Printable Christmas Bucket List for Family Fun
Download your free printable Christmas bucket list for the holiday season and start making memories with your family!
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I love Christmas lights and Christmas music. All of the pretty glittery decorations and the delicious desserts. The warm, cozy feeling of being curled up inside on a cold day. Following along my Advent reading plan during the early, dark mornings, while sitting by the Christmas tree.
And I absolutely love spending time with my family members, doing all of the fun little things that make the Christmas season worth remembering.
I also thought it would be fun to put together a printable for you with fun Christmas bucket list ideas. These fun Christmas activities are perfect for the whole family. They include some of my favorite things, as well as some Christmas traditions I would love to start implementing.
Grab your free printable Family Christmas Bucket List down at the bottom of this post!
Merry Christmas, friends!
How to Make a Holiday Bucket List
It’s simple really. Find some things that sound fun and manageable to your family and add them to a list! Of course a cute printable like the one I made is nice, but you can always do this by hand as well.
It doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate to be fun. A budget friendly Christmas bucket list is the way to go! Try to think of things you already have and how you can utilize them for the Christmas season while making your list.
For this list you’ll find a combination of fun, generous and Christ-centered Christmas activities. You’ll find things for little kids and older kids, free and paid.
Remember a Christmas bucket list is not a strict to-do list. So, take what works for your family. Get to what you can and do it to the best of your ability!
The Ultimate Christmas Bucket List for the Family
Make Homemade Christmas Cards
This is a great way to be creative and spread some holiday spirit to anyone you choose. So gather the kids, some simple card making supplies (paper, markers, stickers, etc.) and set to work. Deliver these cards to family members, mail them to a friend from school, or even take them to a local nursing home to bless some of the residents.
Christmas Campout
This is such a fun way to take an ordinary night at home and pack it with Christmas cheer. Grab your sleeping bags and head to the living room to watch your favorite Christmas movie or play some board games!
Play Christmas Trivia
Host a friends and family game night focused around Christmas Trivia! There are tons of free options online – including this printable Christmas Bible Trivia game I put together!
Christmas Book Basket
Head to your local library (or bookstore if your budget allows) to start a book basket loaded with your favorite seasonal books. Each night, select a Christmas story from the basket to read together as a family. Our book basket is a combination of both bought and borrowed books. The books are put away at the end of the Christmas season and we don’t see them until the next year. My kids are always excited to pull out their favorite stories at Christmas time!
Decorate Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Your older kids will especially love this idea. Go thrift a few inexpensive sweaters and set to work making them as ugly as you can. Maybe even turn it into a little competition by letting social media be the judge!
Bake Cookies
Christmas can’t go by without baking homemade cookies. Set aside a day, or evening, dedicated to a cookie baking party. Again, this can be elaborate or simple – depending on what you have time for! Invite friends and family over or just keep it to your household. Venture out and try some new recipes. Buy matching aprons and crank up the Christmas playlist. If you make an abundance, box them up for a tasty homemade gift to bring someone.
Go Ice Skating
Even though I am in the south where a white Christmas is just not a thing – there are usually some ice-skating rinks set up in nearby towns. This is a fun way to spend an evening away from the house during Christmas break.
Start an Advent Calendar or Countdown
An advent calendar can be done several ways. You can have a simple paper calendar with a daily scripture reading that points you back to Christ. You can use Christmas countdown cards like these from Not Consumed.
I also love this magnetic Advent calendar with 24 small spaces for each day leading up to Christmas. Each space has a single item in there to point you to a certain detail in the Nativity story.
There are also pre-filled options like this LEGO advent calendar or Herbal Tea Calendar that includes a “gift a day”.
Volunteer at a Local Charity
Find a local charity, such as a soup kitchen or food bank, that you can help at. If you have young children, bringing them along to shop for canned or boxed food items to donate is a wonderful way to include them. Older children can volunteer their time cooking or serving. No charities near you? I’m certain you can find a local family you can secretly bless with a random act of kindness.
Go Christmas Light Lookin’
Going to look at Christmas lights has always been my favorite family tradition. I grew up doing it, and now we are sure to take our kids every year. We just hop in the car – usually in our pajamas – and head to our favorite neighborhoods to see the Christmas lights! Packing a few cookies and hot cocoa never hurts, and be sure to have your playlist of favorite Christmas songs ready for the ride.
Go to a Christmas Tree Farm
Search for a local farm to go buy your family Christmas tree at and make a day of it! Farms are usually loaded with fun activities during the Christmas season. Check their calendars for a Christmas market where you’re sure to find lots of great ideas for gifts or tasty treats.
Christmas Dinner “Around the World” Style
This is such a fun idea (and practical because you get dinner cooked). Look up traditional Christmas recipes from countries around the world and have a fun dinner! You can do multiple recipes in one night or make this a recurring event throughout the season. Kids of all ages enjoy getting creative in the kitchen!
Start an Advent Reading Plan
Getting the whole family involved in a Bible reading plan together is a wonderful tradition to start. You can grab this free printable Advent Reading Plan here to use as a family. If you’re looking for something geared specifically towards younger children, you may consider an Advent Picture Book like The Way to The Manger.
Gingerbread House Competition
Buy a gingerbread house kit for each family member or break into teams and get to decorating! See who gets the most votes for the “Best Gingerbread House”.
Buy an Annual Ornament
Every year, we purchase a new ornament for our Christmas tree. Usually we pick one out when we are at the local Christmas tree farm, but if we take a family trip or outing somewhere new, we may buy it there. No trips planned? No problem! Just find an ornament that you all love. It can be silly or meaningful, new or used. Write the year on the back. Every year when you go to decorate the Christmas tree, you will be reminded of that time together.
Make Some Warm Beverages
The winter season isn’t complete without cups of warm something, right?! Make up some cider, wassail, or even a full blown hot cocoa bar. Build a fire one evening and enjoy your tasty creations together as you have some fun family time.
Sibling Gift Exchange
Organize a gift exchange amongst your kids. You can do this “secret santa” style or just a traditional gift exchange. Encourage your kids to be thoughtful in the gift they are choosing to buy or make. They can even include a small handwritten note for their sibling in the gift to make it extra special.
Christmas Themed Scavenger Hunt
This is another way to have some family fun around the house! Get a list together of common (and a few not so common) Christmas themed items. Everyone gets a list and the first to find everything wins! If you have older kids, you could totally go all out with this idea – even to the point of needing to go around town to find certain items. Personally, we just stick to the house and yard for a fun evening at home.
Live Nativity
See if there is a live Nativity scene at a church nearby. These scenes are usually beautifully done and an excellent way to draw our focus back to the true meaning of Christmas.
Turn Your House into a Winter Wonderland
Finally, get out the crafting supplies and get everyone involved. Homemade garlands, paper snowflakes, and all the glitter. This is such a fun and inexpensive way to turn your house into a Christmas themed wonderland.
Get Your Family’s Christmas Bucket List Printable Here!
