These family-friendly holiday activities for kids are the perfect way to spend quality time with your little ones this season, all while getting into the festive spirit.

The holidays are a special time of year for children. Kids will remember the traditions and activities you do together for years to come. Make your holidays unforgettable with these fun and engaging suggestions for the whole family!

 

Christmas Games with Kids

Find Santa’s Reindeer

This festive twist on the traditional scavenger hunt will keep you and your kiddos entertained for hours.

Directions:

1. Print out some little reindeer or see if you can find any small reindeer toys at the store.
2. When your kids aren’t looking, hide the reindeer around the house, ensuring they’re all tucked out of sight. Depending on your children’s age, you can make the hiding spaces easier or more challenging to find.
3. Then, challenge your kids to find as many reindeer as they can. 
4. You can even add an extra festive incentive—perhaps for each one they find, they’re rewarded with a chocolate coin.

 

You’ll have a wonderful time with your deer family! 

 

Christmas Charades 

A free and easy way to entertain. What’s not to love? Mix up traditional charades by giving it a festive twist with Christmas carols, decorations, and movies.

Directions:

1. Write holiday-themed words on multiple scraps of paper (Santa Claus, snow man, making snow angels, star, skiing, etc.).
2. Fold up the pieces of paper and put them into a big bowl.
3. Divide your family into 2 teams or just play as individuals. (Note: If your kids aren’t old enough to read, you’ll need to pair up with them to help!).
4. Each person must pick a piece of paper and then act out their word without speaking. 
5. Whoever guesses correctly gets the point! Keep going until all the slips of paper are gone. Whoever has the most points wins! 

 

This is a simple, yet fun-filled game for the whole family, and it has no age limit. It gets everybody involved, and you’re bound to end up giggling.

 

“Pass the Parcel” 

Kids love candy and unwrapping presents, so the popular British Christmas game “Pass the Parcel” really is the best of both worlds. 

Directions:

1. A couple of weeks in advance, find a festive, child-friendly gift and a whole lot of wrapping paper. 
2. Wrap the gift as many times as you want, putting a piece of candy between every layer. 
3. When the game begins, play music and have the whole family pass the gift around.
4. When you stop the music, the person holding the gift unwraps one layer. 
5. Eventually, one person will reveal the center of the package—the true gift. It’s exciting because the kids don’t know which layer will reveal it.

 

Avoid fragile gifts because the present will get tossed and dropped repeatedly. Stick to the theme by planting candy canes and chocolate coins between the layers, so everyone comes away with something to unwrap and eat. The more layers you add, the longer the game will last. Try not to use the same wrapping paper twice in a row because it might confuse the kids.

And, of course, find some Christmas music to set the holly jolly mood. If you want everyone in the game to win, then an adult can make sure that music is stopped at calculated moments! 

 

Christmas Crafts For Kids

Christmas cards

Here we have an exceptional Christmas craft—Christmas cards! Making Christmas cards is a great way to practice gratitude by spreading love to other family and friends.

Directions:

1. Fold a piece of paper in half to make a greeting card.
2. Turn on the Lingokids craft video. It will teach your child how to draw a Christmas tree with step by step instructions. You child can draw their masterpiece on the front of their card.
3. Decorate! Let your child add sparkles, ornaments, and color to the front of the card by unleashing their creativity.
4. Help your child write a message inside the card to a beloved family member, friend, or community member. 
5. Deliver the Christmas card!

 

This is a simple yet effective way to turn a usually boring task—picking and writing Christmas cards—into a ton of family fun. After decorating, you can go on an adventure as a family to deliver all the cards! 

 

Reindeer ornaments

This quick and easy Christmas craft for kids takes under 30 minutes but will leave you and your children with a long-lasting warm and fuzzy feeling.

Materials Needed:

• Plain Christmas ornaments 
• Thin paintbrushes
• Washable paint (brown, black, and red)

 

Directions:

1. Set up a station to get messy by laying down some newspaper
2. Help your child dip their thumb in the brown paint.
3. Carefully press the thumb onto the ornament, making the reindeer’s head.
4. Let the thump print dry, and then when it’s ready, use your small paintbrushes to add antlers, eyes, and a big red nose. Rudolph would be very proud!

 

Holiday Games, Crafts, and Activities with Lingokids 

Click here for more holiday activities to do with kids. Check out more exciting content on our YouTube channels and let us know which games are your child’s favorites by tagging us on social media!