25 Christmas Countdown Family Activities

Looking for some Christmas countdown activities you can do with your family this season to make it more meaningful and fun? If so, I’ve got a wonderful list of Christmas countdown activities to get you started!

From decorating a Christmas tree to bundling up for a walk together this list of ideas will hopefully fill your holiday season with the things that matter: people.

With that being said, these Christmas countdown activities are simple, budget-friendly, and family oriented. Let’s dive it!

Keep Christmas Simple with these Countdown Activities

All of these cute countdown ideas for Christmas are really about enjoying the little things in life.

Instead of getting wrapped up in the storm of writing everyone’s Christmas cards, buying gifts, getting stocking suffers, attending all the Christmas parties, and frantically rushing from place to place, its about slowing down.

It’s about fostering a sense of gratitude for the blessings we have. And also about practicing contentment by enjoying the people and community around us.

So before you discount these Christmas countdown activities as ‘too simple’ or ‘understated’, remember that sometimes it’s the little things and connections with others that make the holiday season meaningful and memorable.

Let’s get started! Here are 25 of our favorite Christmas countdown activities:

25 Days of Christmas Countdown Activities for the Family

1. Read a Christmas book together.

There are so many wonderful books about Christmas. If you’ve got younger kids, like we do, check out our list of favorite picture books about Christmas and enjoy a few of those together! If you’ve got teens in the house or its just you and your spouse, grab a read aloud, like Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, and read a little bit of it every evening after dinner.

I’m always amazed how reading a book can really bring us together as a family and foster a sense of slow and grateful living. Be sure to include this in your Christmas countdown activities list!

2. Decorate a Christmas tree

Learn about the History of Christmas Trees, then decorate one of your own as a family. Enjoy the fragrance of a real tree or the cleanliness of an artificial one. Pull out your box of homemade or store-bought ornaments, garland, and lights and enjoy a creative moment together.

This is a wonderful time to talk about the stories that each ornament holds. Did someone special make it for you? What year did you get it? What do you like about it?

3. Light a scented candle

Another simple Christmas countdown activity could be to add a cozy touch to your space with some warm scents of the season.Some of our favorite scents are pine, apple cinnamon, and coffee.

A lot of times these simple holiday smells can give us a sense of nostalgia and create the Christmas vibes we all enjoy. With that begin said, if candles aren’t your thing, perhaps add some potpourri on the stove, or a Christmas oil blend in your diffusers.

4. Make hot chocolate

Most kids get giddy over a cup of hot chocolate (at least mine do). Hot Chocolate is an easy Christmas treat to whip up and serve your family as you celebrate the season.

If you want to slow the process down or turn it into a family tradition, you can make it homemade on the stove or whip up your own cream for the top. To take it a step further, you could find a topping that is unique to your family like cinnamon, chocolate syrup, or jumbo marshmallows.

The point is to do it together and enjoy each other. There might be messes, or kids comparing their amount of marshmallows to each others, and that’s ok. It’s not about perfection, it’s about intentionally celebrating the season as a family.

5. Hang a Christmas wreath

Whether its a fancy wreath from a department store or a homemade rag wreath, do what you can to add a little festive cheer to your front door.

Sometimes, I’ll just pull out my boxwood wreath and hang it on the door. Other years, I’ll get the creative itch, and make a new one. Either way, a great Christmas countdown activity is to make the the front door welcoming.

6. Make sugar cookies

Get a little messy and make some sugar cookies together! You can make your own dough, or get a roll of it from the grocery store, whatever works best for you. Either way you are going to have a great time.

Making sugar cookies was always quite the event growing up. My Mom would bake a huge batch of cookies and all the kids would pile around the table with frosting and sprinkles and go to town. This is such a fun, family tradition, not to mention, a tasty one too.

7. Bundle up and go for a walk

So simple, but probably one of my favorite. Get outside and away from the noise and really experience the season of winter.

Feel the cold crisp air, watch the snow birds flit between trees, and the smell of wood-burning fireplaces as people cozy up in their homes.

8. Make homemade ornaments

We’ve made homemade ornaments for years now. Some of our favorites have been: fingerprint ornaments, wood slice ornaments, wood sign ornaments, and bird feeder ornaments.

Getting creative together is another wonderful way to celebrate the season of Christmas. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive, look around you house and see what you have that you could make an ornament with. Paper? Cardboard? Wood? Food? The possibilities are endless.

9. Wear a cozy sweater

Slip into a comfy, cozy sweater and enjoy some soft, fluffy texture for the day! If you’ve got kids, encourage them to pick their coziest sweater as well.

10. Listen to music

It’s officially time to break out your favorite Christmas tunes! Have a family dance party, or just play Christmas music softly in the background.

What type of Christmas music does your family enjoy? The classics? Choral? Instrumental? Bluegrass? Find a few of your family favorites and make a playlist that you can enjoy together!

11. Wrap a gift

Wrap one gift or multiple gifts! Take some time to make it something special. Maybe create a homemade wrapping paper, or add a colorful ribbon or bow. (We enjoy making creative tags to put on our packages.)

Regardless, slow down the process and really think about the person that the gift is intended for. Is there a way that you could add a little touch that showed that you really put some thought into their gift?

12. Try a new recipe

Christmas is the perfect time to try a new recipe. You never know, you might discover one that will become a new family favorite!

If you need a place to start, here’s a unique recipe our family enjoys every year: Scandinavian Fruit Soup.

13. Dry some oranges

Oranges have been a Christmas fruit for generations! You can enjoy the citrusy smells the whole season if you take some time to slice one and dry the slices.

With these dried orange slices, you could Make an orange slice garland, ornaments, use instead of gift bows, or just hang them around your house. If you are anything like us, you’ll love the scented cozy vibes these dried oranges bring to your home.

14. Hang a few stockings

The kids love when I bring out the stockings. I guess it’s the anticipation of having them filled. But they like to hold them and remember past Christmases and think about what they might hold for this year.

Regardless, stockings make an easy Christmas decoration that will surly spruce up your mantle for the holidays.

15. Bake treats for friends and neighbors

As a Christmas countdown activity, bake some treats for your friends and neighbors! Once again, it doesn’t have to be perfect, its the thought and love behind it, that counts.

Our family likes to get some of those small treat bags and fill them with chocolate covered pretzels and give them away to our friends and neighbors each year. I love this Christmas activity because it’s a fantastic way to get the kids involved in spreading Christmas cheer.

16. Cozy up by the fireplace

Another cheery Christmas countdown activity is to cozy up by a crackling fire or a toasty wood stove and enjoy an evening of being in a warm room together. (If you don’t have a fireplace, maybe grandma and grandpa, have one that you could enjoy.)

17. Plan a party

Plan a Christmas party. Once again, it doesn’t have to be elaborate (unless you want it to be). Make it a celebration of the season with the people you love.

That would be a Christmas book party for your kids and their friends, hosting a festive dinner party, or even having a game night/cookie exchange with your friends.

18. Give a gift

For this day, focus on one special person and give them a gift today. Maybe you have a little gift you could leave by the coffee pot for your husband or a gift of a candy cane and a sweet note for your child.

Or you could take the day to focus on a friend who is struggling with loneness this season and add little cheer to their lives.

19. Go for a hike

Get away from the hustle and bustle and bundle up for the outdoors. Take an afternoon to visit your favorite hiking trail and enjoy the quiet along with the sights and sounds of winter.

20. Watch a Christmas movie

Are you a Hallmark Christmas movie junkie? Or do you prefer the classics? Either way, take some time to enjoy a Christmas movie with your family!

Since we have young kids, our top choices are the Grinch that Stole Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas, Star, and the Polar Express. (Amazon affiliate links included) What’s yours?

21. Sing carols

Why not celebrate the season with a little singing? Reacquaint yourselves with traditional Christmas songs that you enjoyed growing up!

If your church does Christmas caroling to nursing homes or to people in our community, join along! This is a great Christmas service opportunity to jump on board with.

22. Bake bread

Baking bread and a super-cozy Christmas activity! The warm smells will in the kitchen and your family will be pacing with empty plates, until you pull the hot loaf from the oven!

Not confidence in your bread making skill? No worries! Do a quick bread option like banana or zucchini bread. (Pumpkin chocolate chip is one of our favorites)

23. Decorate cookies

Put an added touch on your holiday cookies with frosting, sprinkles, powdered sugar, or by using a cookie stamp. A couple years ago I found a whole bag of vintage cookie stamps at a thrift store, and they have been such a fun tool around this time of year! What are you favorite ways to decorate cookies?

24. Wear warm socks

Now is the time to break out your crazy candy cane striped socks. Wear them with pride and amuse yourself with the whimsy. The more color and crazy, the better. Its even okay if they don’t match.

25. Practice gratitude

This season is really about a spirit of giving and gratitude because of all the Lord has blessed us with. This is a wonderful time to reflect on your blessings and let gratitude and love overflow into the people in your lives.

As a mom, I want my kids to see that we can enjoy the Christmas season with the things we already have. I want our Christmas countdown to be both meaningful and memorable. How about you?

Printable Christmas Christmas Family Activity Cards

Are you interested in these printable Christmas countdown activity cards? If so these cute, watercolor, printable Christmas Countdown Family Activity Cards are available in my Etsy store. (In two different sizes)

More Christmas countdown family activities & resources

What are your favorite Christmas countdown family activities?

*This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.