15 Fun and Inexpensive Things To Do This Holiday Season

We all know the holiday season can be a stressful time for families.

And trying to plan out all the things that need to happen during the holidays can be so difficult for parents! It’s hard to find the right balance between school and homeschool, family time, spending time with friends, and work. And that’s on top of the extra church events, performances, parties, and the regular to-do list of life.

We know just how stressful it can be so we want to help you have some fun and create memories during these weeks instead! To get you started, we’ve made a list of 15 Fun and Inexpensive Things To Do This Holiday Season so you can take your mind off the stress and enjoy some family time together. 

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year, that I’ve always enjoyed stretching it out and building memories for the entire holiday season. Creating traditions and lasting memories doesn’t have to cost a lot or take a lot of time or planning. As a matter of fact, many times it’s the simplest things that your kids will look back at fondly!

Here are some of my family’s favorite Fun and Inexpensive Things to Do This Holiday Season

Christmas Activities To Do With Your Family

• Host a Christmas Movie Night – Find your favorite Christmas movies, pop some popped corn, get some movie candy, and create a mini-movie theater in your home! Print up some simple holiday movie tickets, make a little snack bar, and fill your living room with pillows and blankets to make every seat the best seat in the house! The cool part about hosting at home is that you can plan other activities during the night, like a candy scavenger hunt or having everyone dress in movie characters. 

• Build a Gingerbread House – This activity may take all weekend, so it’s a terrific way to spend some time and do something productive and beautiful. Whether you are a master baker, or more likely to be seen on “nailed it”, you can find a gingerbread house kit or recipe perfect for your family.

• Plan a Fondue Night – Fondue has made a comeback in recent years. You can buy the fancy gear, or you can do it using pots and forks to stab the food. Fondue has gained popularity because it’s social and interactive – perfect for holiday parties or a night in with your family! It’s fun to do a chocolate fondue in the crockpot and cut up apples, pretzels, chips, cake, and more to dip in the chocolate. There are also tons of creative fondue ideas online, so search and get creative!

• Create Some Arts and Crafts – Any holiday-centered arts and crafts are fun to do for most kids. Of course, you can make it less expensive by using art supplies you already have, but you can also buy amazing kits off Amazon to help get started on an activity. 

Christmas Tradition Ideas

• Visit a Pumpkin or Winter Farm – Does your local community have farms nearby? Often, they plan events during the off-season, such as a maze, hayrides, pumpkin patch activities, and more. Or head out to your yard and snip some evergreen branches to decorate your mantel. Bring a little of the outside in and enjoy the aroma of God’s creation in your home.

• Put Together a Fun Puzzle – If it’s cold and blustery and you don’t want to go outside, gather everyone and enjoy a quiet time sitting around drinking hot cocoa conversing, and putting together a puzzle. It’s fun and just distracting enough to promote good conversations with your family. 

• Cut Down a Real Christmas Tree – Most people today use fake trees, but if you don’t have to due to allergies, you should spend an entire day hunting down and cutting down your perfect tree as a family. It’s fun to hike into the woods, especially if there is a little snow, and find just the right tree to cut down. 

Download Our Printable Holiday Family Traditions Christmas Bucket List  ⇓

Fun and Inexpensive Outdoor Holiday Activities

• View Christmas Lights – A fun activity between Thanksgiving and Christmas is driving around to look at the Christmas lights. Turn on your favorite Christmas songs, pack some mugs of hot cocoa and cover your laps with blankets. Drive around your town and oooh and ahh over all of the twinkling Christmas displays. It can even be fun to rate the displays as you drive and end the night sending a note to the house voted best display of the (your name) family! Imagine how fun it would be to get a note like that.
• Go Christmas Caroling – If you and your family like to sing, you can grab some neighbors and yourself and start singing Christmas carols around your neighborhood. (This was always one of my favorites, and I really miss it!) It’s such a blessing to anyone unable to leave their home to have a group of caring neighbors show up and spread some Christmas cheer! What better way to spread joy and the love of Christ than through singing?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
• Go To the Public Parades – A lot of communities offer various public parades for many holidays. Dress warm and bring hot cocoa or cider and a quilt to sit on. Glow-in-the-dark stick or battery-powered Christmas lights can make fun parade accessories!

• Decorate Your Home – One of my favorite Christmas traditions is pulling out our family’s holiday decor. We talk about the ornaments as we place them on the tree, reliving the memories of receiving each one. Some of the stories recalled during decorating are my favorite memories of raising my kids! Even the ones involving toppled trees and broken nativities…I’m sure your family has their own stories that are much funnier when retold!

Find Local Christmas Events in Your Area To do This Holiday Season

• Go Swimming at a Local Hotel – This is slightly more expensive, but if it’s cold where you are and you’re tired of being inside, renting a hotel room with an indoor heated pool for you and your immediate family could be just the ticket! It’s a wonderful way to beat the cold and have a one-day and one-night vacation from reality. Some resort-like hotels offer residents day passes too. Invite some friends and make a night of it!

• Go All Out for Football or Other Seasonal Sports – If college or other local sports exist in your area, you can go to the games in person. But even if they don’t, there are often a lot of games going on T.V. Pick your team, get everyone t-shirts and make a big deal cheering for your team each time they play. You can even make some game-day snacks and set a buffet on your kitchen table.  

• View Holiday Local Productions – You have plenty of churches in most communities, even if you don’t have a performance center. Many churches do professional programs during the holidays, as do many schools. These are often either free or low-cost for the family. 

• Try Your Public Library for Events – Finally, don’t forget to check your local library bulletin for information about activities during the holidays. They are a great resource! These activities are often free or provided at a low cost.                                                          

Are You Inspired By These Fun and Inexpensive Things To Do This Holiday Season?

This season make a point to spread out the spirit of Christmas. Celebrating our Savior by spending more time with our family is a wonderful thing to do! Focus on Him being the center of the season, and create traditions that make it a time of year your children will always look back at with joy and wonder. Use this list of 15 Fun and Inexpensive Things To Do This Holiday Season and building memories won’t be complicated or expensive. Spend a little time creating new traditions that your family will look forward to year after year for generations.

Do you need to Stress Less this holiday season? Get your digital copy of our Stress-Free Holiday Planner: The Tips, List, Calendars, and Guides You Need to Get Organized This Holiday Season!