Holiday family activities
Find something fun to do together throughout the whole winter season with this round‑up of the most fun ways to celebrate!
20 ways to celebrate:
- Throw a holiday themed cookie swap — Invite your guests to bring extras of their favorites to share so everyone can haul home a ton of sweets for any of the many winter celebrations! Here are some cookie recipes from Martha Stewart to get you started.
- Decorate gingerbread houses — Buy a kit or DIY it! If you’ve got one of those families who are always trying to outdo each other, turn it into a competition complete with prizes!
- Count down the season together — Buy a calendar designed to celebrate the holidays that includes candy or toys like Lego. Or make your own countdown calendar using the handcrafted ornaments from activity #20.
- Have a slumber party under the tree — Pull out the sleeping bags and drift off to dreamland in the twinkly glow of holiday lights. There’s no better way to ensure visions of sugar plum fairies!
- Wrap presents — Crank up the holiday tunes or put on a favorite movie, pass the tape and dress up those gifts together.
- Stage a family photo shoot — Make it unique with Pioneer Woman’s ideas for family photos. Natural settings add depth to your family photos — and it’s sure to make for a memorable day out!
- Make S’mores — Go for simple backyard firepit action or level up with these gourmet s’mores recipes to jazz up this campfire favorite.
- Visit a tree farm — Chop down your own tree, browse pine garlands or just take a stroll around to enjoy the heavenly fir tree aroma with a cup of hot cocoa or cider. Find winter DIY decorations by gathering fallen pine cones, evergreen groundcover, berry clusters and pine boughs from farm and garden shops or your own yard. Add a bit of sparkle with small scale LED twinkle lights.
- Tour local holiday decorations — Take a walk or hop in the car to gawk at your neighbors’ dazzling displays. For extra fun, take the trip in your pjs clutching a cup of cocoa! Be sure to check for local zoo lights.
- Go on a road trip — Load up the car and get away for some quality time together and to see a whole new terrain!
- Go ice skating — Find a local rink and have fun while getting some exercise. Skating rinks are a great activity, indoor or out, even if you are not the one skating but strolling the perimeter, taking in the festive décor and cheering on your group!
- Volunteer — Sign up to help local organizations in your community spread holiday cheer by assisting at a soup kitchen or toy drive, performing music for seniors and more! Not just for the holidays—extra hands are needed even more during the winter months. Check online or with your county for opportunities near you.
- Take a hike — Bundle up and go to your favorite park, mall, mountain, atrium, waterfront or woodland for a whole new winter perspective.
- Build a snowman — If you don’t have snow where you live, combine with the #10 activity—the road trip—and go somewhere you can put together the snowman (or snowwoman) of your dreams!
- Go sledding — Grab a sled, find a hill and let the joy commence!
- Make your own holiday cards — Pull out the paper and markers to send one-of-a-kind custom cards no one else will receive. Keep it simple and from the heart or get fancy with stickers, stamping, bedazzling and paper cutting or quilling.
- Attend a performance — Whatever you love, there’s bound to be a performance nearby. Whether it’s Lunar New Year performances, The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, Fiddler on the Roof, concerts at your local symphony, Navidad Flamenca and Kwanzaa Harambee celebrations or Ukrainian inspired Trans-Siberian Orchestra shows—you can get in the spirit and celebrate tradition while supporting the arts.
- Host a sing-along — You don’t have to have a great voice to belt out the tunes. Make copies of song lyrics for your group and put on a concert at home or take it to the sidewalks to serenade your neighbors!
- Start a seasonal or holiday collection — Nutcrackers, dreidels, stars, snowflakes, bottle brush trees, birds, snow globes, lanterns, dragons, drums, candleholders of all types…the list of festive collectibles just goes on and on! Find one you enjoy and add to it each year.
- Make festive decor and ornaments — Get crafty and make your own by flexing your art skills or developing new ones with Mkeka mat crafting, dreidel painting, Chinese paper cutting, wood burning, felting, beading, fingerweaving and more. Better Homes and Gardens’ ornament making tutorials can get you started. Your decorations will make great gifts too!
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