As the festive season approaches, most of us are eager to make all of the memories with our children. Every year we enjoy our Christmas Activity Advent Calendar. I also share monthly quality time ideas on social media, so I thought for December, why not combine both?
Keep scrolling down to find new and exciting ways to connect together and countdown to Christmas (and New Year). You're about to discover an alternative advent calendar, filled with fun activities to strengthen family bonds. Instead of typical treats, engage in games, crafts and heartwarming activities that will bring everyone closer.
In this post, I'll share 31 unique activities that promise to elevate your family time during this magical time of year. Join in for 10 minutes every day or dip in and out where you can.
Let's make the most of every moment together!
1st December - Play Christmas Musical Statues.
Like the classic game, put some christmas music on and dance. Just make sure you stop when the music stops. We tend not to say that anyone who accidentally moves is out, as we want this to be an activity that connects us.
2nd December - Make a Christmas Tree (out of things you can find in your home.)
Think jumpers, socks, bits of recycling, etc. Lay it all out on the floor and create your own Christmas tree flatlay. What might you use for the baubles? Encoruage your child to share and try out their ideas.
3rd December - Grab some crayons and design your own Family Christmas Jumper.
Either work together on a larger sheet to create one jumper, or give each person a smaller sheet to design their own individual jumper. Decorate each jumper with your own patterns or things that remind you of your family.
4th December - Play Pin The Nose on Rudolph.
Think, 'Pin the tail on the Donkey'. Draw or paint a large reindeer on a piece of cardboard. Give each child a small piece of card to decorate and attach blu-tac to the back. Take it in turns, wearing a blindfold to place your nose closest to Rudolph's.
5th December - Write a card to each other.
Encourage everyone to write letters or cards to friends and family. Set aside some time where your children can decorate their letters with drawings and stickers. This not only spreads cheer but also strengthens connections with loved ones.
6th December - Take it in turns to draw each part of Father Christmas.
Grab a piece of paper and fold it into sections so that you cannot see what each other are drawing. For example, you draw his hat and fold it over so your child cannot see. Your child then draws his face and folds it over so you cannot see. Keep going until all parts have been drawn. Unfold at the end to reveal your speical Santa.
7th December - Make a Kindness Paper Chain.
Cut pieces of paper into strips and write something kind on each one. Our free positive affirmation ebook can help you with this and you can watch a video of our paper chain from last year here.
8th December - Read a page each in their favourite Christmas book.
Choose a book and take it in turns to read a page each. If your child isn't reading yet, they could either listen to you read or you could tell your own story together using the pictures.
9th December - Make up your own version of Jingle Bells.
Change the words to 'Jingle Bells' and create your own family song. You could capture a video of your performance to look back on and laugh at later.
10th December - Teach them Christmas Star Breathing.
Think square breathing but in a star shape. Breathe in for one line of the star outline, breathe out for the next. Just like this:
11th December - Have a Christmas tree disco.
You might like to create a festive playlist for this one. Turn the Christmas lights onto jazzy mode and get dancing.
12th December - Make a Christmas scene
Using paint, playdough or lego create your own Christmas picture. Work together and really listen to your child's ideas. If using playdough or lego, take a photo to remember your creation.
13th December - Play a game
Let them choose a game and really play with them. This could be a board game or even hide and seek. But make sure you're fully engaged, not cooking dinner at the same time.
14th December - Have a Christmas photoshoot.
Capture the season by having a fun family photoshoot. Choose a themed backdrop—maybe your Christmas tree or cosy blankets. You could even wear matching outfits.
15th December - Donate something to charity.
This one is a lovely way to give back to your community during the festive season. Participating in this type of activity teaches children the importance of kindness and compassion. We usually opt for either food or toys.
16th December - Look through old festive photographs together.
No need to print them off, simply look back through photos of previous Decembers and talk to your child about how you have all changed.
17th December - Play Christmassy charades.
Take it in turns to act out something Christmassy, for example, a reindeer or a christmas cracker and see if you can guess each other's mimes.
18th December - Explore a Christmas play tray.
Grab a container and fill it with something festive to explore together. We have previously water and added cinnamon sticks, orange segments, rosemary and berries (pictured). Dried red and green rice works well too as does green playdough or artificial snow.
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