Planning for a Merry, Love-Filled Christmas Day at Home

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The stockings have been raided, presents opened, cinnamon rolls consumed. And it’s not quite 10 a.m. How will we spend the rest of Christmas Day? This is a question we face a lot of years. Since we celebrate with my family on Christmas Eve and Mike’s family doesn’t get together for Christmas (they’re Jewish and also geographically scattered), it’s usually just Mike, me, and the kids on the day itself.

Here are some of my ideas for Christmas Day activities to make it feel different than just any other old Saturday at home:

1. Decorate gingerbread houses. Last December we ran out of time to decorate gingerbread houses and finally told Evan and Nate we’d decorate them on Christmas Day. It was unintentional to wait that long, but it ended up being a really fun, hands-on activity that kept the kids occupied and provided bonding time.
2. Watch a Christmas movie. We haven’t yet watched Elf this year and I LOVE that movie. With popcorn and cocoa, it will be a cozy and relaxing.
3. Go on a walk. It’s nice to get outside to burn off some of the boys’ energy and get a little exercise. I might encourage the boys to belt out “Jingle Bells” as we walk because Nate made a jingle bell bracelet at school and we have an obnoxiously oversized jingle bell on the front doorknob that Evan can carry. Not exactly Christmas caroling, but close enough. 🙂
4. Make popcorn and cranberry garlands. I know you’re supposed to make those way earlier in the month so that they serve as cute, traditional decorations, but oh, well. We can instead put ours outside for the birds. It will be fun to see which birds we attract with the garlands (although honestly, given how successfully the local squirrels have proven at invading our delivery driver snack box–even managing to pry the lid off!–the birds may not stand a chance).
5. Make paper snowflakes. I love taping these up in the window or stringing them up in the archway between our living room and dining room. And because they’re wintery, not just Christmasy, they make a great decoration in the months to come.
6. Play alongside the kids as they enjoy their new presents. There’s good bonding in helping the kids troubleshoot the directions as they assemble new creations, or watching an Art Hub for Kids video together to try out brand-new art supplies. Most other days they get me for about ten minutes before I have to turn back to other tasks. On Christmas they’re going to get so much of my attention they’ll be sick of me! (Chinese take-out food is my friend here. Meal prep alone consumes so much time in a typical weekend day.)

I’m sorry this post has no photos, but I’ve got to get to bed! With Christmas prep and celebrations, I’m also not going to do my usual Friday post. Back here next week! In the meantime, I wish you and your loved ones a very merry, love-filled Christmas.