December can be such a magical and fun time for families with young kids. It can also be stressful and bring on extra stress and mom guilt. This guide is here to help you!
This guide will include:
I will include simple activities to do with your kids that focus on togetherness, bonding, and the real meaning of Christmas. I will also include some simple elf ideas for your home, with all included printables for free!
But before we get started...
First and foremost, what you are already doing is enough. Kids won't remember the presents they got, they will remember the traditions and the love and magic you already bring to your home. My favorite memories are decorating the Christmas tree together as a family, listening to Christmas music during the day, and taking drives to look at decorated houses. These activities were simple and didn't cost any money. And those are the things that left lasting impressions on me. I hope this guide is here to give you ideas (if you want them), but not make you feel you need to go above and beyond.
If you haven't already read about our family tradition, The 25 Days of Christmas, I would read that blog post first.
Every day this month, I'll be updating this blog post with what we do each day for our 25 Days of Christmas. I will also share our Elf ideas (and include any printables needed). Full transparency- our elves don't do elaborate set-ups and some days just move locations. But when I'm feeling adventurous, I'll add in some extra fun and magic! So mark this page and check back frequently this month!
December 1
Elf Idea: Our elves come and bring a Countdown to Christmas Craft Activity. This printable activity is where my kids glue a cotton ball on Santa's beard every day until Christmas. This is a fun visual for my younger kids who don't grasp time quite yet.
Grab your free Countdown to Christmas Craft Activity here!
25 Days of Christmas: Decorate the Christmas tree. We always play Christmas music and decorate our family tree together. Simple and Magical!
If you want our 25 Days of Christmas labels, download them for free on our 25 Days of Christmas blog post. I've included many activities we do every year and some blank labels as well.
December 2
Elf Idea: Our elves were walking our toy dog figures this morning! All you need for this idea is some pipe cleaners and animal figures. I wrapped one end of the pipe cleaner around the neck of each dog toy, and had the elves hold the other end of the pipe cleaner. For extra fun, I laid out some extra pipe cleaners and small toys for my kids to do this themselves. They loved it. My 7 year old daughter brought out her Barbies and had the Barbies walking the animals and my 4 year old son just had a blast wrapping and "trapping" the animals, then rescuing them.
25 Days of Christmas: Today's activity was setting up a snack station on our front porch for the delivery drivers. Our family talked about how hard delivery drivers work all year, but especially during this busy time of year. We picked out yummy snacks and drinks together and set up a little station with my printable. My kids are in charge of checking the station daily and refilling as necessary, and they always take this job really seriously.
Here's what the sign looks like:
You can grab the free printable for delivery drivers here.
December 3
Elf Idea: Our elves left out a fun game of Christmas memory. It was set up like they were playing. After the kids see the set-up, they can play with a sibling (or you can play together as a family). If your kid is too little to play Memory, you can have them try to find matches or hide the cards around the room and let them search for them.
Download your Christmas memory game here.
25 Days of Christmas: Today's activity is making our Christmas lists. I created this simple template that the kids can fill out (I write it out for my 4 year old).
Here's the Christmas list template if you want it!
Check back tomorrow for more fun!
