Do you and your family have any Christmas Eve traditions? Our family loves Christmas eve and are always doing fun things to celebrate it. The majority of things that we do are free and others are low-cost. Sometimes weather doesn’t cooperate with us, so we’re always open for changes. Here’s a list of things that you can do on Christmas Eve with the kids to keep it fun!
1. Take a drive to see the holiday nights in your neighborhood. Take along popcorn and hot cocoa to enjoy along the way.
2. Go out and sing Christmas carols in your neighborhood. Don’t know where to go? Try local nursing homes, assisted living centers, hospitals, community centers, churches, etc. You can go stand outside of your neighbor’s house too! Fa La La La La La!
3. Treasure hunt! Depending on the weather, we’ll hide candy or little “Dollar Store” style goodies around the inside of the house or in the backyard. The kids get excited trying to find all of the hidden items.
4. Read a traditional Christmas story together as a family.
5. Watch a classic holiday special or movie on TV together as a family.
6. Gift wrapping! If you still have items that need to be gift wrapped let the older kids help you and sing holiday songs while you do it.
7. Cookie baking. To save time I recommend picking up a boxed mix or refrigerator cookie dough mix to let the kids bake a fresh batch of cookies for Santa. Once cool let the kids place them on a special Christmas plate with a glass of milk. Making homemade popcorn balls is fun too!
8. Tossing Reindeer Food is another fun activity! To make reindeer food you’ll need oatmeal, cocoa powder and raisins. (just a little bit of each). Stir ingredients together in a bowl. Let the kids sprinkle the reindeer food in the front or backyard. Afterall, the reindeer need a snack too!
9. Attend the evening church service or mass as a family.
10. Special bedtime bath! As parents we try to get the kids into bed early on Christmas Eve. One way to do that is to prepare a special bedtime bath. I like to give my kids new soap crayons, bath paints, and a bath toy to mark the special ocassion. They get their bath and know that immediately after bath time it’s bedtime!
11. Arrange a special phone call with Santa Claus. Get a friend or family member (voice that they won’t recognize) to be Santa. Let the kids call them up, have a brief conversation and then get them into bed so that Santa can arrive.
12. Pick up inexpensive, no-mess $1.00 each mini holiday craft kits at your local Dollar-Type-Of-Store. They usually include everything in the little kit. We buy refrigerator magnets, ornaments, suncatcher, etc. kits that are made specifically for kids. It takes less than 30 minutes to complete and the child gets a momento from Christmas eve.
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I like the idea of the mini inexpensive holiday themed crafts and the special bath routine. I do or have done all the other fun things , but am always happy to learn more.