Celebrate with this itinerary for 8 things to do on Christmas Eve and plan a special day for your family from breakfast to bedtime.

Our Christmas Eve Itinerary

Christmas Eve was the day that relatives would come over, we’d decorate cookies while Grandma rolled out the dough, Mom would run back and forth between her secret wrapping room and getting snacks on the table, while Dad made sure something festive was playing on TV.

Ready to create your own family traditions? Then here are plans to make your Christmas Eve special!

1. Make a Christmas Craft or Play a Game

Whether it’s grandma beating the pants off us kids at Fast Scrabble or making homemade ornaments, there’s something about a table covered with an activity for anyone who wants to join that gets me excited. If you have several people over, set out different activities on multiple tables and turn up the Christmas music.

2. Paint Sugar Cookies

Using an old recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook, we mix an egg yolk, a little water, and some food coloring into multiple cups. Then we let the little kids paint their sugar cookies using watercolor brushes. To finish, we decorate using sprinkles, candies, and sugars.

3. Watch a Christmas Movie or Sing Carols

After lunch, you may want a chance to lay around for a bit. Choose a classic Christmas movie the kids have never seen or one of your favorites.

Prefer to be a little more active? You don’t have to go door to door to sing Christmas carols. You can sit around as a family and sing them church-style, in addition to calling up relatives you wish you could be with and sing to them.

4. Wrap Presents

Set out all your non-Santa gifts and use this time to get caught up on gift wrapping.

5. Look at Christmas Lights

Don’t forget this simple way to enjoy the holidays! In order to make it more fun, warm up a few mugs of hot chocolate and pile the kids in the car.

6. Set Out Cookies for Santa

Remember those sugar cookies you made this morning? Have the kids pick out two for Santa and then set them on a plate with a note! Who knows–maybe Santa will write back!

7. Sprinkle Reindeer Food

Right before you tuck the kids in for bed, don’t forget to leave out a treat for the reindeer! Mix up some oats and glitter and then place in a bag. Finally, have each kid throw a handful out into the yard to attract Rudolph!

8. Read “The Night Before Christmas”

This is a must-do in our family. I loved hearing my dad read this to us as kids and now pass on the tradition.

You Might Also Like…

If you want to include more Bible-based activities, then download these Christmas Printables to teach your children about the true reason for the season all month long!

Before you go, read more Christmas posts here:

Merry Christmas!

If you want to receive updates on future products and posts, then subscribe here!