There comes a point during Christmas break when everyone has watched enough Christmas movies and it's time to take a break from the screens and enjoy some screen-free Christmas activities instead.
It doesn't take long during the festive period for the new toys to have been investigated.
Someone is bored.
Someone else is asking for a snack despite having eaten approximately seven minutes ago.
And you're beginning to wonder quite how many days there are until normal routines resume.
If that sounds familiar, this collection of screen-free Christmas activities for kids is for you.
I've put together 30 easy ways to keep children playing, moving, exploring and enjoying Christmas without automatically reaching for a tablet, TV or video game.
And this isn't a list designed to make December harder for parents.
You won't find 30 elaborate setups requiring special supplies and two hours of preparation.
Instead, you'll find Christmas games, indoor activities, outdoor adventures, imaginative play, quiet-time ideas and simple family activities that can be pulled out whenever you need a little inspiration.
Some take five minutes to set up.
Some need no preparation at all.
And quite a few are completely free.
Because screen-free time doesn't have to mean entertaining our children every second.
Sometimes they just need a little invitation to get started.
Why Try Screen-Free Christmas Activities?
I don't think screens need to become the enemy at Christmas.
There are Christmas movies I genuinely look forward to watching together, and there are definitely afternoons when putting a movie on is exactly what everybody needs.
This isn't about creating another rule or something else for parents to feel guilty about.
It's about having alternatives.
Christmas break gives children something they don't always have during busy school weeks:
time.
Time to build.
Time to invent games.
Time to be outside.
Time to get absorbed in a book.
Time to help in the kitchen.
Time to be bored long enough to come up with something themselves.
Having a few screen-free Christmas activities ready can be particularly helpful when children are restless, siblings are beginning to annoy each other or everybody needs a reset.
So instead of working through this list from 1 to 30, use it like a menu.
Ask yourself:
What do my children need right now?
Do they need to move?
Do they need fresh air?
Do they need something quiet?
Do they need connection?
Or do you simply need them happily occupied for twenty minutes while you get something done?
Start there.
When Kids Need to Burn Off Energy
If the volume in your house is steadily increasing and somebody has started using the couch as gymnastics equipment, these are the Christmas activities I'd try first.
1. Create a North Pole Obstacle Course
Turn your living room, hallway or playroom into the North Pole.
Use cushions, chairs, blankets, painter's tape and anything else you already have to create challenges.
Children could:
• crawl through an elf tunnel
• jump over "snowdrifts"
• balance along an icy path
• carry a present to Santa's sack
• crawl under a table
• weave around Christmas trees
• finish by ringing a bell
Older children can design the course themselves and create rules for everyone else.
That's often half the activity.
2. Have an Indoor Snowball Fight
Roll clean white socks into balls and suddenly you have a basket of indoor snowballs.
Build forts from couch cushions and blankets, divide into teams and start throwing.
You can also place laundry baskets around the room and award points for getting snowballs into them.
Just move Grandma's favorite vase first.
This is one of those easy Christmas activities for kids that requires almost nothing but somehow produces enormous excitement.
3. Play Reindeer Races
Choose a starting line and finish line and let children race like reindeer.
They can gallop, hop, crawl or pull a lightweight "sleigh" containing a stuffed animal.
Try different rounds:
Fastest reindeer.
Quietest reindeer.
Silliest reindeer.
Sleepiest reindeer.
Reindeer walking through very deep snow.
Younger children particularly love when adults join in and take the game far more seriously than necessary.
4. Have a Christmas Freeze Dance
Put on Christmas music and let everybody dance.
Pause the music randomly and everyone has to freeze.
Instead of eliminating anyone who moves, give them a silly Christmas action:
Pretend to melt like a snowman.
Do your best Santa laugh.
Gallop like Rudolph.
Waddle like a penguin.
Then everyone carries on playing.
It's simple, energetic and completely screen-free.
5. Play Santa Says
Christmas Simon Says requires absolutely no preparation.
Try instructions such as:
"Santa says touch your toes."
"Santa says fly like a reindeer."
"Santa says sneak like an elf."
"Santa says carry a very heavy present."
"Santa says roll through the snow."
Let children take turns being Santa too.
They'll probably invent considerably stranger instructions than you do.
When You Need Them Busy for 20 Minutes
This might be my favorite category.
These are for those moments when you need to make lunch, wrap something, put laundry away or simply drink a cup of coffee while it's still vaguely warm.
6. Give Them a Christmas LEGO Challenge
Bring out the LEGO or other building bricks and give children a festive challenge.
Can they build:
• Santa's sleigh?
• a Christmas tree?
• the North Pole?
• a snowman?
• an elf workshop?
• a winter cabin?
• a Christmas village?
• the tallest present tower possible?
You don't need Christmas LEGO sets.
Using ordinary bricks often encourages far more imagination.
If they're really absorbed, don't interrupt them with the next activity.
You've struck gold. Leave them there.
7. Set Up a Christmas Puzzle Station
Put a puzzle on a table somewhere it can remain for a few days.
It doesn't even have to be Christmas-themed.
Choose something appropriate for your children's ages and let everybody add a few pieces whenever they pass.
For older children, a large family puzzle can become a lovely Christmas break tradition.
There's something wonderfully slow about gradually seeing it come together.
8. Give Them a Wrapping Station
Save small scraps of wrapping paper, reusable gift bags, tissue paper and ribbon and let children wrap their toys.
Stuffed animals are particularly good customers.
Younger children might simply put toys into bags and take them out again.
Older children can practice properly wrapping awkward objects.
If you want to avoid using paper and tape, give them scarves, fabric squares or tea towels and let them experiment with reusable wrapping.
9. Make a Christmas Book Basket
Gather your Christmas and winter books into one basket and leave it somewhere inviting.
Add a blanket and a couple of cushions nearby.
If you don't own many Christmas books, the library is perfect for this.
I like activities children can return to throughout December rather than something that exists for one carefully planned afternoon.
A Christmas book basket does exactly that. Alternatively, you can also put together a Christmas book advent calendar and read a favorite Christmas book every day in the run up to Christmas Day.
10. Set Up Santa's Workshop
You don't need a Santa's workshop playset.
Use the toys your children already own.
Blocks become presents.
A cardboard box becomes a sleigh.
Stuffed animals become customers.
Toy vehicles transport packages.
Children can sort toys, pack pretend orders, build gifts and deliver them around the house.
Open-ended pretend play is one of the best screen-free activities because once children become absorbed, the game begins evolving without us.
Quiet Screen-Free Christmas Activities
Not every child needs more stimulation during Christmas.
Sometimes everyone needs things to become a little quieter.
These ideas are particularly lovely for afternoons, after busy Christmas events or when younger siblings are napping.
11. Build a Christmas Reading Den
Throw a blanket over a table or arrange cushions somewhere cozy.
Add Christmas books, blankets and perhaps some battery-operated fairy lights safely out of reach of younger children.
Then disappear inside with books.
You could read aloud together or let older children read independently.
A normal book somehow becomes significantly more appealing when it's being read inside a den.
I don't make the rules.
12. Listen to a Christmas Audiobook
Screen-free doesn't have to mean technology-free.
Put on a Christmas audiobook or audio story while children build, draw, play with toys or rest.
This can be especially lovely late in the afternoon when everyone is getting tired but bedtime is still a long way away.
You could make hot chocolate and listen together beside the Christmas tree.
13. Play Christmas "Would You Rather?"
This works anywhere.
At home.
In the car.
Around the dinner table.
Waiting in line.
Try questions like:
Would you rather be one of Santa's elves or one of his reindeer?
Would you rather live in a gingerbread house or a snow castle?
Would you rather decorate 100 trees or wrap 100 presents?
Would you rather have Christmas in the snow or on a beach?
Would you rather ride in Santa's sleigh or drive the Polar Express?
Let children make up questions too.
This can go on for much longer than you'd expect.
14. Start a Christmas Story Together
One person begins:
"It was Christmas Eve, and just as we were about to go to bed, we heard a strange noise coming from the backyard..."
Then everybody takes turns adding a sentence.
The story can become as ridiculous as it likes.
In fact, ridiculous is usually better.
Older children could write the story down afterward if they want to, but they certainly don't have to.
15. Look Through Old Christmas Photos
Children often love seeing themselves when they were younger.
Look through old Christmas photographs together and talk about what you remember.
Show them their first Christmas.
Look at old decorations.
Laugh at hairstyles.
Notice traditions you've kept and ones you'd forgotten about.
This is such a simple family activity, but it can create lovely conversations.
Outdoor Screen-Free Christmas Activities
When everyone has been indoors for too long, getting outside can completely change the mood of the day.
You don't need a Christmas event or expensive tickets.
Coats and shoes are enough.
16. Go on a Christmas Lights Walk
Wait until it gets dark, bundle everyone up and walk around your neighborhood looking at Christmas lights.
Children can look for:
• reindeer
• Santa
• stars
• snowmen
• candy canes
• wreaths
• colorful lights
• white lights
• Christmas trees in windows
No printable scavenger sheet required.
Just call things out as you spot them.
Come home for something warm to drink afterward and you've got a very easy family tradition.
17. Go on a Winter Nature Hunt
Head outside and see what children can discover.
Look for:
• pinecones
• evergreen leaves
• animal tracks
• berries
• bare branches
• interesting bark
• frost
• birds
• something red
• something green
You can collect fallen natural materials where appropriate or simply photograph and observe what you find.
This is a particularly nice antidote to the noise and busyness that can come with Christmas.
18. Take a Winter Photo Walk
Give older children a camera or let them take photographs with a phone while you're out together.
Challenge them to photograph:
Something beautiful.
Something Christmassy.
Something tiny.
Something red.
Something that makes them laugh.
Something they want to remember about this Christmas.
Younger children can point out what they'd like an adult to photograph.
Later, look through everyone's pictures together.
19. Visit the Library
The library deserves far more credit as a Christmas break outing.
Let children choose books, look for Christmas stories, find books about winter or simply browse whatever they're interested in.
Some libraries also run seasonal story times and children's activities.
And unlike many December outings, you can usually leave without having spent $70 and bought everybody a snack.
A win.
20. Take a Christmas Adventure Walk
This isn't a scavenger hunt.
It's simply a walk where the children decide which way you go.
At each safe intersection or path, let somebody choose the direction.
Turn left.
Turn right.
Go toward the big tree.
Follow the path you've never taken before.
You can give the walk a Christmas mission too:
"Let's see if we can find the most Christmassy house in the neighborhood."
Sometimes changing who gets to make the decisions transforms an ordinary walk.
Screen-Free Christmas Activities to Do Together
Some activities aren't about keeping children entertained.
They're about spending time together.
These are the ones I'd choose when everyone could do with reconnecting.
21. Bake Something Christmassy
You don't need an ambitious Christmas baking project.
Make cookies.
Cupcakes.
Cinnamon rolls.
Brownies.
Or use a boxed mix if that's what makes the activity manageable.
Children can measure, pour, stir, roll and decorate depending on their ages.
And if your cookies come out looking slightly peculiar?
Excellent.
They still taste like cookies.
22. Have a Family Games Afternoon
Let everyone choose one game and spend an afternoon playing together.
Board games, card games, charades and simple dice games are all brilliant screen-free Christmas break activities.
Make some snacks, turn on the tree lights and don't worry about making it more elaborate than it needs to be.
The activity is playing together.
23. Have a Christmas Picnic by the Tree
Put a blanket on the floor beside the Christmas tree and eat lunch there.
That's it.
You don't need themed food.
Sandwiches suddenly become Christmas picnic sandwiches because you're eating them under twinkling lights.
This is one of my favorite ways to make an ordinary part of the day feel special without creating more work.
24. Make a Hot Chocolate Tray
Rather than building an enormous hot chocolate bar worthy of its own postal code, keep this simple.
Make hot chocolate and bring out a few toppings:
• marshmallows
• cinnamon
• whipped cream
• chocolate shavings
• crushed cookies
Let everybody make their own cup.
Sit beside the tree and actually drink it together.
That last bit is important.
Sometimes we spend so much time setting up magical things for children that we forget to sit down and enjoy them too.
25. Have a Christmas Pajama Afternoon
Christmas pajamas aren't only for Christmas Eve.
Choose an afternoon when you have nowhere to be.
Put pajamas on ridiculously early.
Turn on the Christmas tree lights.
Bring out books and games.
Make popcorn.
Build something.
Let the children play.
There is something wonderfully luxurious about deciding at 2:30 p.m. that nobody is getting properly dressed again today.
Christmas Activities for Bored Kids
"I'm boooooored."
The soundtrack of school breaks everywhere.
Before immediately becoming the entertainment committee, try giving children a small prompt and seeing where they take it.
26. Give Them a Cardboard Box Christmas Challenge
Save a couple of delivery boxes and challenge children to turn them into something for Christmas play.
Not a craft that needs to look pretty.
Something they can play with.
Maybe it becomes:
• Santa's sleigh
• an elf house
• a chimney
• a Christmas store
• a reindeer stable
• a delivery truck
• a cozy house for stuffed animals
Give them tape, blankets and safe household items and let them figure it out.
The less finished the starting point, the more room there is for imagination.
27. Have a Christmas Treasure Hunt
Hide something somewhere in the house and create a trail of clues.
The treasure could be incredibly simple:
• the next Christmas book
• popcorn
• Christmas pajamas
• a board game
• ingredients for baking
• a note saying you're going to see Christmas lights
The excitement is in the search, not the prize.
For younger children, give simple verbal clues.
Older children can solve riddles.
28. Create a Christmas Toy Challenge Jar
Write simple play prompts on pieces of paper and put them in a jar.
Try:
Build a home for a reindeer.
Make a stuffed-animal Christmas party.
Build the tallest Christmas tower you can.
Create Santa's workshop.
Make a toy parade.
Build a sleigh from blocks.
Set up a Christmas store.
When somebody announces they're bored, they can pull out a challenge.
You don't need 50 prompts.
Six or eight is plenty.
29. Have a Flashlight Christmas Hunt
When it gets dark, turn off the main lights and give children flashlights.
Leave the Christmas tree glowing and ask them to find things around the room or house.
Can they find:
• something red?
• something shiny?
• a star?
• something soft?
• something that jingles?
• something green?
• something shaped like a circle?
Doing an ordinary scavenger hunt in the dark makes it feel completely different.
And children seem biologically incapable of finding flashlights boring.
30. Let Them Be Bored
Yes, I'm genuinely making this number 30.
We don't actually have to solve every moment of boredom.
If children are safe and their basic needs are met, sometimes it's okay to say:
"I'm not sure. What could you find to do?"
There might be complaining first.
There probably will be.
But boredom can be the slightly uncomfortable space before imaginative play begins.
They might build something.
Find an old toy.
Make up a game.
Start pretending.
Go outside.
Or spend ten minutes lying dramatically on the couch declaring that there is literally nothing in the entire house to do.
That's okay too.
We don't need to fill every minute of Christmas break for them.
How to Encourage Screen-Free Play Without Constantly Entertaining Your Kids
This is the part I think matters most.
Screen-free activities for kids shouldn't create more work for parents.
If every alternative to a screen requires you to prepare materials, supervise an elaborate activity and enthusiastically participate for two hours, it's probably not going to be sustainable.
Instead, think in terms of invitations.
Put the LEGO somewhere accessible.
Leave Christmas books in a basket.
Keep cardboard boxes from deliveries.
Put a puzzle on the table.
Suggest the first idea in a pretend game and let children take over.
Go outside.
And don't be afraid of repetition.
If your children want to build Santa's workshop four days in a row, you don't need four new Christmas activities.
They've found something they enjoy.
That's a success.
What Are Good Screen-Free Christmas Activities for Kids?
The best screen-free Christmas activities for kids are usually simple activities that match what your child already enjoys.
For children who love moving, try:
• obstacle courses
• freeze dance
• indoor snowballs
• reindeer races
• outdoor walks
For children who enjoy quiet play, try:
• puzzles
• books
• audiobooks
• LEGO
• storytelling
For imaginative children, try:
• Santa's workshop
• cardboard-box play
• toy wrapping
• Christmas pretend play
And when everybody wants to spend time together, try baking, board games, a picnic beside the tree or a Christmas lights walk.
You don't need the "perfect" Christmas activity.
You need something that works for the children standing in front of you.
What Can Kids Do During Christmas Break Without Screens?
Christmas break is a brilliant opportunity for slower activities that don't always fit into normal school weeks.
Children can read, build, bake, play board games, go outside, visit the library, create pretend worlds, help prepare food, complete puzzles and simply play with the toys they already own.
Try alternating between four types of activity:
Move.
Make or build.
Go outside.
Slow down.
That gives children variety without you having to constantly invent something new.
A Simple Screen-Free Christmas Break Day
If you find unstructured school-break days difficult, you don't need a minute-by-minute schedule.
Try four gentle anchors instead.
Morning — Move
Go outside, take a walk or do something energetic indoors.
Late morning — Independent play
LEGO, toys, puzzles, pretend play, sensory bins or a cardboard-box challenge.
Afternoon — Do something together
Bake, play a game, visit the library or go on an outing.
Evening — Slow down
Books, an audiobook, Christmas lights, a puzzle or hot chocolate by the tree.
And yes, there can still be a movie somewhere in there.
This isn't boot camp.
You Don't Need to Create a Screen-Free Christmas
I think this is worth saying.
Your children don't need a perfectly screen-free December.
And you don't need to spend Christmas break orchestrating wholesome childhood experiences from sunrise until bedtime.
Watch the Christmas movie.
Let them play the video game.
Have the lazy morning.
Then, when everybody has had enough of screens or you can feel the mood in the house beginning to unravel, come back to this list.
Pick one thing.
Go outside and look at lights.
Throw socks at each other.
Build something from a cardboard box.
Make hot chocolate.
Put a blanket beside the Christmas tree and eat lunch on it.
Children don't need Christmas to be packed with activities in order for it to feel magical.
Often it's the opposite.
The space between all the plans gives them time to play, imagine and notice the little things that make December feel different from every other month.
The lights glowing when it gets dark.
The books that only come out once a year.
The smell of something baking.
The cold air on an evening walk.
The afternoon everybody ended up having a sock snowball fight in the living room.
Those ordinary little moments have a funny habit of becoming the things we remember.
And for me, that's what Christmas magic looks like.
