Table of Contents
- Why Planning Christmas Activities Matters
- How to Use This Guide
- Cozy Christmas Activities at Home
- Family Christmas Activities
- Christmas Activities for Adults Only
- Christmas Activities in Your City
- Indoor & Bad-Weather Christmas Activities
- Office & Team-Building Christmas Activities
- Low-Spend & No-Spend Christmas Activities
- Virtual & Long-Distance Christmas Activities
- 25 Days of Christmas Activities Challenge
- How to Capture & Share These Moments
- FAQ: Real Questions People Ask About Christmas Activities
1. Why Planning Christmas Activities Matters
If you ask people what they remember from childhood Christmases, it’s almost never the exact toy or sweater they got. It’s the year everyone went to see that ridiculous light display. The hot chocolate that boiled over and made the whole kitchen smell like cocoa for two days. The night the power went out and someone told ghost stories by the tree.
Activities are what turn “we were all in the same house” into “oh my God, do you remember that year when…”.
The problem is: December sneaks up on you. You blink, it’s the 18th, and suddenly all you’ve done is order things off Amazon and say “we should do something festive this weekend” without ever deciding what that something is.
This guide is meant to fix that.
Not with a rigid checklist or a fake Pinterest life, but with realistic ideas you can grab and use based on:
- Who you’re with (kids, friends, coworkers, just you)
- How much energy you have (tired, wired, or somewhere in between)
- How much money you actually want to spend
You don’t need to do all 50+ things. Nobody does. You just need a few good ones that will actually happen, not just live forever in a group chat.
2. How to Use This Guide
Think of this like a menu, not homework.
- Skim by situation, not by category.
Hosting family? Jump straight to Family Christmas Activities. Stuck in a small apartment? Go to Indoor & Bad-Weather Activities. - Pick 3–5 “for sure” ideas now.
Literally write them in your notes app or on the fridge. If you’re reading this in November, plug them into actual dates. - Mark a few “if we feel like it” backups.
These are the ones you’ll pull out when December 22nd rolls around and someone says “I wish we’d done something Christmassy.” - Reuse ideas next year.
Traditions don’t have to be complicated. If something works, repeat it. Half the magic is everyone knowing, “Oh, this is the night we always do __.”
Also, tiny tip: whenever something funny or sweet happens, record a 10–20 second video. Later you can stitch them together or drop a couple into an AR-style video greeting with something like MessageAR and send it to relatives who couldn’t make it. It feels personal without becoming a full-time editing job.
3. Cozy Christmas Activities at Home
This is for the nights when leaving the house sounds like a punishment, not a treat. No complicated decorating marathons, no “we need twenty different craft supplies”. Just things you can actually do in a normal evening.
3.1 Solo & Introvert-Friendly Ideas
These are low-pressure, quiet and don’t require you to perform “holiday cheer” for anyone.
1. Personal Christmas Movie Night With Rules
Instead of just switching on a random movie, set a tiny “theme” for the night:
- One cosy drink (hot chocolate, mulled cider, or, honestly, tea in your favourite mug)
- One snack that feels slightly extra (baked cookie dough, fancy popcorn, store-bought gingerbread, whatever)
- One film you actually want to watch, not just “the one everyone watches”
Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb”, turn off overhead lights, and treat it like a date with yourself. If you want to make it memorable, record a 10-second “review” at the end each year. In a few years you’ll have a funny little timeline of what you were into.
2. Year-in-Review Tree Ornaments
Take a few plain pieces of paper or tags and write down standout moments from your year – not just the big ones. “Finally fixed the leaky sink”, “Discovered a bakery that knows my coffee order”, “Survived that horrible week in March”. Fold or roll them and hang them on the tree as temporary ornaments.
On New Year’s Day, take them down and read them back to yourself. It’s a gentle reminder that your year was more than deadlines and bad headlines.
3. Christmas Reading Nest
Drag together every pillow and blanket you own, claim a corner, and build yourself a seasonal reading nest. Pick:
- One cosy book (anything from a romance to a mystery set in winter)
- One playlist (instrumental Christmas jazz, lo-fi beats, whatever lets your brain relax)
The rule: you stay in the nest for at least 45 minutes. No errands, no “I’ll just quickly check email”. It’s shockingly rare that adults let themselves do nothing but read anymore; this feels decadent in the best way.
4. “Future Me” Christmas Letter
Write a short letter to yourself for next December. Talk about what this year felt like, what you’re hoping for, and what you want to remember (“Please don’t agree to three different Secret Santas again”). Seal it, stick “Open December 2026” on the envelope and tuck it in with your decorations.
Next year, reading it becomes its own mini activity — and gives you a weird, lovely sense of continuity.
5. Solo Baking Session With Zero Pressure
Bake something purely for you: a small batch of cookies, banana bread, brownies. No Instagram, no perfect piped icing. Put on a podcast, make a mess, taste the batter. You can always share the leftovers later, but the point of this one is to enjoy the process without hosting on your mind.
3.2 Couple & Roommate Activities
You don’t have to be a Hallmark couple for these to work; they’re also great for best friends or flatmates.
6. DIY Hot Chocolate Bar Night
Gather whatever you have:
- Basic cocoa or drinking chocolate
- Milk (or non-dairy), whipped cream if you’re feeling fancy
- Add-ins: crushed candy canes, cinnamon, marshmallows, a bit of orange zest, chocolate chips
Lay everything out like a mini bar and take turns building “signature drinks” for each other. Extra points if you give them dumb names like “North Pole Nightshift” or “Elf Overtime”.
7. “Our Year in Photos” Slide Night
Connect a laptop to the TV (or just huddle around a tablet) and scroll through the year’s photos together. You don’t need a polished slideshow. Just dump everything from January to now into a folder and go through, pausing whenever something makes you laugh or groan.
If certain moments feel extra special, flag them to drop into a little MessageAR video later that you can keep as your own mini year recap.
8. Decoration Swap or Minimalist Challenge
If you live together, pick one evening to decorate just one area of the house together—the tree, a shelf, the front door. Set a timer for 30–40 minutes and put on music.
If you’ve been together a while and have way too much stuff, flip it: do a minimalist challenge. Only 10 items are allowed on the tree or shelf. Which ones make the cut? The conversations around it are half the fun.
9. Board Game + Candlelight Night
Turn off as many lights as you safely can, light a few candles or turn on fairy lights, and play something that doesn’t involve screens: classic board games, card games, even those conversation decks with random questions. The “electricity down, candlelight up” shift makes an ordinary evening feel special without any extra planning.
3.3 Whole-Household Evenings
These work whether you’re a family with kids, a group of friends, or a mix of both.
10. Christmas Taste Test Tournament
Buy a handful of similar items: three brands of hot chocolate, four different Christmas cookies, a few kinds of store-bought pies, etc. Cut or pour everything into anonymous cups/plates labelled A, B, C, D.
Everyone tastes, rates them, and guesses which is which. Reveal at the end and crown the “official household favorite” for the year. You end up with an activity, dessert, and a solved argument (“See, my cookie choice really is the best”).
11. DIY Ornament Night (Using Whatever You Already Own)
Instead of a huge craft supply run, challenge yourselves to make ornaments using only: paper, string/wool, pens, scissors and whatever recycling you have. Stars from cereal boxes, paper chains from old magazines, tiny doodle portraits of each person.
Perfection is not the goal; the point is that when you pull those weird ornaments out next year, you’ll remember the stories behind them.
12. Family Story Swap by the Tree
Once the lights are on and snacks are out, go around and share one story each:
- A good memory from this year
- A childhood holiday memory
- Or something completely random that happened last week
If you’ve got older relatives, this is gold; they’ll casually drop stories nobody has heard before. You can quietly hit record on your phone (audio is enough) so you don’t lose them, and later turn those into short AR video messages attached to a physical card or ornament.
13. “Cosy Night In” Bingo
Make a simple bingo card for the evening with squares like “someone spills a drink”, “someone falls asleep on the sofa”, “someone says ‘I’m so full’”, “someone sings a line of a Christmas song without realising”.
Print or scribble a few copies and see who gets their row first as the night unfolds. It keeps kids entertained and turns regular family chaos into a kind of game.
4. Family Christmas Activities
You’ve already got party games covered in your other post; here we go broader — small rituals and low-stress outings that feel festive without turning you into a full-time cruise director.
4.1 Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers (Ages 2–5)
At this age, attention spans are short, motor skills are still developing and glitter is… dangerous. Simple, sensory and repeatable wins.
14. Christmas Sensory Bins
Use a large plastic tub and fill it with one base: dry rice, cotton balls, pasta, or pom-poms. Add “treasures”: jingle bells (supervised), plastic cookie cutters, small ornaments, wooden spoons, tiny cups.
Kids scoop, pour and “cook” their own pretend Christmas recipes. Put an old sheet on the floor first and you’ve saved yourself half the cleanup.
15. Sticker Tree on the Wall
Cut a large tree shape from cardboard or brown paper and tape it to the wall at toddler height. Give them a pile of dot stickers, star stickers, or sticky notes. Their mission: decorate the tree however they want.
It’s quiet, takes their decorating urge away from the breakable ornaments, and makes a nice rotating art piece for the season.
16. Pajama Parade to Look at Lights
Skip the stressful big light show one night and do a neighbourhood walk instead. Bath, pajamas, coats on top, warm drink in a sippy cup or travel mug. You go on a slow stroll, rating the houses (“That’s a 10 out of 10 snowman”) and counting how many reindeer you can spot.
Little kids find this just as magical as the big ticketed displays, and you’re home in under an hour.
17. “Help Bake” Station
Give them their own tiny workstation for baking: a bowl of flour, a wooden spoon, a couple of cookie cutters, maybe dough scraps. Let them stir, pat and cut while you handle the real batch at your counter. They feel involved; you keep your actual cookies mostly safe.
4.2 Activities for Kids (Ages 6–12)
They can handle a bit more structure, but you still don’t want everything to feel like school.
18. Family Christmas Comic Book
Fold A4 paper in half to make little “books”. Each person draws one page of a silly Christmas story: the tree that grew too tall, Santa losing his GPS, a snowman detective. Pass the book along so the story continues comic-strip style.
By the end of the evening you have a bizarre but brilliant homemade comic you can keep with your decorations.
19. DIY North Pole Post Office
Set up a “post office” corner with paper, envelopes, stickers and a cardboard “mailbox”. Kids can write letters to Santa, grandparents, future selves, or even fictional characters. You can quietly keep some of these to pull out years later.
If you use MessageAR, one fun twist is to add a tiny QR code on one letter that links to a quick video message from “future them” or from you replying to their letter. It feels like magic in a way social media doesn’t.
20. Family Charity Shop Challenge
Give each child a small budget (even $5) and go to a local thrift/charity shop. Their mission: find something that could be turned into a gift or decoration with a little creativity — a frame to paint, a mug to fill with sweets, a basket to turn into a hamper.
Back home, you decorate and transform the finds together. It quietly teaches resourcefulness and generosity without a heavy lecture.
21. Christmas Science Night
Do one or two very simple “wow” experiments:
- Baking soda and vinegar “snow” volcano in a toy village
- Making fake snow from baking soda + conditioner or store-bought instant snow
- Melting different chocolate shapes and timing them
Kids love that it feels slightly chaotic; adults love that it counts as both activity and learning.
4.3 Activities for Teens (That Don’t Feel Babyish)
Teens usually want in on the fun; they just don’t want to feel like they’re starring in a kids’ TV show.
22. Late-Night Christmas Drive with Their Playlist
Wait until it’s properly dark, grab drive-thru snacks or hot drinks, and go for a car drive to look at decorated houses or city lights. Hand aux control to the teen: they get to pick the playlist (yes, even if half of it isn’t “Christmassy”).
It’s low-pressure chat time in the dark with no eye contact required — which is often when they open up the most.
23. Christmas Photo or Reel Challenge
Give them a loose brief: “Capture five moments this week that feel like Christmas to you and turn them into one reel or short video.” No forced matching pajama shoot; they control the vibe.
If they’re into editing, you can suggest dropping that reel into an AR card or QR code on a physical gift so grandparents can watch it easily without Instagram or TikTok.
24. DIY Gift Night With a Hard Budget
Set a concrete limit like “you can only spend $10, everything else has to be DIY”. Teens can:
- Bake treats and package them nicely
- Make playlists and design cover art
- Print photos and decorate frames
- Write vouchers for babysitting, tech support, dog-walking
Put on music, open snacks, and work side by side. It feels more like hanging out than “being forced to be festive”.
5. Christmas Activities for Adults Only
(a.k.a. “I love the kids but they are in bed now, please bring snacks.”)
This is the zone between “wild nightclub” and “we all fell asleep at 9:20 on the sofa”. Think small groups, easy hosting and zero pressure to perform.
5.1 Chill Evenings With a Few Friends
25. Potluck “Comfort Food Only” Night
Instead of everyone stressing over a perfect main course, make the rule: bring the dish you crave on a bad day. Mac and cheese, ramen, biryani, garlic bread, that one dip you can eat with a spoon. Light a few candles, play background music and declare it a guilt-free carbs night.
Half the fun is hearing why people chose what they did; you end up learning little stories about their uni days or childhood.
26. Christmas Craft & Wine Table
Lay out simple, low-skill crafts:
- Plain baubles and paint pens
- Brown paper + stamps for wrapping paper
- Ribbon, twine, some branches for mini wreaths
Everyone brings a bottle or favourite drink. The goal is not to create Etsy-level art; it’s to sit, talk and end up with a few wobbly-but-charming things to take home.
27. “Bring a Story” Night
Ask each person to arrive with one thing to share that isn’t on their phone: a printed photo, an object from home, a recipe card, an old Christmas ornament. After dinner, go round and let each person tell the story behind their item.
It’s intimate without being therapy; people share just as much as they’re comfortable with, and you walk away knowing your friends a tiny bit better.
28. Make-Your-Own-Gift Bar
Set up stations for simple DIY gifts and let everyone choose what to make:
- Jar mix station (hot chocolate, cookie mix, spice blend)
- Bath salt or sugar scrub station
- “Movie night in a bag” station with popcorn, sweets and a handwritten note
Print one little instruction card per station and let people rotate. You’re basically giving everyone an excuse to batch their gifting in one relaxed evening.
5.2 Big Group Nights & House Parties
If you’re hosting a bigger crowd, you want structure without feeling like a camp counsellor.
29. Progressive Snack Night
Ask friends in the same neighbourhood/building if they’d join a “progressive party”:
- House 1 = appetisers + drinks
- House 2 = mains or loaded snacks
- House 3 = dessert + coffee or nightcap
You spend 60–90 minutes at each stop, then move on together. It keeps anyone from carrying the entire hosting load and breaks the evening into natural chapters.
30. Playlist Swap Party
Before the night, ask everyone to send you 3–5 songs: at least one Christmas track they actually like and a couple of non-seasonal songs they’ve had on repeat this year. Build a communal playlist and hit shuffle during the party.
Every time a person’s song plays, they have to quickly claim it and say why they chose it. You’ll get everything from chaotic pop to emo deep cuts and discover who secretly loves cheesy 90s Christmas songs.
31. “Fireside Panel” Without the Fire
Arrange chairs in a semi-circle, put one comfy chair or floor cushion at the front, and run a fake “panel show” for an hour. Volunteers rotate into the front seat and answer silly, semi-deep prompts:
- “An underrated thing that saved your sanity this year”
- “One tiny habit that actually worked for you”
- “A funny thing your younger self believed about adults”
Keep answers to one minute; the point is quick glimpses, not speeches. It feels surprisingly cosy and grown-up compared to the usual shouty drinking games.
And if you do want proper games once everyone’s warmed up? That’s where our 80+ Christmas Party Games & Activities guide comes in – it’s the “if you’re in the mood for full game night” upgrade.
6. Christmas Activities in Your City
(“Near Me” ideas that aren’t just the one overcrowded market.)
You don’t have to live in New York to have a good December. The trick is knowing where to look and choosing things that match your bandwidth.
6.1 How to Find Local Events That Don’t Suck
A quick “christmas activities near me” Google search is a start, but you’ll find better stuff if you:
- Check your city’s tourism or council website – look for winter festivals, outdoor concerts, markets, free events.
- Search Eventbrite, Meetup, and Facebook Events with filters on your city + “Christmas”, “holiday market”, “light trail”, “carol service”.
- Look at local libraries, museums and community centres – they often run craft days, story times and concerts that don’t get huge advertising.
- Follow nearby parks & recreation accounts for light walks, skating nights, or bonfires.
Make a short “December bucket list” with 3–5 realistic things and stop scrolling once you have it.
6.2 Outdoor & Light-Show Ideas
32. One Big “Wow” Night
Pick one big outing for the season – a ticketed light festival, ice skating rink, Christmas market, concert or theatre show. Treat it like the main event: book it, block off the date, and plan a simple pre/post meal.
Instead of feeling like you “should” go to everything, you know there’s one anchor memory coming.
33. DIY City Lights Walking Route
Grab a map app and sketch a loop that passes by:
- A couple of famously decorated streets or houses
- A pretty square or park
- Somewhere you can grab hot drinks halfway
Invite a few friends, pick a meeting point and do your own walking tour. It’s cheaper and more flexible than formal tours, and you can bail whenever toes or kids give up.
34. Free Concert or Carol Service Hunt
Many churches, schools and community choirs do free or donation-based Christmas concerts. Search “carol service + your city” or “community choir Christmas your city”. You get the live music atmosphere without Broadway prices.
35. “Local Shop Crawl”
Instead of defaulting to big malls, pick a few local shops or markets, especially ones doing late-night openings. Make a game of finding:
- One gift for under $10
- One locally made food item
- One decoration or ornament
Grab a coffee or dessert on the way and you’ve turned gift-buying into an evening out.
6.3 Budget-Friendly “Out & About” Options
36. Library Holiday Night
Many libraries decorate and run crafts, story times and movie nights in December. Even if there’s nothing formal on, going to the library in cosy clothes, picking Christmas-themed books or DVDs, and then heading home to consume them is a gentler kind of outing.
37. Photo Walk Challenge
Pick a neighbourhood you rarely visit and do a “10-photo challenge”: each person has to capture 10 images that feel like winter or Christmas. No pressure to be artistic; it just gives you something to look for together.
Later, you can compile the best shots into a shared album or a quick MessageAR montage linked from a card to send to relatives as “our city at Christmas” without writing a long newsletter.
7. Indoor & Bad-Weather Christmas Activities
Snowstorms, heavy rain, or just “I do not want to put on a coat” days.
Some of these overlap with at-home ideas, but here we lean more into boredom busters for long days inside.
38. “Winter Cabin” Day at Home
Pick one weekend day and declare your house a faraway winter cabin. Rules:
- No errands or big cleaning projects
- Only slow food (soup, stew, oven things)
- At least one group thing: a movie, a game, a jigsaw puzzle, a big craft
You can even switch off Wi-Fi for a few hours if that doesn’t cause riots. The point is to treat staying home as intentional, not as “we failed to go out”.
39. Big Puzzle & Snack Station
Clear one table and start a big jigsaw puzzle at the beginning of December. Whenever people are bored or passing through, they can drop in for a few pieces and grab a snack from the same spot. It becomes the quiet alternative to scrolling.
40. Recipe Swap Cook-Along
Invite a couple of friends or family members over (or loop them in on video) and do a small cook-along: each person brings one recipe they genuinely make at home. You cook, chat and then share containers so everyone leaves with a few different dishes for the week.
It doesn’t have to be “Christmas food”; the win is going into the busy part of December with stocked fridges.
41. “Fix or Finish” Afternoon
Everyone picks one tiny project that’s been haunting them: sewing a button back on, finally framing that print, finishing a forgotten craft, organising the gift-wrap box. Make tea, play music and work side by side for 60–90 minutes.
Weirdly, this can feel more satisfying than another festive movie, and it clears mental space for the fun stuff.
8. Office & Team-Building Christmas Activities
(for teams that want to feel human, not trapped in forced fun)
You already have a full arsenal of office party games in your games article. Here, think broader: simple things that make people feel appreciated and slightly more connected, without turning the whole afternoon into karaoke.
42. Gratitude Wall or “Win Board”
Put up a big sheet of paper or a digital whiteboard and ask people to add:
- One work win they’re proud of
- One colleague they appreciated and why
- One small, non-work thing that got them through the year (coffee, a meme, a walk route)
Leave it up for the week so quieter people can add thoughts later. At the end, take photos and share in a roundup email.
43. “Skip the Meeting, Keep the Coffee” Walks
If you’re in person, turn one regular team meeting in December into a group coffee walk instead. Everyone grabs a drink, walks around the block or the nearest park and talks loosely through the agenda points without slides.
It feels treat-y but still legitimate use of work time, and people remember it much more than another meeting room.
44. Small Acts of Seasonal Kindness Challenge
Create a simple bingo or checklist for the month with things like:
- “Make someone a coffee/tea without being asked”
- “Leave a thank-you note for a colleague”
- “Help someone finish something before their time off”
- “Share one resource that made your job easier this year”
No prizes needed; you can just shout out a few sweet stories at the last team meeting of the year.
45. Low-Key Lunchtime Market
Instead of a big evening event, organise a lunch where people can bring something small to sell or swap: homemade treats, crafts, second-hand books. It supports side hobbies, sparks conversations, and lets people do tiny bits of gift shopping without leaving the office.
For remote teams, you can do a digital version where people share links to their creative projects or shops, plus a list of favourite small businesses to support.
And if you want a more structured party hour, you can bolt on a couple of your office-friendly games from the separate post — Slide Deck Karaoke, Ornament Decorating, Secret Elf Compliments — rather than trying to invent everything from scratch.
9. Low-Spend & No-Spend Christmas Activities
December can get brutally expensive. These ideas assume you don’t want to keep swiping your card just to feel “festive”.
46. “Use What You Have” Decorating Night
Before buying anything, gather what’s already in your home in one spot: blankets, candles, empty jars, fairy lights, random ribbons, old gift bags. Challenge yourselves to make the place feel Christmassy using only that pile.
- Jars become tealight holders
- Ribbons tie around plant pots or chairs
- Old cards turn into a garland on a string
If you buy anything after this, it’ll be on purpose, not out of panic.
47. Old Christmas Movie or TV Episode Marathon
Instead of paying for new releases, hunt down classic Christmas episodes of TV shows (lots are on streaming or YouTube) or rewatch childhood movies. Make a list of 3–5 you want to hit each year and rotate.
48. Blanket Fort & Story Night
Yes, even adults. Build a fort in the living room, drag in snacks, and take turns telling stories: real-life ones, ghost stories, or reading from a book. There’s something about being literally under a blanket that makes everyone soften a bit.
49. “Swap, Don’t Shop” Gift Exchange
Ask friends or family to bring one nice item they no longer use (book, accessory, decor, gadget that still works). Do a white-elephant style swap, but with the rule that everything is “pre-loved”. It’s cheaper, more sustainable and often funnier than buying novelty gifts.
50. Volunteering Together
Look for local soup kitchens, community centres, shelters, toy drives or food banks that accept short-term volunteers or donations in December. If in-person volunteering slots are full, you can still do a group shopping trip to fill a donation box or pack care packages at home.
10. Virtual & Long-Distance Christmas Activities
For families and friends spread across cities or countries.
51. Synchronized Movie & Snack Night
Pick a time, agree on one film, and hit play at the same minute while on a call or group chat. You can send a simple “snack menu” ahead of time so everyone in different homes has roughly the same treats (or local equivalents).
Keep a WhatsApp/Discord thread open for live commentary. It scratches that “watch together” itch without everyone having to dress up and travel.
52. Long-Distance Cookie Swap
Each household bakes one type of cookie, slices of cake or bar, then mails small boxes to the others (or does doorstep drop-offs if you’re in the same city). On a call, you all taste each other’s and rate them purely on joy, not perfection.
53. “Show Me Your December” Calls
Instead of another standard talking-heads Zoom, do a “show and tell” format:
- 5 minutes where each person turns their camera to their tree, decorations, street lights, or favourite corner
- A quick explanation of what they like about it
It feels more like visiting their home than sitting in a meeting.
54. Collaborative Year-In-Review Book or Video
Create a shared album or folder where everyone drops 10–20 favourite photos or short clips from the year. One person assembles them into a simple slideshow or video (no need to be fancy) and you watch it together on a call.
Later, you can attach that video to a physical card via MessageAR or a QR code, so older relatives can re-watch it just by scanning.
11. 25 Days of Christmas Activities Challenge
(Printable-friendly list)
You can lay this out as a grid or calendar people can stick on the fridge. Mix hard and easy days so it doesn’t feel like a chore.
- Light a candle or switch on fairy lights during dinner.
- Send one “thinking of you” message to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while.
- Make or buy a hot drink you don’t usually order.
- Play one Christmas song you genuinely like (no guilt).
- Do a 10-minute tidy of a space you’ll use over the holidays.
- Write down three things this year that you’re glad happened.
- Walk or drive around to see lights in your area.
- Watch one Christmas movie or TV episode.
- Donate one item (or more) to a local charity or neighbour.
- Have a no-phones-at-the-table meal.
- Bake or assemble some kind of sweet treat.
- Take a photo of something that feels cosy and save it.
- Do a tiny act of kindness for a stranger (hold a door, compliment someone, leave a note).
- Read something seasonal – a story, article, or poem.
- Have a game night
- Wear something slightly ridiculous (socks, hat, sweater) for at least an hour.
- Call or voice-note someone instead of just texting.
- Declutter one drawer and put anything usable in a donation box.
- Play a song from your childhood Christmases.
- Try a new recipe or food you’ve never had at Christmas before.
- Spend 30 minutes outside, even if it’s cold.
- Write a short note to “future you” and tuck it into your decorations box.
- Take a group photo or quick video with whoever you’re with that day.
- Sit for five minutes in front of the tree or lights with everything else switched off.
- Share one favourite moment from this month with someone you care about.
You can invite readers to print this, screenshot it, or stick it in a Notes app and tick things off.
12. How to Capture & Share These Moments (Without Living on Your Phone)
It’s easy to spend the whole season trying to “document” it and then realise you weren’t actually there.
A few simple rules:
- Pick your moments. Decide in advance: “I’ll film a bit during the lights walk and at dessert, and that’s it.” Put your phone away outside those windows.
- Think in seconds, not minutes. 10–20 second clips and a couple of photos per event are enough to tell the story later.
- Share later, not during. Let yourself be fully in the activity and do your posting, sending or editing the next day.
If you like the idea of making things a bit magical without spending hours editing, you can also record a few short clips and drop them into a MessageAR video or similar AR card. For example:
- A group “Merry Christmas from our chaos to yours” under the tree.
- A quick montage of your city lights walk.
- A grandparent reading one page of a story for the kids.
You print or write a simple card, stick the code on, and now that physical card quietly holds a little moving memory people can rewatch whenever they want.
13. FAQ: Christmas Activities Edition
“How many activities should I try to do?”
Think: 3–5 “for sure” things, plus a handful of “if the mood strikes” options. Any more and December turns into a to-do list.
“What if my family/friends are not ‘activity people’?”
Start with things that feel like normal life with a tiny twist: eating dinner by candlelight, watching a movie with better snacks, walking to look at lights. Call them “little rituals” instead of activities and they suddenly feel less planned.
“How do I handle mixed ages without losing my mind?”
Pick activities where everyone can join at their own level: decorating cookies, light walks, bingo, simple crafts, story time. Let toddlers tap out early, teens be the DJ, and older relatives be in charge of stories or judging contests.
“What if money is really tight this year?”
Focus on low-spend ideas: at-home movie nights, neighbourhood walks, DIY decorations, baking with basic ingredients, volunteering, blanket forts, board games you already own. The internet will show you £200 experiences; your people will remember that you made time, not that you booked the fanciest thing.
“How do I make this feel like ‘us’, not a Pinterest copy?”
Steal ideas shamelessly but bend them to your people: swap cocoa for chai, change carols to your favourite genre, decorate with your team’s colours, turn games into inside-joke versions. The moment you add your own details, it stops being generic.
When you look back, most of the season blurs together – it’s a couple of really good moments that stick. The dumb in-jokes from game night, your kid’s lopsided cookie, that one walk where the whole street smelled like cold air and cinnamon.
If you want to hang on to a few of those without turning into the family cameraman, you can always grab a handful of tiny clips on your phone and drop them into a MessageAR video later – one link or QR on a card that opens up your December in their living room. It feels more like “here’s a little piece of us” than a big production, and it’s the sort of thing people actually watch again instead of losing in a feed.
