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Are you one of those moms that has way more fun on holidays now that you have a kid? I am!
It’s a completely different experience to see the holiday magic through your kid’s eyes and now that our son is two years old I’m pulling out all the stops to fill the last few months of the year with Christmas spirit!
Nothing beats quality time with your loved ones, of course, but as a kid, there are so many fun ways to enjoy the holidays.
Here are several great classic ways to make this time of year memorable for your kid (and definitely you too!).
Pro Tip: an excellent way to bring the magic of Christmas to your family is to engage the senses! Keep that in mind as we go through this list of ideas.
Bake/Decorate Christmas Cookies
There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked cookies but not every toddler has the maturity to stay by your side and resist the urge to tip over the mixing bowl. Good news is you don’t have to bake from scratch for this to be fun! Grab a tube of sugar cookie dough from the store or bake some quick brownies from a box, add icing, sprinkles and candy and have fun!
Crafting
There are lots of crafting ideas out there with Christmas themes. Last year as a Christmas gift we made “Mistletoes” out of the kids’ footprints after seeing the idea on Pinterest. I painted the bottom of their feet green (this is the washable finger paint we love!) and did lots of footprints on paper to make sure we had a few solid good ones to pick from, then cut around them and pasted one from each kid in an overlapping way on a page that said “Mistletoes” on it. I found a picture of a red bow and pasted that on top as well to make it look like mistletoe and the grandparents LOVED it. It’s so sweet to do when their feet are so tiny! Make sure to include the year and whose footprints are whose! There are endless ideas on Pinterest for cotton ball snowmen, Christmas trees, Santas and beyond. Here is the Mistletoes project we recreated and some other great ideas for toddler Christmas crafts to try from another mama blogger Messy Little Monster!
Make Ornaments
Yet another handprint/footprint idea- you can make a simple dough from scratch, make your kid’s imprints, poke a hole through the top before it dries and once dry just pull a ribbon through and you’ve made yourself a sentimental ornament! And again, don’t forget the name and year! Another idea is to fill clear ball ornaments with confetti, glitter, paint, or anything colorful and see what kind of creation your kid will come up with. Crafts like these also make awesome gifts!
Drink Hot Chocolate
The first time we let our two year old try hot chocolate was adorable. He LOVED getting all the mini marshmallows to put in his cup and enjoyed a sugar rush for the next few hours. You can make hot chocolate even more fun with a fun mug or straw and toppings like crushed candy canes, sprinkles or caramel syrup! If it’s their first time, don’t worry about adding extras because it’s a treat even with just marshmallows- can’t go wrong!
Seasonal Food
Some families have traditional foods they always eat at this time of year and they don’t all have to be filled with sugar- not that that’s a bad thing! Some families make handmade pasta, fresh bread, tamales and more. Include your kid in the event and give them tasks that they can handle like helping you stir with a whisk or spoon. These little moments create family memories!
Candles/Diffusers
Delight their sense of SMELL! Don’t you just love the smell of freshly baked cookies, vanilla, coffee, cinnamon, pine and all the other smells of the season and how it has a way of instantly transforming your day? I think candles (supervised) can be so warm and cozy and I love that you can find just about any scent you want for your home. Another great option is to use a diffuser with essential oils and have fun mixing different scents to create the smell you want! I love mixing orange and clove oils or just using peppermint oil alone.
Christmas Photos with Family
If you’re sending out a holiday card to your loved ones, you might have gotten a jump on this possibly even before December! But I believe that there is no reason not to take as many family photos as you want at this time of year especially! Memories with family and friends are special in our hearts but photos are amazing keepsakes for years and years to come.
Watch Christmas Movies
There is no shortage here! We have been having so much fun showing our son the original Christmas Specials- Frosty the Snowman, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, and other classics. I couldn’t even believe that you can still find them online to purchase! And he has really become a fan of the newest version of The Grinch.
Look at Christmas Lights
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I would take our son on walks to go see the Christmas lights and lawn decor in the neighborhood. He was one at the time and loved seeing all the fun holiday spirit outside, even during the day. Now that he is two, we have a great time driving through the neighborhoods to show him lights while he sits in his carseat in jammies with his blanket and a stuffed animal. We can’t wait to do it again next year!
Listen to Christmas Music
This one is easy! You can find music on Sirius, YouTube, Pandora, Spotify and more and there is something for everyone’s taste. I personally love to play the more traditional music from Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and others but I definitely need Mr. Buble in there every year as well! And see if you can find a place or event in town where there will be a choir or carolers singing Christmas classics!
Pick Out a Christmas Tree
If you don’t have an artificial tree, picking out a real one is so much fun for the whole family! Pro Tip: sometimes trees are discounted in the last few weeks before Christmas so don’t give up if you’re late to the game because you might luck out with a great deal on a beautiful tree!
Decorate the Christmas Tree
Your kid may not be trusted to handle the breakable family heirloom ornaments just yet but they can still be a part of the tree decorating. Give them all the soft ornaments to put on and have them help you if you use ribbon or colorful garlands. You can even have them help you place the star or tree topper on top- what an honor!
Wear Christmas Jammies
Your kid probably needs new pajamas every few months since toddlers grow so dang fast, so plan ahead and snag some festive holiday jammies! It’s a little way to make them feel the spirit and feel cozy. There are so many cute patterns that are fun for kids like snowmen, Christmas lights, elves and even gnomes.
Go to the Snow
If this is possible for you, do it! My dad lives up in the mountains and when we visited in early December, we just hoped we might catch a little snowfall. It seemed like we were going to be out of luck for this year but luckily on the last day of our visit we woke up to a beautiful layer of fresh powder outside and our son got to play in the snow for the very first time. He went down the hill on a saucer, tossed snow around and even went swinging on his swing set while being sprinkled with snowflakes. It was such a fun experience for him and for us.
Advent Calendar
Advent calendars are so cheap but bring a lot of fun for kids each day. Whether you open up the daily door in the morning or the afternoon, your kid will look forward to it every day. Do you do simple chocolates like us? Some people get calendars that you can fill yourselves and you can put almost anything in there. Little treats, toy cars, small toys, Legos, ideas for activities and more.
Go See Santa/Take Photos with Santa
Seeing Santa is so magical when you’re a kid! There are always places locally that have days you can visit Santa and sit on his lap to tell him what you want for Christmas. The photos are so fun to look back on. I’ve recently seen a friend share photos in frames of each year her kids visited Santa and it filled a countertop with adorable memories for their family.
Write a Letter to Santa
Help your little one write a letter to Santa and send it to the North Pole! The letter doesn’t have to be all about what your kid wants for Christmas- it can be a story, a report of how good they were during the year, or just a friendly hello to their favorite fat man from the north.
Light a Fire in the Fireplace
Christmastime was the only time we had a fire in the fireplace when I was growing up so I strongly associate it with Christmas. I loved sitting closeby in my jammies, feeling the warmth and watching the flames dance. Our toddler loved it too!
Get a Small Artificial Tree for the Kids’ Rooms
We love having a bit of Christmas all over the house and this is one that kids can enjoy in their own space. A mini tree with mini ornaments and decorations is such a fun way for kids to have a piece of Christmas that is their very own. You can help them add to it each year if you want to or maybe throw some mini ornaments into an advent calendar if you like the fill-it-yourself kind of calendars. You’ll have to determine what lights feel safe to you or whether you only have them plugged in when you’re around.
Find a Way to Give Back
Although giving back is a wonderful thing to do any day of the year, Christmastime is an especially important time to teach this lesson to your kids. It’s a great opportunity to talk to them about how not everyone is as fortunate as they are, to be thankful for what they have and that there are ways to spread love to others. Maybe it’s dropping off a few things at a shelter or organization- shelf stable food, clothing, toys for kids or hygiene items. Churches are a great way to find a family in need that you can sponsor and it is a great way to teach kids that Christmas isn’t just about the gifts you receive but the feeling of helping someone else who doesn’t have it as good as you do. You can also show support to your local police department with some store bought goodies/snacks! Oftentimes they get tough calls around the holidays and have to miss out on being with their families and can always use a pick-me-up!
Decorate a Gingerbread House
A final sweet treat mission item. This is a great activity to do with neighbors, friends, cousins, or whoever. You can buy a kit or you can grab some graham crackers and find a recipe for royal icing to set up the houses with and to use for sticking on the candy. When you’re done, you can all vote on the most unique house, goofiest house or prettiest house!
Do a Puzzle
I don’t mean the 1000 piece puzzles but if you start with small easy designs when the kids are little then they may grow to appreciate the challenge of more complex puzzles as they get older. Having a puzzle out for loved ones to work on with me in the weeks leading up to Christmas has been a fun part of every December for me for a long time and I hope my kids will eventually be by my side at the table late into the night, with our warm hot chocolate and soft Christmas music in the air.
What are your favorite Christmas activities that your toddlers love? I hope you have a great holiday season making new memories and traditions in your family!