Having some family fun around Christmas is great for bonding and releasing some of the end-of-year pressures we all face.
I started a list of fun ideas when posting about making family happy at Christmas, but here are some more ideas:
- perform for each other – play music, sing songs, do skits, etc where the aim is the entertainment rather than be sensible or polished
- set challenges for each other – who can be silent for the longest, avoid touching wood or metal, stand on one leg, hold their breath longest, etc
- spend an evening without power – see how creative everyone gets when there is no computer or TV
- cook together
- tell stories
- read books out loud
- play in a playground – parents, too!
- get outside and play cricket, chasey or whatever game takes your fancy
- have a picnic in a park or at the beach – even better, have a picnic somewhere special to your family
- watch a movie outdoors – various parks offer this now or try setting up your own in the front yard!
- look through photo albums or home movies – remember people and events you share as a family. Take it further and create scrapbooks or albums together
- do impersonations – start with relatives and move onto celebrities
- play Christmas songs on your musical instruments (turn off the electronic music options for a couple of hours!)
The emphasis is on fun so let everyone be a bit silly – in fact, you could almost make that the only rule (you must have fun and be silly!)
What other things could families do for fun? What does your family do to relax together?
Starting last year and continued last night, we read our Love Santa letters! Each child (and we have 5!) has a turn at opening their red envelope and pulling out their letter and surprises. We read the letters together, exclaiming how well Santa knows what each of them wants and spending time acknowledging the good deeds Santa lists in his letter. It’s really positive and fun – we take about an hour after dinner and it’s really special. Even the oldest (at 14) enjoys it and gets into the Christmas spirit.
Hi Heather – that sounds like a nice evening to be together. We do try to make the letters positive so I’m really pleased you take that further by talking about the kids’ achievements.
Have a great Christmas!
We have a pj day – no one gets dressed all day, we spend time reading (separately but in the same room) after a cooked breakfast then play some board games. Later int eh afternoon we might t get active with some Wii games before cooking dinner together and eating it while watching a Christmas movie. Simple, cheap and relaxes us all when we need it. Usually on the Saturday before Xmas but it’s a week early this year given Christmas Eve is a Saturday!
That sounds so peaceful and relaxing, Phil – I bet many parents reading that are actually jealous! Hopefully that means they’ll copy your great idea so thanks for sharing!
These sound like really great activities that should be tried out almost anytime and anywhere. They keep things fun while you spend time together with family. I definitely will keep this in mind when another holiday or Chrsitmas comes around. We typically do nothing when the family meets so I’m sure these will liven things up.
You’re right, Metarex, families can enjoy these activities at any time but events like Christmas often pull us out of the every day and inspire extra effort. I hope you enjoy some of these – let us know what worked for your family and any other ideas you come up with!
I think these ideas may be helpful for my family. Although, I may have to add a rewards system for it, like whoever stays quiet the longest gets an extra special present or something along those lines. I think this is giving me some new ideas for Christmas time activities.
Glad to have given you some ideas so your family can have fun together 🙂
This is a very fun read! It really gave me a lot of ideas on having a memorable Christmas. My family actually went camping in our backyard one Christmas season years ago. Yes, the complete arrangement – tents, bonfire, marshmallows, and all! I only recommend this on people residing in tropical countries, though, because Christmas season is pretty warm in these places. Otherwise, camping outside during winter season could really freeze your butts off!
Glad you enjoyed the ideas, and hope you and your family have some great Christmas activities ahead!
Camping at Christmas time is normal for us in Australia, too – perhaps not on the day itself, but in the surrounding days and weeks many enjoy some time in the bush and talking around a campfire.