Christmas Activities for Families to Make Christmas Day Merry & Bright

Chances are, the Christmas season comes and represents the best time to enjoy the good things, celebrate annual traditions, and connect with family and beloved ones. There are plenty of holiday-themed experiences to keep us all entertained and help take some of the anxiety out of this wonderful time of the year.

In this post, we've rounded up some of the most-favorited Christmas activities you can do with family including holiday traditions and other creative Christmas activities to get into the holly jolly spirit. This list features a bunch of memory-making moments you can do both indoors and outdoors with your family members or individuals to celebrate the season. Without further ado, scroll down and spread the Christmas cheer with these amazing family Christmas activities!

1. Christmas Home Decorations

The holiday season is the best time for merriment, gift-giving, family gatherings, and also extreme home decorations. And certainly, there's no better way to get into the season's spirit than together decking out your house with attractive Christmas decorations and giving your home a holiday touch. 

Spread Christmas cheer and bring the beauty of the holiday to every corner of your home. Turn your home into a festive winter wonderland by decking the halls with so many garlands, wreaths, ornaments, ribbons, Christmas lights, etc. From inside to outside the house, fill up the house with holiday joy. 

What makes your home more cheerful this winter than Christmas decorations? Whether it's just a refresh of the living room or a total makeover for a Christmas party, don’t forget to set the mood by decorating your Christmas trees with your family members and creating beautiful memories together. 

Once you’ve chosen your Christmas tree, just fill it up with lights, baubles, ornaments, etc. to make it look picture-perfect! You can keep it simple with a minimalist vibe, stay classic with some touches of plaid, or go all out with any creative style. 

2. Christmas D.I.Y Crafts

As the Christmas holidays approach, there’s no time of year better than this to sit down and craft some Christmas items. Making festive decorations, gifts, and toys by hand is one of the most-favorited Christmas traditions that's so much joyful to share with family and friends.

We do believe that all the family members will love holiday crafting and want a fun and creative project at home. Also, there's added excitement of family time by having kids, teens, and adults try their hands at making some of these fun and festive DIYs. Plus, use them to decorate your Christmas tree at home or opt to give them as lovely gifts to beloved grandparents, teachers, and friends. 

There are over a hundred Christmas craft ideas out there but we suggest some easy-peasy ones to get you in the Christmas spirit and have a perfectly cozy day at home. Ready, set, craft!

#Make Paper Snowflakes

#Make Customized Ornaments

#Write Letters to Santa

#Make a Christmas Tree Garland & Wreath

#Make and Send Christmas Cards

#Make Paper Honeycomb Trees

3. Christmas Movies, Music, & Stories

There are so many ways to fill your home with holiday cheer, including watching horror movies, listening to your favorite Christmas songs, and also reading festive Christmas stories. 

#Christmas Movies 

Spice up your celebration this year with an unforgettable Christmas movie party based on any of your favorite Christmas movies. Prepare a big screen (or a projector if needed) so that the whole family can gather and enjoy the movie together. You can also get creative with themed foods, costumes, games, and decorations, or make it easy with some snacks, popcorn, some candies along with any warm holiday beverage. 

#Christmas Music

Music plays an essential role in every festive moment, especially at Christmas. It’s so joyous when the whole family gathers to listen to Christmas music and sing along Christmas carols together. This Christmas, let’s gather your family and celebrate a music dance party. Turn up the volume on the merriest Christmas playlist you’ve collected and have a happy music dance party in socks and jammies before heading to bed! 

#Christmas Stories

If you’re looking for something sweet and simple to enjoy together as a family, hit the spot with some reading some classic Christmas tales. Just imagine the family sitting together under blankets or cozied up in the bed around an old story, it creates beautiful memories and sews your family’s heartstrings together. Since it’s the 21st century, there is a timeless source of Christmas stories online! And there are a few days like Christmas to bring a family together, let’s share your own stories with other family members.

4. Christmas Party

Once you want to hold a home party for Christmas holiday, you should plan very well how many guests attending, funny games, delightful decorations, crowd-pleasing dishes and drinks, festive activities and rousing playlist during the party, everything that'll ensure a merry time for all. Added to this, we suggest dress code options (for example formal attire or pajamas only) and a family photo booth to fill the house with the holiday cheer and get ready to throw the merriest holiday party ever. Are you feeling holly and jolly yet? 

5. Christmas Food & Drinks

Kick off the holiday season by preparing some of most-favorited recipes and easy-to-make beverages together with your family members. These seasonal treats also make good gifts for anyone you love.

#Christmas Decorated Cookies 

#Jam Biscuits

#Sweet & Spicy Coated Nuts

#Gingerbread Houses and Gingerbread People

#Cheese/Caramel Popcorn

#Spiked Hot Cider

#Spiked Hot Cocoa

#Citrus Marmalade

6. Christmas Family Outings

The entire season also presents a unique opportunity for all family members to slow down, take any lingering vacation days, and enjoy holiday time together. If you need some inspiration for the whole family, check out the list below of funny outdoor Christmas family activities.  

#Visit A Christmas Tree Farm and Pick A Christmas Tree

Besides picking up a Christmas tree at the local mega-store or parking lot pop-up, the family can choose to drive out to a Christmas tree farm and hand-select a tree for their home. It’s such a beautiful memory when cutting down the tree and transporting it back to your home then decorating it in your own way.

#Build A Snowman

When winter comes with heavy snow on the ground, it’s time to get out there and build a snowman in the yard! Grab the kids involved in this fun outdoor activity and challenge them to roll the biggest snowball. Let them build up their snowman and show their creativity through many decor items on it.

#Take Pictures with Santa

A Christmas would not be complete without a visit or picture with Santa! You can choose to go to local malls and outdoor venues at “meet Santa” photo events. Or you can consider having a family member dress up as Santa then plan and set up a Christmas family photoshoot from home. Who knows, you may get some picture-perfect ideas for this year’s holiday card! 

#Watch Local Light Displays

These seasonal light displays will definitely get you and your family into the holiday spirit. Some of these displays are professional operations or many of them are often synchronized to Christmas music depending on their expense. Take the family on a tour of the local lights this Christmas Eve and create memorable family bonding.

#Skate on Ice 

Ice skating may be one of the most-loved Christmas traditions as it’s active, fun, and a chance to create such a festive feeling even if you live somewhere that doesn’t get snow. Turn it into a full family event and see who the best at skating is. Please note that only skate on a local ice rink specially built for skating but not on a frozen river or lake as this is unsafe. 

#Go Sledding

Another must-try outdoor activity is sledding. There's nothing better than gliding on a sled in the cold winter. This definitely puts a smile on kids’ faces when speeding down the hill and safely landing in a pile of snow at the bottom. 

Depending on where you live, there are some safe places available where you might consider to sled: 

- Local parks

7. Christmas Gift-giving

#Exchanging Christmas Gift 

Holiday gift-giving can feel like a never-ending to-do list and the entire holiday season is filled with opportunities for many creative gift exchanges with your loved ones. To make the experience of swapping presents more memorable, a holiday gift exchange plan should be something both practical and meaningful.

#Get Your Personalized Gifting Done

Another great way to warm up this holiday is to gift your family members some DIY items and customize their names. Whether you get them ornaments, cards, or even batches of cookies, this is really warming their heart this winter season. And if you don’t have enough time to handmake some, take these Christmas personalized gifts for a family member from Chillever into consideration.

Baby Cute Photo With Name for Christmas Ornament

Decorate the Christmas tree with this lovely baby Christmas ornament with a touch of personalization. There are many styles and options available for you to choose from and make it a perfect keepsake.

Family Cute Custom Photo Ornament

Bring the festive cheer to your little home with this customized photo family ornaments.