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Christmas is almost here! It’s time to take a moment and slow down from the hustle and bustle of the season, and make sure you’re creating special memories for your kids/family! My little one was sick last week, and my initial thought was “oh no, I just missed out on a day of getting things done” but quickly changed my mindset to realizing I needed a day to slow down and enjoy this magical season with her! Luckily, she wasn’t too sick to enjoy some activities. We made salt dough ornaments, and pom-pom ornaments, and of course listened to Christmas music!
Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be too difficult or extra work. I’ve come up with a few simple ideas to get you started!
1. Christmas Pajamas: Start a tradition of gifting holiday-themed pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. Amazon has some great sets of family pajamas like these HonestBaby Christmas trees.
2. Advent Calendar: Use a toddler-friendly advent calendar with little surprises or activities for each day leading up to Christmas. Of course you can grab a calendar from the store with chocolates, or I love the idea of a wooden reusable advent calendar like these. That way, you can put your own ideas (trinkets, candy, hints to a special day or activity, or coupons) in each spot! (If you start late, just do however many days are left until Christmas! Lucky for us, our young ones don’t usually notice the difference.)
3. DIY Ornaments: Make handprint or footprint ornaments each year to hang on the tree. These can be made with salt dough or just paint on paper or cardstock!
4. Santa Photos: Capture a yearly photo with Santa (whether at a mall or a local event).
5. Christmas Story Time: Read a festive book like “The Night Before Christmas” or “Llama Llama Holiday Drama” every Christmas Eve. For a fun twist – get a large copy of “The Night Before Christmas” (like this one) – each year, label & write a family memory on the inside cover.
6. Baking Cookies: Bake and decorate sugar cookies together (even if it’s just you decorating and your toddler “helping”).
7. Decorate a Mini Tree: Let your toddler have their own small tree to decorate with soft or unbreakable ornaments. We got my toddler this felt tree this year!
8. Toy Donation: Get a large bag (Amazon gift sacks work great) or box for each child. Choose a few old toys to donate to other children. Either do a drop off together, or leave these under the tree Christmas Eve for Santa to pick up and deliver to other children!
9. Enjoy Lights: A classic! Drive around and look at lights in your neighborhood or another nearby, or see if a place in your community does a special lights event. (We have options like this at the zoo, the beach town center, the arboretum, etc.)
10. Listen and Dance to Christmas Music: Self-explanatory! See if your little one has a favorite song (ours is Jingle Bell Rock!)
If crafting is your thing and you’d like to see more, check out my Christmas Crafts for Toddlers post. And, save this Indoor Toddler Winter Activities post to help you through the post-holiday slump in January!