What's a December Box? Kids Christmas activity ideas & printables

If you’re looking for some kids’ Christmas activity ideas then you’ve come to the right place – here’s everything you need to create an easy December box with FREE printables! So, what is a December box? Well it’s essentially a festive activity box filled with plenty of ideas and printables – it’ll keep the kids busy throughout December and help you to make inexpensive Christmas memories together. If you’re travelling over Christmas, loads of these activities are perfect for occupying the kids whilst on road trips, train journeys or flights too – you could even create a DIY Christmas travel bag instead!

Quite honestly, things received on Christmas Eve get a bit lost when the excitement of Christmas Day presents arrive the next morning, and doing Christmas activities after the event isn’t as fun. Plus, if you’re buying clothes or PJS they’ll get a month’s wear out of them instead of a day or two – it just makes more sense. Ditch the Christmas Eve Box in favour of a December Box – you’ll have lots of festive activity ideas and printables to keep the kids busy for the whole month. You could even have the elf deliver it on December 1st with the kids’ advent calendars!

To make things super easy, I’ve included FREE printables of all of the kids’ Christmas activities so that you can organise your December box in a flash – so check out my ideas. Most of these things are free, or cheap and cheerful, and you can tailor your box to suit the ages and interests of your little ones.

1. A Christmas craft pack

Make a Christmas craft pack from bits that you already have lurking in your craft supplies so that it doesn’t cost a penny. Add in some folded card too so that the kids have got everything ready for when they want to make Christmas cards for the family. You could also include bits from old Christmas cards, wrapping paper and print instructions for Christmas craft activities.

2. North Pole hot chocolate

I washed up an old coffee jar and added our usual hot chocolate and a layer of marshmallows to make it look a little more special. Combined with my printable ‘North Pole Hot Chocolate’ label, and some ribbon from a present we got last year, it looked pretty cool! Perfect for enjoying on a chilly afternoon or a Christmas movie night.

3. Christmas colouring pages

Take a look at my FREE printable Christmas colouring pages – I’ve included a range of different ones to suit different ages and themes. Pop a couple into your box, and you’ve got an easy activity to whip out when the kids are bored at home. Or, if you’re travelling to visit family over Christmas, pack some along with a tray and some pencils for the journey.

4. Paintable Christmas ornaments

Painting Christmas ornaments is one of my daughter’s favourite festive activities – we add them to the tree throughout December. I picked up some cheap paint-your-own Christmas decorations from Hobbycraft for £1-£2 each. They sell all sorts of similar things in Wilko, the bargain shops and The Range too, as well as online sites like Amazon if you need quick delivery. You could also add some salt and flour in a bag, ready to make your own salt-dough ornaments if you’d prefer to start from scratch.

5. Christmas recipe cards

Print my delicious gingerbread cookies recipe card – perfect to pop into the box with some cookie cutters. You could even prep the dry ingredients and make a cookie mix jar too. If your little ones aren’t fussed on gingerbread cookies, pop in a recipe for Christmas cupcakes or plain cookies instead. Or, if you’re feeling really adventurous, you could even try a gingerbread house kit!

6. Movie night coupons

Buy a cheap Christmas DVD or pop in a homemade movie night coupon (just click to download and print) and some sweets.

7. Festive clothes

Places like Preworn and Vinted do some excellent second-hand clothing. (Definitely check them out if you want a cheap Christmas jumper – they have loads to choose from!) Or, go for a pair of Christmas PJs for the kids to enjoy wearing throughout December. If your budget is tight, buy a cheap long-sleeve Christmas top and pair it with some PJ bottoms that the kids already have – shop second-hand or head to somewhere cheap and cheerful like Primark.

8. Printable Christmas activities

If you’re looking for December box activity ideas for the older ones, printables like wordsearches are a great way to keep the kids busy and they’re handy if you’re travelling over the Christmas period. Just click on the picture below and you’ll be able to download and print a wordsearch for the perfect rainy day entertainment.

I’ve also got a free Christmas activity booklet for the little ones – it’s full printables that you can pop into your December box for when you need some easy ideas to occupy them at home. (Or, again, these are perfect for a long journey over the Christmas period if you’re travelling with the kids!)

9. At home escape room

I was all set to hunt online for a printable Christmas themed escape room (and add my own touches) but I was saved by paperadventures.co.uk who sent us their at home Christmas Escape room to try – so into the box it went. For older kids, escape rooms are a brilliant way to keep them entertained when they start to outgrow toys. Amazon have some great ready-to-go home Escape Room options too!

10. Festive toys

Speaking of toys, you could pop some into the box – perhaps a Christmas train or an activity like a Christmas puzzle or board game might go down well. A festive book or a Christmas Lego set are often a big hit too! Don’t forget to check second-hand sites like Vinted or Preloved, or look on social media selling pages, there are always lots of bargains to be found.

11. Letter to Santa

My two are too old for letters now (sobs quietly! 😥) so I’ll be texting the North Pole on their behalf. But, if your littles ones are writing to Santa – pop in a letter template for them to complete.

12. Reindeer food

You might also want to put an envelope of reindeer food into your December Box, ready to sprinkle on the lawn on Christmas Eve (just make sure it’s safe for animals). Simply mix porridge oats or bird seed with edible glitter / ice-cream sprinkles / colourful cereal and pop into a small envelope. Then print my free Reindeer food poem label to stick on the front so that the kids know what’s inside.

Reindeer food is super cheap, quick and easy to make – but if you need to get sorted quickly, it can usually be purchased in a cute bag with a poem from places like garden centres, or on Amazon, for just a couple of quid. They often come in a set with reindeer food, a poem and a Santa key too.

13. Festive cake decorations

Some cheap icing characters / decorations are handy to have in readiness for some festive baking. Remember fruit cakes keep for weeks, and lots of other baked goods can be frozen until the big day, if you’d like to get ahead and make December a family bake-off!

14. Printable Christmas decorations

If you’re looking for activity ideas that’ll fill a whole December afternoon – my colour-in Christmas bunting and paper chains are the perfect printables to add to the kids’ December box. You can print them as many times as you like to keep the kids entertained, and then pop them up around the room for an inexpensive, homemade decoration. It’ll only cost you a few bits of paper but they look so effective.

15. Activity advent calendar

And last, but no means least, I’ve included a print out of my Activity Advent Calendar – to give you an activity idea for every day in December. We all love some festive fun to get us in a Christmassy mood, but it doesn’t need to cost the earth. There are so many cheap and cheerful (or free!) Christmas activities that you can do at home with the kids that won’t cost a fortune. So print your copy my Christmas Activity Advent Calendar to get started.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my December Box activity ideas and hopefully the FREE printables will help you to organise the kid’s Christmas activities quickly and easily. Take a look around the blog for more festive fun, printables and day out ideas. Merry Christmas!🎄