If you’re looking for a fun way to deck your halls this holiday season try these amazing free ideas for 12 days of Christmas activities we have completed with our kids.
Some of these easy activity ideas can be a last-minute add-on or a gift certificate to the Christmas gifts to your loved ones
What are the 12 Days of Christmas?
The twelve days of Christmas are a fun way to celebrate the time from when Jesus was born until the wise men came to visit him.
On each day of the 12 days, we remember something special that happened during that time. For example, on the first day of Christmas, we remember when Jesus was born in a manger.
On the second day, we remember how angels sang and announced his birth! The lovely Christmas carol actually hid a secret meaning during the time when the worship of Jesus Christ wasn’t openly allowed.
So the real Christmas starts on Christmas day and it’s a twelve day of celebration. There are great ideas for this occasion like Christmas caroling or having a family movie marathon.
1. Scoop the Baubles
Check out this fun Christmas game that will keep your toddler entertained and engaged. This bauble sorting activity will combine the joy of scooping and color sorting with the excitement of discovery.
This sensory bin can be set up by the time you finish singing one Christmas song and will make your little ones very busy.
What will you need?
- Ornaments in different colors
- Plastic cups (as many as the color of the ornaments)
- Large bin
- Water
- Cup of milk
- Ice cream scoop
What to do?
First, fill a bin with water, then add a cup of milk or two to color it.
Put the baubles ornaments in. Invite your child to scoop the baubles out of the bin to the cups, and sort them by color.
2. DIY Bethlehem
Every year, the holidays mark a special time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Many families choose to display a traditional nativity scene in their homes to commemorate this joyous occasion.
Crafting your own nativity scene can be an enjoyable way to share this joy with family and friends. This project is sure to get the whole family in holiday cheer!
What will you need?
- Mini Bethlehem figures
- Cardboard
- Twigs
- Bark
- Glue gun
- Moss
- Corn kernels
- Coffee beans
- Green lentils
What to do?
Cut out a rectangle from cardboard for the base of the manger. Then, draw a house shape for the backside and cut it out alongside two smaller rectangles for the roof.
Using a glue gun glue the backside to the base. Glue one twig on each front corner, standing, so that it will hold the roof.
You can also put a longer twig in the middle to make it sturdy. Glue on the rooftops, then add a few barks onto the sides and to the roof. Decorate the other side of the roof with corn kernels, coffee beans, and moss.
You can add more moss to the sides and into the manger. I have also glued green lentils into it. Finally, put the mini figures in their places and enjoy your DIY Bethlehem.
3. Handprint Bauble Ornaments
These festive handprints and footprints of Santa and Rudolph are whimsical ornaments that can be enjoyed year after year. Children will love getting their hands messy in the paint, while parents can feel proud knowing they made something special together.
This keepsake will become an even more treasured item as time goes by; each year when decorating the tree, you’ll fondly recall how little your kids were.
What will you need?
What to do?
To create the Santa pattern, paint your child’s hands white in the palm area, and red up to the finger tops. Press the hand onto the plastic bauble. Once it’s dry add some googly eyes.
For the Rudolph pattern dip your little one’s foot in brown paint, then make a print on the bauble. Paint or draw the antlers, and add googly eyes once it gets dry.
Add a layer of mod podge to the inside of the bauble and sprinkle it with glitters or simply just fill it in with some tissue paper. Finally, hang your Christmas decorations.
4. Cardboard Christmas Tree Crafts
Did you know that there is a fun and inexpensive way to decorate for Christmas? You might need just a few things in order to create a festive holiday decoration out of an ordinary cardboard box.
What will you need?
- Cardboard
- Pom poms
- Snowflakes sequins
- Craft strings or yarn
- Scissors
- Glue and glue gun
What to do?
Cut Christmas tree shapes out from cardboard. Use the glue to decorate some with pompoms, and others with sequins. Wrap some in craft strings or yarns. Or simply combine them all together.
5. Salt Dough Ornaments
Christmas is a time of joy and celebration, and nothing brings the holiday spirit to life quite like homemade decorations.
Salt dough ornaments are a timeless tradition that can bring special memories for every young family member.
From classic shapes such as stars and snowmen to personalized designs like handprints and names, these decorations will make your Christmas tree a unique display of love and creativity.
Your family will have a great time crafting together, and the results will also bring cheer to your home every December.
What will you need?
- Salt dough
- Cookie cutters
- Glitter
- Paint
What to do?
First, make your slat dough with the following recipe. Cut shapes using cookie cutters then use an oven-safe dish to dry the pieces at 135 °.
Once cooled, decorate the salt dough ornaments using glitter and paint before hanging them on the tree! The possibilities are endless – read the details and get creative.
6. Alphabet Baubles
Christmas time is the perfect season to get children excited about learning. With this festive alphabet activity, they can learn and have fun at the same time!
What will you need?
What to do?
Stick each letter of the alphabet on a colorful bauble. Let your kids form a Christmas-related word from the letters like Santa, lights, star, snow, winter, etc. Early readers can create CVC words like elf, ice, hat, red, and so on.
This is not only educational but also highly entertaining for kids as it encourages them to use their imagination to combine letters into meaningful words.
Introducing this fun game at home can help foster literacy skills such as letter recognition and word formation while having quality family time during the festive period.
7. Sensory Bath
Christmas is all about the sparkle and shine. But why not add some messiness too?
A sensory water bath with cocoa is the perfect way to bring extra holiday cheer this season! It’s better than any hot cocoa or hot chocolate!
What will you need?
What to do?
This easy-to-make activity will have kids of all ages giggling and excited for a fun and messy sensory experience. Start off by filling up a tub with warm water, and adding a generous amount of hot cocoa powder.
Give a little more Christmas to it by adding some shiny baubles. Decorate the bathroom with Christmas lights to have the real Christmas spirit.
8. Snow Painting
When the weather outside is frightful, snow painting can be so delightful!
When it comes to fun, best winter activities for kids, snow painting is the cream of the crop. With a few simple supplies and easy instructions, you can transform your backyard into an interactive art gallery.
What will you need?
- Snow
- Paint
- Paintbrush
What to do?
Gather your paints, prepare your brushes, bundle up warmly and let your creativity flow freely in this unique outdoor activity!
Whether you want to create something simple or, paint on a snowman, it can be an exciting challenge that will bring out the inner artist in everyone.
Remember that unlike regular painting on canvas or paper; snow painting won’t last forever so make sure you take a picture of your work before it melts away.
9. DIY Snow
DIY snow is for a child to get the snow experience without needing to leave the comfort of their own home.
What will you need?
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup baby oil
What to do?
Simply mix together these three ingredients and start playing.
This snow project will provide endless possibilities for fun as your children can shape it, scoop it, and even make a little snowman.
Add 2 googly eyes, a small piece of orange pipe cleaner, and an acorn cupule to make it perfect.
10. Christmas Number Line
This fun and educational Christmas math activity will teach kids how to plot and manipulate numbers on the number line.
What will you need?
- Lots of pipe cleaners
- Printable Flashcards
- 10 Snowman foam stickers
- 10 Gift stickers
- 10 Snowflake foam stickers
What to do?
Make a long line by connecting pipe cleaners. Then connect 11 pipe cleaners to the long line one by one crossing the pipe cleaner line at equal distances, creating a number line from 0 to 10.
Print the addition and subtraction flashcards.
Using a sharpie write the numbers from 0 to 10 on each snowman foam sticker, then line them up on the upper part of the number line.
Let your children solve the additions and subtractions on the flashcards by counting and using the number line.
11. Fine Motor Christmas Tree
Christmas is a time of joy and festivities and the best way to share this joy with your toddlers is to make fun crafts together! Get creative this holiday season by making Christmas trees out of pipe cleaners and beads. This toddler craft will not only be a great way to spend quality time together but also provide an educational activity that fosters your little ones’ creativity and fine motor skills.
What will you need?
- Cardboard box (ice cream or cereal box is fine too)
- White pipe cleaners
- Pony Beads
- Glue gun
- Cotton wool
What to do?
Take apart the cardboard box and cut two holes in the bigger side. Fold a pipe cleaner in half, and thread the end through the hole.
Then fix it with the glue gun. Do the same through the other hole.
If you will use a cereal box, fold it inside out so that the colored side won’t be visible.
Use the glue gun to shape the box. The longer ends of the pipe cleaners will be the bases of the Christmas trees.
Then, grab more pipe cleaners, then band and twist them around the base to get the branches of the Christmas trees. Once the trees are made, glue cotton wool underneath the trees, to get snowy ground.
Let your child thread the beads on the branches to decorate the Christmas trees.
12. DIY Christmas Music Instruments- Jingle bells
Jingle bells have been a mainstay of Christmas Eve celebrations ever since the 1800s, and they remain a sure-fire way to bring some joy into your home this holiday season.
Making your own DIY music instrument is an easy craft project that can be shared with family members of all ages. All you need are some basic supplies such as jingle bells, sleigh bells, and a few other materials.
With just a few simple instructions, you’ll soon have homemade musical instruments that will make your Christmases merrier than ever before!
Jingle Twig
What will you need?
- Twigs
- Pipe Cleaners
- Beads
- Mini Christmas jingle bells
What to do?
First, take a twig or branch of your choosing. Then, thread your beads or bells onto each section of pipe cleaner until it’s filled with festive decorations.
Bells from Plastic Cups
What will you need?
- Plastic or paper cups
- Mini Christmas jingle bells
- Christmas tape
- Artificial snow
- Sharpies
- Glue or Glue gun
- Pipe Cleaner
What to do?
First, take a piece of pipe cleaner and cut it to the desired size, then bend it into a loop shape. Make sure to leave some of the ends sticking out.
Then get some jingle bells and thread them on. Bend the ends of the pipe cleaner so that the bells won’t fall. Use a glue gun to melt a small hole in the bottom of the cup.
Place the loop through the hole and turn it over so that it looks like a sleigh bell with a handle on top. Add some glue by the hole. Decorate it with Christmas stickers.
Christmas is a joyous time of year! We gather together with family and friends to sing Christmas carols, exchange gifts and spend quality time together.
It is also a special time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, who was sent to bring peace and love into our lives.
As we reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, may our hearts be filled with happiness and gratitude for this wonderful season of celebration.
