You may be looking forward to welcoming your grandchildren into your home for Christmas, or you might be looking for ways to focus the chaos of having your children home from school for winter break. No matter what your situation is, in the midst of all the busyness of the season, direct your family back to the true meaning of Christmas with these fun, age-appropriate activities focused on celebrating Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.
Ages 0-3
- Invest in a kid-friendly nativity scene that you can use to play with and act out the Christmas story with your baby or toddler.
- Avoid making Christmas a "don't touch holiday" for little ones by giving them fun things they can touch. Move glass ornaments and lights up to higher branches on the Christmas tree and help your child make fun decorations for the bottom.
- Get some fun, holiday-themed stuffed animals to set up and have a Christmas tea party.
Ages 4-7
- Place the Christmas cards you receive in a basket on the dinner table and take turns drawing one out each night. Pray together for that person or family.
- Start a family tradition by picking out a new holiday-themed book to read aloud throughout the season.
- Decorate ornaments for the tree with glitter and paint! Allow each child to choose one ornament to mail or deliver to a friend or family member.
Ages 8-12
- Decorate cookies and build gingerbread houses together as a family.
- Assign each of your children a country to research and report about how that country celebrates Christmas. Encourage interactive elements that involve preparing a traditional treat, song or dance. Pray for the people of that country so that tall who live there might understand the meaning of God's love and the true meaning of the Christmas season.
Ages 13+
- Plan a creative caroling outing as a family. Proclaim the birth of Christ by singing a few songs and reading Scripture passages at a local retirement home, homeless shelter or in your neighborhood.
- Bundle up (if you live in a colder climate), grab some hot chocolate and drive around town to see all the Christmas lights. Let the beautiful Christmas lights remind you of God's goodness and how Christ's birth brings light to the darkness of our world.