24 Days of Christmas Activities (2023)
I love the holiday season. While some people look forward to Christmas Day itself, the build up towards Christmas is what I find the most fun. Each day, I like to do a fun activity with the kids to celebrate the season – my 24 Days of Christmas.
Here is a list of the 24 fun activities that I plan to do with the kids this year. Please feel free to use this list for your own family. You can do them in order or mix them up, do all or some, do them how they are listed or add your own flair to what I have got here. Any way you choose to do them, have fun!
Fun Christmas Activities to do with Kids
Day 1 – Build a Gingerbread House
We “build” a gingerbread house every year for Christmas. It’s one of my kids’ favorite activities. We normally do a single house, but this year we are doing a village; we’ll see how it goes.
Tip: You can order a pre-built house from Publix and only do the decorating not the building.
Day 2 – Watch a Christmas Parade (date specific)
Take in a Christmas parade in Winter Garden or Winter Park.
Day 3 – Write a letter to Santa
Kids can write a letter to Santa letting him know what they want this year. Mail the letter to the Santa Claus Museum and kids will receive a letter back from Santa. We recommend enclosing a small donation if you can, so that they can continue to ensure kids get Santa letters.
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Day 4 – Participate in Angel Tree
Go to Walmart in person or online and choose the name of a child off of the Angel Tree. Purchase the child’s wish list for Christmas.
Day 5 – Visit the neighborhood lights
Different homes around the Orlando area put on great light shows that are just perfect to take the kids to. So grab some hot chocolate, jump in the car and take a tour of some of these festively decorated homes.
Some of the homes you can visit include: Lake Nona Lights, Johanessen Lights and Bivona Christmas Light Show.
Day 6 – Do a Christmas Craft
The kids love doing Christmas crafts. Some of our favorites are creating ornaments, building Christmas houses and making holiday paintings.
Day 7 – Make Holiday Cards
Make your own holiday cards. Etsy has some great make-at-home card kits or you the kids can design and make the cards themselves.
Day 8 – Do a Hot Cocoa Bar
Put together a hot cocoa bar with different toppings that kids can add to their cocoa. Some of our favorites are mini marshmallows, sprinkles, chocolate shavings and whipped topping.
Day 9 – Do a Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Do a Christmas Scavenger Hunt around your neighborhood to see what items you can find. Click here to find a Christmas Scavenger Hunt list that you can use.
Day 10 – Go to Christmas Tea
Get dressed up, put your pinkies in the air and enjoy a Holiday Tea and Tea Room Experience.
Related Post: Holiday Activities in Orlando
Day 11 – Visit Night of a Million Lights
Take the kids to Tree-mendous Holiday VIP Tours at Give Kids the World Village which helps to support their great cause.
Day 12 – Visit a Light Display
There are lots of light displays all around Orlando, from walk-through to drive-through displays. Kids will love seeing all the lights.
Day 13 – Visit Santa
Take the kids to see Santa and get some great shots with the big guy.
Day 14 – Holiday Cupcake decorating
Order a decorate-your-own cupcake kit from the Publix bakery. You get 12 cupcakes and you can choose the colors of your frosting and sprinkles.
Day 15 – Have a Holiday Game Night
Have a Holiday Game Night with the kids. Play Christmas Pictionary, Holiday Charades or Christmas Scattergories as a family.
Day 16 – Have a Holiday Picnic
Have a picnic on the floor in front of the Christmas Tree. The kids love having an indoor picnic.
Day 17 – Watch a Christmas Movie
Netflix and FreeForm both have a lot of fun movies to watch with the kids at Christmas time. This year, we are planning to watch The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix
Day 18 – Go on a Christmas Tree Stroll at Disney Springs
Disney has kept the new format of their Christmas Tree Trail for 2023. Instead of having the trees all in one location, they are spread throughout the park. You can just walk around and look at the trees or you can go on a scavenger hunt around Disney Springs solving clues and finding the trees. Pick up a scavenger hunt at the Welcome Center or at select stores.
Day 19 – ICE: Featuring How the Grinch Stole Christmas
ICE is back at Gaylord Palms this year and it features How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Kids will love looking at all the scenes carved out of ice and also taking a ride on the ice slide. Gaylord also features a Christmas Tree trail, snow tubing, snowball throwing, cookie decorating and more.
Day 20 – Have a Holiday Sing-a-long
Sing-a-long to your favorite holiday music.
Day 21 – Have a Christmas Tree Campout
The entire family can bed down by the Christmas tree. Make some s’mores, read some fun holiday stories and fall asleep under the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree.
Day 22 – Have a Christmas Picnic and Movie Night at Lake Eola Park (date specific)
Take the entire family to Lake Eola Park to watch A Nightmare Before Christmas. Bring dinner and some fun Christmas treats.
Day 23 – Bake Christmas Treats
Bake some delicious Christmas treats with the kids. We usually make sugar cookie cookies and use our Christmas cookie cutters to make all sorts of fun designs. If your kids still believe in Santa, they can take out their favorites to leave for him tomorrow night.
Day 24 – Read the Night Before Christmas
We love reading the Night Before Christmas every year on Christmas Eve. It is one of our favorite holiday traditions. If you want to grab your own copy of the book for the holidays, you can get it here.
