100+ Fun Christmas Activities (with a Free Christmas Bucket List Printable)

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Ensure your Christmas is a very merry one, full of joy, fun, and wonder, with our ultimate Christmas bucket list, packed with 100+ ideas to make Christmas special!

Christmas bucket list ideas list (image).

Christmas Bucket List

Whether you’re hosting family, keen to make it magical for the kids, or want a holiday adventure, our exciting list of ideas has something for everything.

If you’d like to download our ultimate Christmas bucket list as a printable PDF, scroll to the end of the article to get it for yourself and try as many of these ideas as you like.

Christmas bucket list ideas list (image).

Fun Activities

Turn up the feel-good factor during the festive season by giving some of these fun Christmas activities a go on your own, or with friends and family.

1. Put up Christmas decorations around the house

2. Visit Santa at a shopping mall

3. Make a tree-shaped mural with your Christmas cards

4. Make ornaments for the Christmas tree

5. Make a wreath for your front door

6. Play a Christmas playlist in the car

7. Make a snow globe

8. Make cider and mulled wine

9. Rent a photo booth with props

10. Visit a local Christmas market


Christmas Traditions to Start

Even though Christmas is celebrated by so many of us, we all have our own little way of doing things to make it ‘our’ Christmas. Get everyone excited about the holidays by starting a few of your own Christmas traditions.

11. Bake sweet mince pies

12. Make eggnog

13. Send handmade gifts to friends and family

14. Go caroling

15. Wrap presents using custom wrapping paper

16. Prepare countdown/advent calendars

17. Hang stockings around the house

18. Go to an official ‘turn-on-Christmas-lights’ parade

19. Go Christmas shopping with the family

20. Host a special Christmas brunch


Great For Couples

Plan a festive season straight out of a beloved rom-com with your partner or spouse by giving some of these Christmas activities for couples a try.

21. Get a Christmas tree and decorate it

22. Attend a Christmas orchestra concert

23. Hang mistletoe and kiss every time you step under it

24. Have a Christmas song sing-along

25. Drink hot apple cider around an open fire

26. Play a game of Christmas-themed adult scavenger hunt

27. Cook a holiday meal together

28. Go ice skating

29. Arrange a Christmas candlelit dinner date

30. Prepare and drink Christmas cocktails


Great for Families with Kids

Christmas really is a magical time for kids, so be sure to make the most of the festive season with your little ones, and fill it with plenty of amazing experiences and activities.

31. Visit a nearby Winter Wonderland

32. Hang stockings around the house

33. Go sledding in a snowy area

34. Read a bedtime story to the kids by the tree

35. Bake and decorate a gingerbread house

36. Craft Christmas cards for friends and family

37. See reindeer in a national park

38. Send a letter to Santa

39. Create paper snowflakes for your walls and windows

40. Take pictures with Santa at the mall


Great Solo Activities

If you’re spending Christmas on your own, that doesn’t mean you can’t have an incredible time. Fill your time with some of these super enjoyable activities you can do by yourself.

41. Make homemade s’mores

42. Walk through the neighborhood and photograph the decorations

43. Roast chestnuts over the fire

44. Attend a nutcracker ballet

45. Bake and swap cookies with your neighbors

46. Solve a Christmas puzzle

47. Read a holiday-themed book

48. Light Christmas candles around the home

49. Create your own hot chocolate recipe

50. Enjoy a Christmas-themed manicure and pedicure


Activities with Friends

Make Christmas a ‘bestie bonanza’ by filling the holiday season with lots of these ideas and activities you can do with your best friends.

51. Go ice-skating in Santa costumes

52. Visit Christmas market towns

53. Go on a weekend ski trip

54. Arrange Christmas caroling for the neighborhood

55. Build and decorate a snowman

56. Attend a holiday party

57. Wear matching ugly Christmas sweaters

58. Have a snowball fight with your friends

59. Hold a Christmas potluck party

60. Attend a Christmas concert with friends


At-Home Activities

Embrace those cozy evenings wrapped up warm while the weather outside is cold, and make your time at home both magical and memorable with some of these awesome Christmas activities.

61. Bake Christmas cookies for neighbors

62. Video call friends and family

63. Take a funny family photo for a Christmas card

64. Hold a Christmas dance party

65. Host a games night

66. Buy matching pajamas for everyone in the house

67. Host a Secret Santa

68. Make a Yule log

69. Host a festive wine and cheese evening

70. Prepare a turkey or a fancy meal


Christmas Movies to Watch

Who doesn’t love a classic Christmas movie? While these ten movie bucket list ideas are a great place to start, be sure to check out our ultimate Christmas movie bucket list, complete with 100 films to get you into the festive spirit!

71. Host a ‘Home Alone’ marathon

72. Play Christmas movie trivia with friends

73. Have a Christmas RomCom evening

74. Buy a scratch-off list of Christmas movies

75. Watch ‘Miracle On 34th Street’

76. Watch Elf

77. Watch ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’

78. Watch ‘A Christmas Carol’

79. Have a Harry Potter marathon

80. Dress up as your favorite character before movie night


Charitable and Volunteer Activities

While for many of us, Christmas is a time of celebration, family, and reflection, not everyone is so lucky.

A little good deed goes a long way, so put some of your free time toward helping those less fortunate than you with some of these charitable ideas to do around the holidays.

81. Bake Christmas cookies for a retirement home

82. Knit hats and sweaters for a retirement home

83. Send food to a homeless shelter

84. Donate toys to an orphanage

85. Volunteer at a soup kitchen

86. Donate your old winter clothing

87. Make Christmas cards for a nursing home

88. Raise funds for a charity

89. Volunteer to be Santa at a children’s hospital

90. Volunteer at a local food bank


Unique Things to Do

Want to host a Christmas unlike any before? Fill your holiday season with some of these unique Christmas activities, and remember those amazing days or evenings for many years to come.

91. Send a handmade gift to a stranger in your neighborhood

92. Decorate a tabletop tree and give it away

93. Carry out an impromptu act of kindness

94. Leave money inside a book in a library

95. Make a Christmas-tree-shaped pizza

96. Reconnect with an old friend and send them gifts

97. Take a virtual tour to Lapland

98. Go for a reindeer sleigh ride in Finland

99. Attend the midnight mass

100. Rent a snow machine and make a YouTube video

101. Dress your pets up in elf costumes


Get Your Free Christmas Bucket List PDF Printable Here

Make Christmas a time of wonder, joy, and magic, and use these ideas to inspire you during the festive season. Christmas comes but once a year, so be sure to make it memorable!

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Keep this ultimate rundown of Christmas bucket list ideas by saving this article to one of your seasonal Pinterest boards, ready for the holiday season.

100+ Christmas Bucket List Ideas List (image).