8 Holiday Activities for December
Slowing down December
I absolutely love Christmas. Each year we bring out our wooden advent calendar and each day my son expects little magical surprises. It is a tradition we started when he was 3, and he still expects it at 14. Keeping my son’s wonder intact is a major goal of mine as a parent, and I know those days are numbered. But advent calendars have kept the wonder alive for me too, and for that I am so grateful. It is our favorite way to slow down the month by creating little happy moments each day.
Start an Activity Calendar
December can be both a festive, and stressful month that goes by in a flash. Between holiday shopping, school and family activities it can almost feel like a race to the new year. This is where a fun activity calendar can make each day a little magical. Each morning, we love to open up our advent calendars and see what “assignment” we have for the day. You can try a Kindness Calendar or Holiday themed countdown and have fun!
Holiday Creative Journaling
Leave a little time each day for holiday journaling, but you don’t have to just stick with pen and paper. With glue stick, magazine clippings markers and crayons, drawn pictures or create collages each day. Record the fun holiday activities and recipes. Save the journal for next year to reflect and repeat fun new and old traditions.
Get out and walk!
We live in California, so the weather here is quite temperate even in December. But when we lived in Connecticut, we would love our winter walks on crisp cold days. You can practice noticing the changes in the landscape. Are their any animals out preparing for a long winter? Getting outside for walks in our neighborhood or local parks are a wonderful way to feel grateful for our surroundings.
Welcome the darkness
This time of year can feel depressing as the sky darkens so early and the temps are cold and confining. This is why I love hanging white lights around our home and in the backyard! I create a little lighted wonderland and in the evenings we can sit outside with hot cocoa and enjoy. Indoors light candles once the sun sets and eat dinner with holiday music playing. Have fun with the darkness!
Try traditions from around the world
This is a new one that we are doing to try this year. Learning about how other cultures spend the holiday will be fun. We are going to try new recipes and incorporate new traditions into our holiday. In Sweden
Baking and recipes!
Baking is such a cozy and fun way to celebrate the season. If you are short on time, try slice and bake sugar cookes that you can decorate or use box cake mixes. They don’t have to be made from scratch! The cookies above were made by splitting a slice and bake recipe in 3 and using food coloring to create the swirls. The best part is the time spent!
Simple ornaments and crafts
This is a wonderful time for crafting with kids. The projects do not have to be complicated and most of the time you already have the supplies in your home. This simple salt dough recipes only need flour salt and water. Paper ornments can be made with just some paper, crayons and scissors and glue. Kids can gift crafts to grandparents and teachers.
The paper ornaments pictured come with this printable advent calendar.
Listen to holiday stories
While running errands or for quiet time at home, we love listening to podcasts and audio books. It is a great way for a little screen free time that kids do love. When my son was little we loved Sparkle Stories and now that he is older I go lean on audio books for longer more involved storytelling.
