Hey there! Are you excited about the holidays? Christmas and the holiday season can feel extra special with lights, favorite foods, family traditions, games, and time with people you care about. But here’s the best part: you don’t have to wait for adults to create all the fun. You can help make the holidays memorable too!
From planning activities to helping your family, showing gratitude, and saving favorite memories, here are a few simple ways kids can add even more joy to the season.
Start With a Super Fun Holiday Bucket List
What would make this holiday season extra fun for you? Maybe you want to bake cookies, watch a favorite movie, build something, decorate your room, play a family game, or go on a holiday lights adventure.
Grab a piece of paper and create your own holiday bucket list. Then ask your family to add a few ideas too. You don’t have to complete everything—the fun is choosing a few activities you can enjoy together.
If you enjoy making lists and planning fun activities, you can also use some of the same skills from these time-management tips for kids and teens to decide when your favorite holiday activities might fit into the family schedule.
Take a Tech Timeout for More Family Fun
Imagine you're telling your funniest joke and everyone is staring at a phone. Not exactly the reaction you hoped for, right?
Try suggesting a short tech-free time during dinner, games, cookie decorating, or another family activity. Phones and tablets can come back later. For now, everyone gets a chance to listen, laugh, and enjoy what is happening together.
Being present also means paying attention when other people are talking. These tips for listening carefully the first time can help make family conversations and activities even more enjoyable.
Say “Thank You” and Notice the Good Stuff
Every day, think of one thing you enjoyed or appreciated. It can be something big or something tiny: Dad’s pancakes, Grandma telling a funny story, a sibling sharing a snack, decorating the tree, or simply getting to spend time together.
Then tell someone about it. You could ask everyone at dinner, “What was your favorite part of today?”
HealthyChildren.org, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends giving children regular opportunities to talk about what they are grateful for instead of saving those conversations only for Thanksgiving.
Learn Something Cool From Someone in Your Family
Does someone in your family know how to bake an amazing recipe, knit, draw, fix something, tell great stories, play a game, or create the perfect paper airplane?
Ask them to teach you. Then offer to teach them something you know too. Maybe you can show Grandma a game you love or teach your little brother how to make a craft.
Holiday traditions can be especially meaningful because they connect stories, skills, recipes, and memories across generations. So your family “skill swap” might become a tradition you repeat every year.
Be a Holiday Helper
See something that needs to be done? Try helping before someone has to ask.
- Set the table.
- Help put up decorations.
- Carry gifts or supplies.
- Pass snacks during movie night.
- Help clean up after an activity.
- Include a younger sibling in a game.
Small actions can make things easier for everyone. They also help you practice the independence and initiative that come with becoming a stronger self-starter.
Create a Holiday Memory Book
Grab a notebook and turn it into your own holiday memory book. You can:
- Draw pictures of your favorite activities.
- Write down funny things your family says.
- Add photos.
- Write your favorite holiday foods.
- Record something you were grateful for each day.
- Save ideas you want to repeat next year.
Turn family moments into memories you can keep with this notebook.
Surprise! You’re in Charge of Fun
Give yourself a secret holiday mission: plan one simple activity for the family.
You might organize a game night, make a funny family awards ceremony, create a holiday trivia challenge, or set up an indoor holiday scavenger hunt.
You don’t need to create something complicated or expensive. The goal is simply to get people together and make a memory.
Create Your Own Family Tradition
Traditions don’t always have to be old. Your family can start a new one this year.
- Wear funny pajamas for a movie night.
- Cook one special breakfast every holiday morning.
- Take the same family photo each year.
- Write notes about your favorite memory from the year.
- Play the same game after dinner.
If your family also celebrates Thanksgiving, you can find more ideas in our Kids’ Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving Joy.
Make the Holidays Your Own
The best holiday memories don’t always come from the biggest gifts or the fanciest plans. They often come from small moments: helping someone, laughing together, learning a family recipe, playing a game, writing down a funny memory, or starting a tradition that everyone wants to repeat next year.
So pick one idea and give it a try. You might be surprised by how much holiday joy you can help create.
Happy Holidays! 🎄✨
Quick Questions About Making the Holidays Special for Kids
How can kids help make the holidays special?
Kids can help plan activities, prepare decorations, set the table, create games, start family traditions, share gratitude, help younger siblings, and participate in other age-appropriate holiday preparations.
What are some simple holiday activities that don't cost much?
Try a family movie night, homemade decorations, a scavenger hunt, baking together, storytelling, looking at holiday lights, creating a memory journal, playing board games, or learning a family recipe.
How can families create meaningful holiday traditions?
Choose a simple activity that reflects something your family enjoys and repeat it each year. Traditions can involve food, games, stories, music, photos, helping others, or simply spending intentional time together.
