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Things To Do On Christmas Day At Home: Fun Christmas Activities For Families

In collaboration with Creative Fabrica

Christmas is a special time of year where family and friends come together to celebrate. But sometimes, it can be hard to think of Christmassy things to do that will keep everyone entertained. If you’re looking for some fun things to do on Christmas day at home, you will love this list of Christmas day activities for families!

If you have a busy Christmas day planned, with visiting friends and family, the day tends to fill itself, but if you are opting instead for a quiet Christmas day at home this year, there are many ways to make it extra special still.

Things to do on christmas day at home

Things To Do On Christmas Day At Home

When you have a big family and spend a lot of your holiday celebrations between different homes, it can be nice to just stay at home for Christmas day sometimes. Especially if you have younger children who are just discovering the magic of Christmas morning.

It can be exhausting packing everyone up after the rush of morning gift opening to head to your first Christmas event of the day. Especially when the kids just want to play with their new toys.

Staying home or entertaining in your own home can be just as fun, if not more so. You can control the environment and make it as relaxed or festive as you like without having to worry about getting from place to place on time all day.

Plus, if you have small children, they are likely to be more comfortable and less overwhelmed in their own home. This makes it the perfect opportunity to try out some fun Christmas activities that the whole family can enjoy together.

We have put together a list of some great ideas that will keep everyone happy and busy throughout the day.

So don’t stress – read on for our top tips on how to make the most of Christmas day at home!

Fun Christmas Day Activities For Families

One of the best things about spending Christmas day at home is that you can do things at your own pace. There’s no need to rush off to the next event or worry about being somewhere on time.

This means that you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast together as a family and take your time opening presents. Then, once everyone is ready for something else, you can choose from any of the following activities to fill your day.

Little girl with santa hat looking at gingerbread house

1. Make A Gingerbread House

This classic activity is perfect for getting everyone involved. Whether you use a gingerbread house kit or start from scratch, there’s sure to be some creativity (and tasty treats) involved.

If you want to make things a little easier, you can even make your gingerbread houses the day before and do the decorating on Christmas day. This is a great idea if you are making several gingerbread houses.

2. Have a Christmas movie marathon

This is the perfect time to catch up on all of the holiday movies you missed during the busy holiday season. Make some popcorn, get cozy on the couch, and spend the day watching new releases or your favourite Christmas movies together.

Not sure what to watch? Here are some of our favourite Christmas movies for families:

  • Home Alone 1 & 2
  • Elf
  • The Grinch
  • The Christmas Chronicles 1 & 2
  • The Santa Claus
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas
  • How The Grinch Stole Christmas
  • The Polar Express
  • A Christmas Carol

3. Christmas Dance Party

On the other hand, if you’re keen for something a little more active to get everyone re-energised after an early morning opening of Christmas presents, you can always put on a festive playlist and have a dance party instead!

Kids love to dance and there are Christmas songs to suit every interest! Find a fun playlist and get moving! Having Christmas music playing as you do other activities is always a great way to get everyone into the holiday spirit.

4. Bake Christmas Cookies

Baked gingerbread cookies for christmas

This is another great activity for getting everyone involved – especially the kids! Whether you go for a classic gingerbread cookie or try a new Christmas cookie recipe, you’re sure to find something everyone will be volunteering to taste test!

Or instead of Christmas cookies, whip up a batch of rum balls, one of these candy cane treats or these yummy chocolate peppermint balls.

5. Random Act Of Kindness

Christmas day is a wonderful time to share a little kindness with those around you. The Christmas period can be hard for many people who may be missing loved ones who could not be with them or who have passed away, or who are doing it tough financially.

As a family, you could choose to do a random act of kindness for someone you know who could use a little extra cheer.

This could be something like dropping off some freshly baked Christmas cookies to a neighbour.

Or making Christmas cards for your local organisations and community services, such as charities and the local police station, thanking them for their hard work.

Many people are working on Christmas day and are away from their families to keep the community safe and running smoothly. Something as simple as a card or a treat can make all the difference to someone’s day.

6. Have A Special Christmas Breakfast

Arrival breakfast

After all of the excitement of Christmas Eve, it’s finally time to wake up and see what Santa has brought!

Before everyone gets too distracted with presents and playing with new toys, take some time to enjoy a special Christmas breakfast together. This is the perfect opportunity to indulge in some extra special breakfast dishes, like fun shaped pancakes or sweet pastries.

If you aren’t keen to spend the morning cooking, you can try some yummy make-ahead Christmas breakfast dishes instead!

7. Make Christmas Ornaments

Make your own salt dough ornaments for your Christmas tree or try your hand at making other Christmas decorations and ornaments to decorate your home next year.

Check out these DIY Christmas wreath tutorials or this simple pom pom ornament idea.

8. Sing Christmas Carols

Get into the Christmas spirit by singing some carols together! You can even venture out into the neighbourhood and spread some holiday cheer to your neighbours by serenading them with Christmas carols.

9. Do A Christmas Craft Together

There are so many fun and festive crafts you can do as an entire family on Christmas Day! You could make your own Christmas cards or wrapping paper, or try your hand at making some Christmas outfits to wear.

If you need some inspiration, check out Creative Fabrica where you will find loads of craft resources and tutorials. They also have free SVG files to create wall art, t-shirts, hats, decorations or cards, as just a few ideas on different Christmas crafts you can do. You will also find free fonts and craft tutorials.

Craft activities can be as simple as Christmas colouring in pages or more elaborate such as making a Christmas quilt together or sewing cushions to decorate the house.

You will need to plan ahead to make sure you have all your supplies ready for your fun Christmas Day activity.

10. Read A Christmas Book

Mother and two kids reading a christmas book

There are so many great Christmas books for kids and adults alike. Read your favourite Christmas picture books with your children or if you don’t have any already, look for Christmas story readings on YouTube and listen together.

11. Play Christmas Games

You can give almost any game a festive twist! Turn your favourite party games into Christmas games or check out this huge list of Christmas themed game ideas that have fun options for kids and adults.

Some great options include charades, Christmas bingo, the saran wrap ball game and festive-themed minute-to-win-it games.

These funny Christmas ‘Would your rather’ questions are sure to get plenty of giggles and keep everyone busy for a while.

Or just pull out your favourite family board games and have a Christmas game night together, complete with snacks.

You will find loads of exciting ideas in my printable Christmas game bundle!

Christmas game bundle sale image.

12. Reminisce Together

Pull out the photo albums and family home videos and take a trip down memory lane together. Ask each family member to share their favourite Christmas memories.

Not only is this a fun way to spend some time together sitting around the Christmas tree, but it’s also a great way to learn more about your family history.

13. Have A Christmas Scavenger Hunt

A Christmas scavenger hunt is a great way to get everyone up and moving, especially if that afternoon slump has kicked in after far too much food!

You will need to plan this activity ahead of time, creating your clues and planning what you will hide. Your Christmas treasure hunt can be indoors or take everyone out into the backyard too.

Hide little gifts, treats, Christmas jokes, crackers and novelty toys to find, just like an Easter egg hunt but with a fun Christmas theme.

14. Video Call Family & Friends

If you have family or friends who can’t be with you on Christmas day, why not set up a video call instead? It’s the next best thing to being there in person and it’s a great way to stay connected and still see their faces.

You could even arrange to do some of these other Christmas activities together virtually, like reading a Christmas story or playing charades.

15. Make Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate with marshmallow snowman

Nothing says Christmas like a big mug of hot cocoa! Make an extra special festive hot chocolate with all the trimmings – marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles, candy canes, and chocolate shavings.

You could even turn it into a hot chocolate bar where everyone can choose their own toppings and make their drink just the way they like it.

Or plan ahead and make some of these yummy hot cocoa bombs to add to warm milk. So delicious!

16. Do A Puzzle

Enjoy a lazy day together between food and festivities by starting a jigsaw puzzle as a family. This is a fun activity to challenge the brain while still being able to spend a completely relaxed Christmas day at home.

17. Cook A Christmas Meal From Another Country

If you’ve always dreamed about spending Christmas in a different country, why not bring that experience into your own kitchen this year?

Research a traditional Christmas meal from another country and cook it together as a family. There are so many delicious Christmas dishes from around the world that you might decide to make part of your own annual Christmas menu from now on.

18. Make Your Own Christmas Crackers

Store-bought Christmas crackers are fun, but they can be quite expensive. Did you know that you can make your own DIY Christmas crackers at home? And it’s really easy!

All you need is some toilet paper rolls, wrapping paper, some cracker fillers (treats, jokes, and small toys work well), cracker snaps and some ribbon or twine. You can find my tutorial on how to make Christmas crackers.

Make your own crackers ready to pop during Christmas dinner.

19. Winter Activities For Your Backyard

If you are lucky enough to live somewhere with snow, get outside and enjoy your backyard winter wonderland! Make snow angels or a snowman. Get your sleds out and go sledding down the nearest hill.

20. Summer Activities For Your Backyard

If you live in the southern hemisphere as we do, instead of snow, it’s a summer Christmas and there are so many fun summer activities to do as a family.

Head out to the backyard for a water balloon fight or a swim if you’re lucky enough to have a backyard swimming pool. Or have a game of cricket or frisbee if you have the space.

You could even set up a sprinkler and run through it as kids do on hot summer days! Just because it’s Christmas, it doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy your favourite warm-weather activities.

21. Family Slumber Party

Family having christmas slumber party

If you want to stay up late on Christmas Eve, have a family sleepover in the lounge room. This might become a favourite new Christmas tradition for your family.

Bring out the sleeping bags and pillows, wear your Christmas PJs and enjoy spending time together as a family and waking up together on Christmas morning.

You can go all out and put up a tent indoors if you have the room, or set it up in the backyard for a fun backyard camping experience, complete with fairy lights to add festive decor.

This idea ties in perfectly with gifting your family a Christmas Eve box full of activities for the night before.

22. Declutter Toys To Donate

While we often do a big toy declutter in the lead-up to Christmas, to prepare for new toys and gifts coming into the house, this can also be a great activity to do with kids on Christmas day.

Give your kids the opportunity to decide what toys they no longer want or need and any that are in great condition can be donated to a local toy drive or charity as a way of teaching kids how to pay it forward.

23. Learn About The History Of Christmas

If you want to take a break from all the hustle and bustle of Christmas day, sit down as a family and learn about the history of Christmas.

How did this holiday start? What does it mean for different cultures around the world?

You can read books together, watch documentaries or even just do a quick Google search.

24. Have An Indoor Snowball Fight

Don’t live somewhere with snow? No problem! You can make your own indoor snowball fight. All you need is some white paper scrunched into balls, and then let the fun begin!

Make sure you choose a space inside your home where you know nothing will get damaged. Use cushions and soft furnishings to build forts and have a load of laughs together.

25. Make A Photobook Or Scrapbook Together

Bring together all your favourite Christmas photos and memories to make your own photo keepsake. Plan ahead by printing your favourite photos from the year for a physical scrapbook, or jump on the computer to work together creating a photo book or digital scrapbook.

What To Do On Christmas Day For Adults & Teens

Just because you’re not a kid anymore, doesn’t mean that Christmas day has to be boring. If you’re looking for things to do on Christmas day as an adult or teen, there is plenty of festive fun you can have!

26. Host A Christmas Party

If you love entertaining, why not host a Christmas party for your friends? You can have a potluck-style dinner where everyone brings their favourite dish, or go all out and cater the whole event yourself.

Make it a laidback backyard BBQ or go all out with a fancy dinner party for your nearest and dearest!

27. Do A Secret Santa Gift Exchange

Printable santa gift tag

A Secret Santa gift exchange is a great way to get everyone involved in the Christmas spirit and make gift-giving much easier by only having to give one gift instead of many.

Set a budget for your gifts and draw names out of a hat (or use an online name generator – we love using DrawNames) to find out who you will be buying a present for.

You could even make it a theme of giving homemade gifts, with each person creating something for their Secret Santa recipient.

A big part of the fun is trying to guess who your Secret Santa is after all the gifts are given.

Grab my printable Santa gift tags

28. White Elephant Gift Exchange

A white elephant gift exchange is a popular Christmas party game that can be played with any number of people and can be a lot of fun if you have teenagers at home who are able to organise their own novelty gift.

Each person brings a wrapped gift to the party and takes turns picking one from the pile. The catch is, you can either open the gift or “steal” someone else’s already opened gift.

This is a funny twist on a traditional Secret Santa gift exchange and a great option if you want to keep Christmas to a small budget this year.

29. Ugly Holiday Sweater Party

An ugly holiday sweater party is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit and have some laughs with friends at the same time.

Everyone comes to the party wearing their ugliest holiday sweater, and the person with the ugliest sweater wins a prize. But you don’t have to host a party to enjoy this idea. Do it as a family with each of you wearing the ugliest Christmas jumpers you can find!

Family wearing ugly christmas sweaters

Better still, make your ugly sweaters into a Christmas day activity by getting some simple sweaters for each family member (or t-shirts) and Christmas craft supplies so you can decorate them on the day and wear them once they are ready.

Things like pom poms, tinsel, fabric paint, buttons, fabric shapes and iron-on vinyl would all work great.

30. Watch A Christmas Movie

Yes, we mentioned watching movies as a family, but what about those Christmas classics that might not appeal to younger kids?

Love Actually, Die Hard, Bad Santa, Gremlins, Christmas With The Kranks, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and It’s A Wonderful Life. There are plenty of options!

Places To Go On Christmas Day With Kids

If you’re looking for some ideas of places to go on Christmas day with kids or teens to get you out of the house for a while, there are plenty of things open still. Many popular attractions are open every day of the year.

Go For A Walk

Walking is a great way to get some exercise and fresh air while enjoying quality time together as a family. This might be exactly what you need after a huge Christmas feast too and a far better option than a Christmas day nap!

Visit Local Christmas Lights

House decorated with christmas lights

One of the best things about Christmas is all of the beautiful lights and decorations. Many neighbourhoods go all out to decorate their homes and you can usually find a street or two that are worth driving past to see.

This is great when looking for Christmas activities for the whole family for Christmas night if you haven’t had the chance to go earlier in the month.

Many stores also decorate their windows with Christmas light displays and holiday decor as well for extra holiday magic.

Attend A Carol Service Or Christmas Concert

There is nothing quite like getting into the Christmas fun by attending a carol service or concert. There are usually plenty of these happening around Christmas time, so do a bit of research and find one that you and your friends or family would enjoy.

Go Ice Skating

If you live in the northern hemisphere, chances are you have access to an outdoor rink or indoor arena where you can go ice skating. This is a great active activity for kids and adults alike and a fun way to spend an hour or two on Christmas day.

Volunteer At A Local Charity

If you’re looking for a better way to give back this Christmas, why not volunteer your time at a local charity? There are so many organisations that would love some extra help during the holiday season.

You could serve food at a soup kitchen, help out at a local animal shelter, or even just spend some time visiting with the elderly in a nursing home.

There are plenty of ways to give back and make someone else’s Christmas a little brighter. And who knows, you might even make some new friends along the way.

Christmas is a time for family, friends, and fun. If you’re looking for things to do on Christmas Day that will keep everyone entertained, you are sure to find plenty of Christmas Day activities for kids and families to enjoy together. Create some new Christmas traditions and happy memories that will last long after the presents have been opened and all the food has been eaten!

I hope these Christmas activities to do at home help you create a perfect day! Merry Christmas!