25 Screen-Free Christmas Activities for Kids (Ages 2–10)

When you have 5 minutes

1. Christmas I spy. Great in the car, in line or at the table. No materials at all.
2. Freeze dance to carols. Stop the music and everyone freezes. Ages 2 and up.
3. Count the lights. Choose a color on the tree and count them. Good for ages 3 to 5.
4. Would you rather. “Would you rather be an elf or a reindeer?” Works for any age from about 4.
5. Draw a snowman in the dark. Draw with eyes closed, then compare and laugh.
6. Hide the ornament. Hide a non-breakable ornament while they cover their eyes, then say warmer or colder.

When you have 20 minutes

7. Paper snowflakes. Fold, snip and open. Children’s scissors are fine from about age 4 with an adult nearby.
8. Sticker Christmas tree. Draw a tree and let toddlers cover it in stickers. Keep stickers away from any toddler who mouths them.
9. Christmas trivia. Try these 40 Christmas trivia questions for kids.
10. Scavenger hunt. Use these ready-to-use rhyming clues.
11. Write to Santa. Non-writers can draw their wish list or tell it to you.
12. Make gift tags. Stamp or draw on card, then punch a hole and add string.
13. Sort the ornaments. Sort unbreakable ornaments by color or size with younger kids.
14. Build a blanket fort “Santa’s workshop.” Then bring in books, toys and a flashlight.

When you have an afternoon

15. Decorate cookies. Buy plain cookies to skip the baking, or make your own if you have the energy.
16. Make a paper chain countdown. Add one activity to each link, as in this paper chain guide.
17. Put on a Christmas play. Older kids write it, younger kids play the sheep. Grown-ups clap a lot.
18. Wrap gifts together. Kids can tape, stick on bows and deliver them under the tree.
19. Make homemade cards. Send them to grandparents, neighbors or a care home.
20. Set up a family game hour. Bingo works for mixed ages. Here is how to play Christmas bingo.
21. Make a toddler sensory bin. See this Christmas sensory bin guide, including which fillers are safe at which age.

When they need to burn energy

22. Winter nature hunt. Look for pine cones, evergreen branches and animal tracks. Look but don’t touch berries, since some are poisonous.
23. Holiday lights walk. Dress warmly, bring a flashlight and go at dusk. Hot chocolate at home is the reward.
24. Snowball practice indoors. Throw rolled-up socks into a laundry basket. Move back one step after each round.
25. Reindeer obstacle course. Crawl under chairs, hop on cushions and gallop down the hall. Clear away anything breakable first.

How to actually make this work

• Offer a choice of two. “Cookies or a scavenger hunt?” is easier to say yes to than “Go find something to do.”
• Be clear about screen time. “The tablet is for after lunch” causes fewer arguments than a blanket no.
• Set things up first. Leave paper and crayons out on the table before they wake up, and see what happens.
• Let them be bored for a while. Boredom often leads to their own ideas, so you do not have to fill every minute.
• Write down what worked. Next time someone asks, you will have a list ready.

If you want a structure for the whole break, see my winter break schedule for kids. For quieter ideas for little ones, try quiet time activities for 3 year olds.

If you’d rather have it all printed

Everything above works with what you have at home. If you would rather have activities ready to print, my Christmas printables guide explains what is in a bundle and how to choose one for your kids’ ages, so you can decide if it is worth it.

Pick three ideas from this list, stick them on the fridge, and the next “I’m bored” will have an easy answer.