I love a good Christmas craft, but sometimes I really don't want to get the paint out.
Or the glue.
Or the glitter that will somehow still be turning up in the house in April.
If you're looking for Christmas activities for kids that aren't crafts, I've put together 25 fun ideas that let children enjoy all the excitement of the season without needing to make something to take home at the end.
There are Christmas games, scavenger hunts, outdoor adventures, baking, pretend play, cozy family activities and plenty of simple ideas for those long December afternoons at home.
Most of them require very little preparation and quite a few cost absolutely nothing.
Because creating a magical Christmas for children doesn't have to mean providing a beautifully planned Christmas themed sensory activity every day.
Sometimes all you need is a flashlight, some Christmas music and permission to run around the house pretending to be a reindeer.
Easy Christmas Activities for Kids That Aren't Crafts
These ideas are perfect for days when you'd like to do something festive together but don't necessarily want another Christmas decoration for the refrigerator.
Choose the ones that suit your children's ages and interests and ignore the rest.
You certainly don't need to work your way through all 25 before Christmas.
1. Go on a Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt
One of the easiest Christmas activities is also one of my favorites.
Bundle everyone up after dark and take a walk or drive around your neighborhood looking at the Christmas lights.
Turn it into a scavenger hunt by seeing who can spot:
• Santa
• a snowman
• candy canes
• reindeer
• a Christmas wreath
• a star
• colorful lights
• white lights
• an inflatable decoration
• a Christmas tree in a window
You don't even need to print a scavenger hunt sheet.
Call things out as you walk and see what you can find.
Little children will probably be delighted simply because they're outside in the dark when they'd normally be getting ready for bed.
Bring hot chocolate for afterward and you've got a very easy Christmas tradition too.
2. Have an Indoor Snowball Fight
No snow required!
Roll up some clean white socks and you have instant indoor snowballs.
Move anything particularly breakable out of the way and let the children have a snowball fight in the living room.
You could build two forts from couch cushions first or place laundry baskets at opposite ends of the room and see who can throw the most "snowballs" into them.
When everyone has had enough, the children can pair the socks again.
A fun Christmas activity and laundry assistance in one.
It's like a Christmas miracle!
3. Have a Christmas Dance Party
Put on your favorite Christmas playlist and dance.
That's the whole activity.
You don't need special equipment, decorations or preparation.
Dim the main lights, switch on the Christmas tree and let everyone choose a favorite song.
For younger children, add actions such as:
Dance like an elf.
Stomp like a reindeer.
Wobble like a snowman.
Tiptoe like Santa.
It's brilliant for getting some energy out when everyone has been indoors for too long.
4. Play Christmas Freeze Dance
If ordinary dancing isn't chaotic enough, turn it into Christmas freeze dance.
Play Christmas music and pause it randomly.
Everyone has to freeze when the music stops.
Anyone who moves can perform a silly Christmas action rather than being eliminated — roar like a reindeer, pretend to be a melting snowman or do their best Santa laugh.
I prefer games where nobody gets knocked out, especially with younger children.
It usually means considerably fewer tears before dinner.
5. Set Up a Christmas Obstacle Course
Use things you already have to create a simple indoor obstacle course.
Children might:
• crawl under the "North Pole" table
• jump over a row of cushions
• tiptoe past sleeping elves
• deliver a teddy bear to a basket
• crawl through a cardboard-box tunnel
• balance along a strip of painter's tape
• finish by ringing a bell
Older children can design the course themselves.
That often keeps them occupied longer than actually completing it.
6. Go on a Candy Cane Hunt
Hide candy canes around one room and let the children find them.
If you'd rather avoid candy, hide red-and-white objects, Christmas ornaments that aren't breakable, paper candy canes or even pairs of Christmas socks.
For younger children, make the hiding places very obvious.
For older children, make it genuinely challenging and give them clues.
You can also assign everyone a particular color or object so siblings aren't competing for the same things.
7. Have a Christmas Flashlight Hunt
Turn off the lights, give the children flashlights and send them searching for Christmas objects around the house.
Ask them to find:
• something red
• something shiny
• a star
• something green
• something soft
• a Christmas tree
• something that jingles
Keep the Christmas tree lights on for an extra bit of magic.
This is ridiculously simple, but doing an ordinary activity in the dark somehow makes it approximately 400% more exciting when you're a child.
8. Play Christmas Charades
Write simple Christmas ideas on pieces of paper and take turns acting them out.
Try:
• decorating a Christmas tree
• building a snowman
• wrapping a present
• Santa climbing down the chimney
• a reindeer flying
• baking cookies
• opening a present
• an elf making toys
• someone stuck in the snow
• drinking hot chocolate
For children who can't read yet, whisper their action to them or simply let them invent one.
There really don't need to be complicated rules.
9. Have a Christmas LEGO Challenge
If you already have LEGO or other building blocks at home, turn them into a Christmas activity.
Challenge children to build:
• a Christmas tree
• Santa's sleigh
• a reindeer
• a snowman
• an elf house
• a present
• the North Pole
• a winter village
You can set a timer if your children enjoy a challenge, or leave the bricks out and let the activity turn into open-ended play.
No Christmas-themed LEGO set is required.
A green brick can be a tree and a red brick can be Santa.
Children are remarkably unbothered by these details.
10. Build Santa's Workshop
This is another lovely way to use toys you already own.
Choose a corner of the playroom or living room and pretend it is Santa's workshop.
Blocks can become presents.
Stuffed animals can be customers.
Toy cars can deliver packages.
A cardboard box can become a sleigh.
Children can be elves sorting, packing, building and delivering toys.
If you have leftover wrapping paper, give them some scraps and let them wrap their own toys too.
This can become hours of imaginative play without buying a single new Christmas toy.
Screen-Free Christmas Activities at Home
11. Have a Christmas Book Picnic
If you're in need of a gentler and quiet activity to keep the kids entertained gather a pile of Christmas books, put a blanket on the floor beside the tree and have a Christmas book picnic.
Add some simple snacks and drinks and settle in together.
If you don't own many Christmas books, visit the library and choose a stack for December.
You could even keep them in a basket beside the Christmas tree so children can reach for them throughout the month.
It makes reading feel like part of Christmas rather than another activity adults are trying to persuade children to do.
12. Play Christmas Bingo
Christmas bingo is an easy activity for a family evening, playdate or Christmas party.
Use pictures rather than words if younger children are playing.
You can find printable cards online or use a bingo game you already own.
Keep the prizes simple.
The winner might choose the next Christmas song, pick the bedtime story or get the first marshmallow at hot chocolate time.
Children are often much more impressed by being allowed to make a decision than we give them credit for.
13. Have a Christmas Treasure Hunt
Hide a small Christmas surprise somewhere in the house and create clues leading children from one place to another.
The treasure doesn't need to be a gift.
It could be:
• Christmas pajamas
• a Christmas book
• popcorn for movie night
• ingredients for cookies
• hot chocolate
• a note announcing a family activity
Older children can solve written clues.
For younger children, use very simple verbal clues such as:
"Look somewhere we keep our shoes."
The hunt itself is usually much more exciting than whatever is waiting at the end.
14. Play a Reindeer Movement Game
This is ideal for younger children who need to MOVE.
Call out different reindeer instructions:
Gallop!
Freeze!
Fly!
Stomp through the snow!
Shake your antlers!
Deliver the presents!
Hide from Santa!
You can also turn it into a version of Simon Says.
No supplies. No cleanup. Lots of silliness.
Exactly the sort of December activity I can get behind.
15. Have a Toy Wrapping Challenge
Give children some leftover wrapping paper, reusable gift bags or fabric and let them wrap toys they already own.
Older children can race to see who can wrap an awkwardly shaped toy.
Younger children will probably wrap something in approximately nine feet of tape and call it finished.
Either way, they're practicing real-life skills while enjoying pretend Christmas play.
If you want a completely waste-free version, use scarves, dish towels or pieces of fabric and practice reusable wrapping.
16. Play Christmas "Would You Rather?"
This is brilliant around the dinner table, in the car or while waiting for something else to happen.
Ask questions such as:
Would you rather be one of Santa's elves or one of his reindeer?
Would you rather have Christmas at the beach or in the snow?
Would you rather eat only Christmas cookies or only candy canes for a day?
Would you rather decorate 100 Christmas trees or wrap 100 presents?
Would you rather ride in Santa's sleigh or live in a gingerbread house?
Older children can invent questions for everyone else.
Some of their choices will almost certainly be much stranger than yours.
17. Have a Christmas Taste Test
Choose a few festive foods and have a family taste test.
You could compare:
• different hot chocolates
• Christmas cookies
• apples
• popcorn flavors
• marshmallows
• seasonal fruit
Children can rate everything or try to identify foods while their eyes are closed.
It doesn't need to involve lots of candy.
Even comparing three varieties of apples feels surprisingly official when you put them on little plates and announce that you're conducting a taste test.
Outdoor Christmas Activities for Kids
18. Go on a Winter Nature Walk
Christmas activities don't have to happen inside.
Go for a walk and look for signs of winter.
Collect pinecones or fallen natural materials where permitted, notice evergreen trees, look for animal tracks and listen to the sounds around you.
You can also look for natural Christmas colors:
red, green, white, gold and brown.
There's something lovely about getting outside during a month that can otherwise become very indoor-focused.
And everyone often comes home in a better mood.
19. Have a Christmas Photo Hunt
Give older children a phone or camera and challenge them to photograph Christmas things.
Ideas include:
• something red
• twinkling lights
• a wreath
• a funny decoration
• a Christmas tree
• something shaped like a star
• something that reminds them of Christmas
• the prettiest decoration they can find
Younger children can work with an adult.
At the end, look through everyone's photographs together.
You might be surprised by what your children choose to capture.
20. Play Christmas I Spy on a Walk
This is especially easy if you're already heading out to see Christmas decorations.
Take turns choosing something festive and saying:
"I spy with my little eye, something..."
You could use colors for younger children rather than letters.
It's simple, costs nothing and can keep children entertained when a walk is starting to become "Are we going home yet?"
Cozy Family Christmas Activities
21. Have a Hot Chocolate Night
Hot chocolate somehow tastes approximately 17 times better in December.
Set out mugs and a few toppings and let everyone make their own.
You might have:
• marshmallows
• whipped cream
• cinnamon
• crushed cookies
• chocolate shavings
You don't need an enormous Pinterest-worthy hot chocolate bar.
A saucepan of hot chocolate and a packet of marshmallows will do the job beautifully.
Drink it beside the Christmas tree, read a story or put some Christmas music on.
Simple is often the bit children remember.
22. Have a Family Christmas Games Night
Choose a couple of games you already own and have a Christmas games night.
Turn on the tree lights, bring out some snacks and let each person choose a game.
You can also make ordinary games feel Christmassy without buying special versions.
Play charades using Christmas words.
Play Pictionary with Christmas objects.
Build something festive during a construction game.
The point isn't really the Christmas theme.
It's everyone being together.
23. Bake Christmas Cookies Together
Yes, technically something gets made.
But I'm firmly putting baking in the not-a-craft category because you get to eat the result.
Keep it easy.
Children can:
• pour pre-measured ingredients
• stir
• roll dough
• use cookie cutters
• add decorations
• arrange cookies on the tray
And please don't worry about producing bakery-window cookies.
Children are remarkably proud of a cookie with one eye, seven buttons and half a pound of sprinkles.
As they should be.
24. Have a Christmas Pajama Morning
Choose a morning when nobody needs to rush anywhere.
Stay in Christmas pajamas.
Have a slow breakfast.
Turn the Christmas lights on even though it's daytime.
Put Christmas music on.
Read books.
Play games.
Let the children potter around.
Not every Christmas activity needs a beginning, middle and end.
Sometimes the activity is simply making an ordinary morning feel a little different.
25. Start a Christmas Kindness Challenge
Christmas magic doesn't always have to be about what we're doing for our own family.
Choose a few small acts of kindness to do together during December.
Children could:
• choose food to donate
• help a neighbor
• make someone a snack
• call a relative
• leave a kind note for someone
• help a sibling with a job
• choose toys or books they no longer use to pass on
• help feed birds outside
• give someone a genuine compliment
Keep this gentle.
I wouldn't turn kindness into another elaborate December checklist children have to complete.
The idea is simply to notice opportunities to do something thoughtful.
What Can Kids Do at Christmas Besides Crafts?
There are so many Christmas activities for kids that don't involve crafts.
Try focusing on experiences rather than things children can make.
Some of the easiest options are:
• Christmas scavenger hunts
• Christmas games
• baking
• pretend play
• building challenges
• Christmas music and dancing
• outdoor walks
• looking at Christmas lights
• family games nights
• reading Christmas books
• treasure hunts
• simple family traditions
If your child isn't interested in sitting at a table making crafts, that's absolutely fine.
Christmas can be playful without producing a single handprint reindeer.
What Are Some Easy Christmas Activities to Do at Home?
If you're stuck at home on a cold December afternoon, you don't need a cupboard full of Christmas activity supplies.
Some of my favorite Christmas activities at home use things most families already have.
Try an indoor sock snowball fight, Christmas freeze dance, building Santa's workshop from toys, Christmas LEGO challenges, Christmas charades, a flashlight hunt or a picnic beside the Christmas tree.
When you're choosing an activity, start with what your child already enjoys.
A child who loves building might enjoy creating Santa's workshop.
A child who loves moving might prefer an obstacle course.
A child who loves books might adore a Christmas book picnic.
The Christmas theme is just the invitation.
The play should still belong to the child.
How Can I Make Christmas Magical for Kids Without Spending Lots of Money?
I think we sometimes accidentally make Christmas magic sound like something parents have to buy.
It isn't.
Children notice atmosphere and changes in routine far more than we sometimes realize.
Going outside after dark to look at Christmas lights can feel magical.
Eating breakfast beside the Christmas tree can feel magical.
Reading books under a blanket can feel magical.
Being allowed to have an indoor snowball fight with socks can feel extremely magical.
A lot of the ideas in this list are completely free because they use your home, your neighborhood, your children's existing toys and something you were already going to do.
You don't have to fill December with tickets, events, gifts and elaborate activities to make it special.
A Week of Easy Screen-Free Christmas Activities
If you want a little inspiration without committing yourself to a full December activity calendar, try choosing just a handful.
Monday: Christmas dance party
Tuesday: Christmas LEGO challenge
Wednesday: Christmas book picnic
Thursday: Indoor snowball fight
Friday: Christmas lights walk
Saturday: Bake Christmas cookies
Sunday: Christmas pajama morning
And if Wednesday arrives and nobody wants a book picnic?
Skip it.
The Christmas police aren't coming.
Christmas Doesn't Need to Be One Long Activity
December can come with an odd amount of pressure when you're a parent.
There are advent calendars to fill, traditions to create, cookies to bake, Christmas events to attend and approximately 8,000 beautiful ideas appearing every time you open Pinterest.
But children don't need every day of December to be extraordinary.
They need time to play.
Time outside.
Time with us.
And time where absolutely nothing has been arranged for them.
Use these Christmas activities for kids that aren't crafts when you need inspiration for a rainy afternoon, a family evening or one of those days when everyone is climbing the walls.
Pick a few your children will genuinely enjoy.
Repeat their favorites.
Forget the ones that don't suit your family.
Because when your children look back on Christmas, they're unlikely to remember whether you completed a carefully planned activity every day.
They'll remember dancing in the living room.
Walking outside to see the lights.
Laughing during games.
Eating slightly wonky Christmas cookies.
And that one December afternoon when you let them throw rolled-up socks at you in the name of festive family bonding.
That sounds like Christmas magic to me.
