December Family Fun: 32 Activities to do with Your Kids
There’s so much to celebrate in December!
It’s Bingo’s Birthday Month. Grab a dauber and play!
The game we know today was created in December 1929 by Edwin S. Lowe. It’s based on the US carnival game called “Beano,” (named for the beans used to mark off the spaces). Bingo-type lottery games date back to the 1530s in Italy.
Every single day in December there’s something to celebrate and do for fun. Be creative! Leave a comment below and let us know how you spend your special days.
National Christmas Lights Day
Take a drive tonight and enjoy the glow of the holiday season. #ChristmasLightsDay
National Mutt Day
Show a mixed breed dog some love today. Visit your local animal shelter and ask if you can walk or play with the pups on #NationalMuttDay.
Make A Gift Day
Grab a glue stick and make something meaningful! There’s something extra special about handmade gifts. Here's one to try:
Make meaningful, customized Word Clouds for everyone on your list. This free site lets you choose a shape, colors, fonts, words to include, and their weight and size. It's super easy and very personal. Plus, it will get your kids thinking of nice things to say about the recipient. #MakeAGiftDay
Want to make this? These can help (affiliate links) :
National Cookie Day
What’s your favorite kind of cookie? Bake some today for #NationalCookieDay.
International Ninja Day
Practice your Ninja stealth skills today:
- Plan a route through your house—the more twists, turns, and obstacles, the better.
- Take turns going through the course as quietly as possible while everyone else has their eyes closed (or wears a blindfold).
- If someone hears you, you’re out!
- Whoever makes it the furthest through the course wins. A gold Shuriken for anyone who makes it all the way through without being noticed. #InternationalNinjaDay
Want to play this? These can help (affiliate links) :
Mitten Tree Day
Read The Mitten Tree, by Candace Christiansen , about a woman who knits mittens for a boy in need and leaves them for him to find. Then grab some yarn in your favorite color and learn how to knit your own mittens for #MittenTreeDay.
Letter Writing Day
Reach out to someone you care about the old fashioned way—with a handwritten letter on special stationery. It’s a great way to practice handwriting and develop storytelling skills. (And you’ll probably brighten someone’s day.) #LetterWritingDay
Pretend To Be A Time Traveler
Ready to fire up your imagination? Choose one player as the time traveler and one who is from the current day.
The time traveler wears something from the era they’re from, asks questions about the modern things they see, and shares stories about life in their time.
The current day person asks questions and tries to guess the era the time traveler has come from.
This is a great game to play with friends or family online. #PretendToBeATimeTraveler
Christmas Card Day
Work on Christmas Cards together. Reading through your list and addressing envelopes is a great time to share stories about friends or family who live far away. Have a map or an atlas handy and ask your kids to find the places your loved ones live, for a quick geography lesson. #ChristmasCardDay
Nobel Prize Day
Each year, Nobel Prizes are awarded “to those who have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind” in literature, physics, chemistry, peace, economics, and medicine. Learn about Malala, the youngest Nobel Laureate, who won the Peace Prize at age 17. Encourage your kids to dream big on #NobelPrizeDay.
Want to learn more about this? These can help (affiliate links) :
Official Lost And Found Day
Today’s the day to look for items you’ve lost. Celebrate when you find that missing sock from the dryer! Then have a fun game of hide and seek with your kids on #OfficialLostAndFoundDay.
Gingerbread House Day
Have fun building and decorating a sweet structure together for #GingerbreadHouseDay.
National Cocoa Day
Whipped Cream or Marshmallows? Any way you like it, hot cocoa is comforting and delicious. Grab some mugs and enjoy a drink of the sweet, warm goodness while you read a book or watch a holiday movie together on #NationalCocoaDay.
Monkey Day
There are lots of ways to celebrate our Simian friends: visit the zoo, snack on bananas or monkey bread, make a sock monkey, or gather a group of friends online for a fun game of Monkey See, Monkey Do. Finish up Monkey Day with a bedtime story about everyone’s favorite monkey, Curious George . #MonkeyDay
Want to make this? These can help (affiliate links) :
National Cupcake Day
Bake some tiny treats, add sprinkles, and celebrate with your sweet little cupcake. #NationalCupcakeDay
National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
Grab some Candy Melts and have fun experimenting! Cover foods with chocolate that have never been covered in chocolate before. You may just discover the next big candy craze! #ChocolateCoveredAnythingDay
Wright Brothers Day
Celebrate the Wright Brothers’ first successful flight in 1903 with a paper airplane contest or by building a model plane. #WrightBrothersDay
Answer The Phone Like Buddy The Elf Day
Answer every call today with, “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” It’s sure to bring a smile to an underappreciated telemarketer’s face. #AnswerThePhoneLikeBuddyTheElfDay
National Hard Candy Day
Put down the cookies and put away the fudge! Today is the day to enjoy the sweet, colorful goodness of hard candy. Decorate the tree with some candy canes, try some exotic flavors like X or Y, or make your own lollipops. (Don’t forget your toothbrush!) #NationalHardCandyDay
Games Day
Today’s a day to play! Let each family member choose their favorite game—whether it’s Monopoly, Jenga, Go Fish, Chess, or Soccer —and play them all throughout the day. Or enjoy online games with faraway friends or family:
Download one of our printable games, or playdates for virtual fun. #GamesDay
National Flashlight Day
Light up the darkest day of the year (the winter solstice) with some fun flashlight activities. Play flashlight tag, make shadow animals, send secret messages via morse code, or go for a night hike together to celebrate #NationalFlashlightDay.
National Cookie Exchange Day
2020 won’t allow a traditional cookie exchange party, but you can swap recipes, fire up the oven, and make Grandma’s gingerbread at your house. Or invite Grandma (or whomever) to demonstrate her technique on a Zoom call, as you follow along and enjoy creating the warm goodies ‘together.’ #CookieExchangeDay
National Roots Day
Are there any colorful characters in your family’s history? Do you know where your forefathers came from? Are there any physical characteristics that you can trace from generation to generation? Talk to your oldest family members and research public records or genealogy sites like ancestry to learn more about your family history on #NationalRootsDay.
National Eggnog Day
Celebrate Christmas Eve with your family and enjoy this sweet, creamy holiday drink. Learn to make your own kid-friendly egg nog for #NationalEggnogDay.
No “L” Day
Add some punny fun to your Joyeux Noel by celebrating No “L” Day. Do the No “L” Challenge:
- Each person in your household starts with three (short game) or five (longer game) stick-on bows, stuck on themselves.
- If someone catches you saying a word that starts with the letter L, they take one of your bows.
- The player with the most bows at the end of the day wins a prize. Maybe a LoLLipop , or a Lunch date with Dad. #NoLDay
National Thank You Note Day
Remind kids to show gratitude, and practice communication and penmanship skills by writing thank you notes (NO, a text doesn’t count)! Collect each kid’s opened gifts in a bag or box and let them ‘buy back’ each present with the thank you note to its giver. #NationalThankYouNoteDay
Want to encourage this? These are great stocking stuffers (affiliate links) :
Visit The Zoo Day
Enjoy the brisk December air with a visit to the zoo. Take pictures of the animals, and of yourselves mimicking their stance or facial expressions for a funny side-by-side comparison. (Be sure to check your zoo’s website for covid-related safety regulations or restricted hours. OR do a virtual zoo tour). #VisitTheZooDay
National Short Film Day
Ready for your closeup? Celebrate the day motion pictures were born by making a short, 1-minute film of your own. (In 1895, the Lumiere brothers of Paris, France wowed the first cinema audience with 10, 50-second moving pictures.) Plan out your story, gather some props and costumes, grab your smartphone, and...Action! #ShortFilmDay
Tick Tock Day
Tick Tock Day is a reminder to complete any unfinished tasks for the year. Grab your planner from last January and get to work on those goals! (Or, you could spend the day making dance challenge videos and posting them on TikTok—Your choice.) #TickTockDay
National Bicarbonate Of Soda Day
Use it to leaven baked goods, brush your teeth, de-stink your fridge, or explode a model volcano. Have some fun experimenting with all that baking soda can do on #BicarbonateOfSodaDay.
Want to experiment with this? These can help (affiliate links) :
Make Up Your Mind Day
It’s hard to make up your mind, especially when the stakes are high. This last day of the year is time to push aside indecisiveness, overcome your overthinking, make a decision, and stick to it (without looking back).
Start small: take a walk with your kids. At every corner, take turns deciding right, left, or straight. You may end up in a new part of your neighborhood, and discovering something wonderful.
Now, go home and decide on something bigger. It’s sure to turn into something wonderful, too. #MakeUpYourMindDay
What Do You Think?
Which activities from the December list did you try? How did it go? Share your stories and pictures in the comments below.
I hope you enjoy your holidays and celebrations all month long this December. 
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