25 Free Christmas Activities For Kids (With Printable Checklist)
I love Christmas: that’s why I share so much Christmas travel content here. We’re a family that loves to travel, so we visit Christmas markets, Christmas theme park events, and there’s no better time of the year to take a European city break. But free Christmas activities for kids can sometimes feel hard to come by!
I know that Christmas can be an expensive time of year, and that many families struggle with the cost of this. But what I also know is that Christmas doesn’t have to be expensive to be magical. Which is why I decided to create a free printable checklist of our favourite Christmas activities for kids: and they don’t have to cost a penny!
Why Do Free Christmas Activities Matter?
As a travelling family, we’re always conscious of our budget. Realistically, saving for flights, adventures, and experiences together means that I spend half my life looking for ways to keep day-to-day costs low. But that has never stopped us from creating the most joyful, memorable Christmas season with our boys. And they remember the little things like hunting for the best Christmas lights or hanging decorations on the tree, more than any expensive grotto or over-the-top gift.
In fact, some of our favourite December memories cost nothing at all: watching the lights switch on in town, making paper snowflakes at the dining table, or going for a frosty family walk with hot chocolates in hand. Over the years, we’ve realised something important:
Kids don’t remember the price tag. They remember the moments.
To help other families enjoy a cosy, meaningful, low-cost holiday season, I’ve created a free printable: 25 Days of Christmas — Free Activities For Families.
No strings attached, no need to subscribe or do anything: just my Christmas gift to you guys!
It’s a simple tick-off list designed for kids to use and tick off each tag when it’s completed. You can tick of as many (or as little) of these as you want, without putting pressure on your wallet.
Click here to download your 25 Days of Free Christmas Activities For Kids
Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
Here’s Why Christmas Doesn’t Need to Be Expensive
Between gifts, events, and big seasonal days out, Christmas can quickly become overwhelming. The phrase ‘we may never financially recover from this’ has been muttered (only half in jest) more than once.
We’re currently planning a month long trip to Japan, which we’ll be taking across March/April next year. And when you’re saving for travel or working toward other big family goals, it can feel like the festive season has to take a back seat. But the truth?
Kids thrive on tradition, attention, and togetherness. Not on expensive gifts and outings.
Some of the benefits of simple, free Christmas activities for kids include:
- More connection: You’re doing things as a family rather than consuming things.
- Less stress: No complicated planning means mum can be playing with the kids, not stressing out about everything there is to do!
- More creativity: We love crafting together at Christmas, and have done since the boys were little. Kids get invested because they’re part of the activity.
- More meaning: Slow moments tend to be the ones that stick.
This printable helps families build those moments into every day of December if you want to. These are our family traditions, and I love having this chance to share them all will you. But if you don’t want to do them all, you can just pick and choose the ones that are going to work for your family!
And if you ARE looking for decent, affordable gifts for families that love to travel? I’ve linked our gift guides below:
🎁 The Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide For Travellers in 2025
🗼Gift Ideas for Japan Lovers: What Do You Get For Someone Who Loves Japan?
What’s Inside the 25-Day Free Christmas Activity List
The printable includes 25 simple, joyful, mostly free activities that families can tick off throughout December. Things like:
- Making paper snowflakes
- A Christmas movie night
- Taking a drive to look at the Christmas lights
- Decorating biscuits
- Reading a Christmas story together
- Listening to holiday music
- Making homemade paper chains
- Writing a letter to Santa
- And lots more cosy, magical moments
Every activity is designed to be budget-friendly, accessible, and totally doable even on the busiest December days.
How to Use the Printable Free Christmas Activities For Kids List
The beautiful of this list is that there’s no right or wrong way to use it! We like to try and tick of every item on the list. But you could just have your kids choose one or two activities that they’d like to do as their ‘special treat’ this Christmas season.
Here are a few ideas:
Use it as an Advent-style countdown
Do one activity each day from December 1st–25th.
Pick and choose activities on weekends
Let each child choose one activity a week to do when they’re not as school. This is a great option for families who want to keep weekdays calm.
Let the kids choose what’s next
If you print of the list and put it somewhere that everyone can see it, then the excitement of ticking off each activity becomes part of the fun.
Add it to a Christmas Eve Box or family advent calendar
If you don’t have advent calendars in your budget this year, you could even give this to your kids on the 1st December instead!
Our Family Christmas Traditions (and Why They Matter)
I love Christmas: I get it from my mum, who was the heart of the holidays for us. In fact, so big is our Christmas love that my tree has already been up for two weeks!
As a family who loves to travel, our Christmases haven’t always looked the same. Some years we’ve been at home; some years we’ve been off exploring.
But no matter where we are, we make December feel magical by focusing on small, meaningful traditions:
- Getting snuggled down in new Christmas pyjamas on Christmas eve (Vinted is great for this: stick to a low budget AND keep seasonal clothes out of landfill)
- Watching our favourite Christmas film with blankets
- Taking a slow, cosy walk around the city to look at the Christmas lights
- Hanging paper chains from every available surface
- Spending an afternoon crafting something festive
These rituals cost very little, sometimes nothing, but they’re the moments our boys remember most. I hope our Christmas traditions can be proof for you that magic doesn’t need a budget. It just needs intention.
Download Your Free Christmas Activity List For Kids
If you want to bring more joy (and less spending!) to your December, grab your printable below:
Print it, stick it on the fridge, and enjoy checking off each little moment of magic.
I’ve already for this on my fridge, and the boys have already started ticking off some of their favourite activities! I’d love to know how you use yours, and whether your kids enjoy this activities (as well as any they don’t enjoy too!)
Wishing you and your family the cosiest, happiest Christmas season — wherever in the world you’re celebrating.
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Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
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