities that become annual traditions are the ones kids talk about for the rest of their lives. Holiday activities for kids don't need to be elaborate — they need to be consistent.

16. Advent Calendar Countdown This is the tradition worth starting this year. An Advent calendar gives kids one thing to look forward to every single morning in December — and keeps the magic going for 25 days instead of just one. The Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar PDF ($4.97) is a printable you can download instantly and use year after year. Twenty-five activity cards plus a Santa letter template, Christmas morning scavenger hunt, holiday feelings check-in, and coloring pages. It's the easiest way to make the whole month feel special. For more inspiration on building routines kids love, check out our guide to fall activities for kids — the approach to seasonal traditions carries right into December.

17. Christmas Cookie Baking Day Pick a Saturday in December and dedicate the whole morning to baking together. Make a double batch of sugar cookies. Let kids decorate with whatever combination of frosting and sprinkles they want (no corrections, no "that's too many sprinkles"). The chaos is the point. The cookies will be imperfect and they will be delicious and this will be the memory they tell their own kids about someday.

18. Christmas Movie Night Build a special Christmas movie tradition — same movie, same night every year, same blanket-and-popcorn setup. It doesn't matter which movie. What matters is the ritual: this is what our family does. Kids thrive on the predictability of "this is just what we do at Christmas," and they'll ask for it every year.

19. Drive-Through Christmas Lights Load everyone in the car in pajamas. Bring hot chocolate. Drive around looking at the most decorated houses in your area. This costs nothing, requires no prep, and is consistently rated by kids as one of their favorite parts of the whole holiday season. Low effort, high magic.

20. Toy Donation Before Christmas In the week before Christmas, have kids choose toys they've outgrown to donate. Frame it as making room for new things AND giving other kids something to love. This tradition builds empathy and gratitude and gives kids real agency over something meaningful — which matters enormously at this age.

Christmas Outdoor Activities

Winter outdoors is its own kind of magic, even if you're not in a snow-heavy area. These five fun christmas activities work anywhere.

21. Neighborhood Christmas Light Walk After dark, bundle everyone up and walk your neighborhood to look at lights. Bring a clipboard and make a tally chart: how many blue lights? How many inflatable decorations? How many houses with wreaths? Turning the walk into a game keeps everyone engaged and adds a counting element that makes the activity feel bigger.

22. Snowflake Catching If you have snow: go outside when it's falling and catch snowflakes on dark construction paper or a piece of dark fabric. Use a magnifying glass if you have one. Look for the six-sided symmetry together. If you don't have snow: do the same with leaf or flower petals as a holiday observation activity. The attention to detail is what matters.

23. Pine Cone Bird Feeders Roll pine cones in peanut butter, then in birdseed. Tie them with twine and hang them from trees in the yard. Watching birds come to find the feeders you made together is one of those quiet, deeply satisfying activities that kids remember. This also works beautifully as a gift for grandparents with backyard birds.

24. Outdoor Christmas Scavenger Hunt Write clues in rhyme, hide small items (a Christmas ornament, a candy cane, a pinecone) around the yard or neighborhood, and let kids follow the trail. For toddlers, make it simple and visual — a picture of where to look next. For older kids, make the rhymes trickier. The anticipation of each next clue is pure joy.

25. Straw Star Making Collect dried grass stems, thin twigs, or purchase craft straw from a dollar store. Show kids how to bind them into simple star shapes with twine or wire. These rustic stars look beautiful hung in windows or on a tree, and the hand work of shaping and tying them is wonderful sensory play ideas for toddlers territory. For more sensory setups like this one, check out our full guide to sensory play ideas for toddlers.

Make the Countdown Magical

The secret to a Christmas season that feels joyful instead of chaotic is giving kids something to look forward to every single day — not just one big day at the end. That's exactly what the Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar PDF ($4.97) is designed to do. Twenty-five days of guided activity cards, a Santa letter your child can fill out, a Christmas morning scavenger hunt, a holiday feelings check-in, and coloring pages — all in one instant download you can print at home and use year after year. It's the easiest way to give this December a structure that makes the whole family slow down and enjoy it. Download it today and December is already planned.

👉 Get the Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar PDF ($4.97) →

Or grab the full Christmas Activity Bundle ($7.97) — 3 printable packs including the Advent Calendar, ABC Coloring Pages, and Feelings Worksheets. More value, one download. Get the bundle →