December Activities make so many long cold nights fantastic family fun, especially if you love Christmas and its run-up, as many around here do! With that in mind, November’s blog is an ode to all things Christmas, as we countdown 25 fantastic activities for you to do in the lead-up to Christmas!

We’ve collected a bunch of Pinterest Boards for you to explore and get some inspiration (Of course, we can’t guarantee what you’ll browse at your own risk of going Christmas crazy!)

1st. Welcome Your Elf!

After a year busy in the North Pole, millions of elves will return to their families across the country on December first, to begin their watch over the young charges.

All of this stems from The Elf on the Shelf, a book by Bell Chanda and Carol V. Aebersold. What started as a heartwarming tale is now a family tradition (not to mention a commercial goldmine!). If you’re a parent helping to welcome back your elf, or even meet them for the first time, perhaps this would be a good idea to think up a list of hijinx the critters may get up to – so that you’re prepared!

https://elfontheshelf.com/

2nd. Get out the Decorations

Whether you store them in the loft, the garage, a cupboard, or under beds – Christmas Decorations usually spend 11 months of the year hibernating! If you’re anything like us, every year you open up those boxes you find things you forgot you had, a handful of breakages, and a spaghetti junction of tangled lights! This is a great day to dig them out and get them prepared.

3rd. Put Up the Christmas Tree

Whilst historically, families would put up a Christmas Tree on the first day of Advent (November 27th this year), the UK’s social tradition often leads to the first weekend of December! Perhaps it’s time to pick up your live tree from a local farm or unbox your old reliable?

If you’re looking for creative ideas this year, we found this board certainly has some imaginative interpretations:

4th. Make Decorations (Classic December Activities!)

This is an old favourite for December and needs no further intro. Create some of these great makes with the kids and keep them quiet for hours! Don’t forget to show us some of your makes by tagging on Insta/Facebook. That said, we take no responsibility for the mess.

5th. Christmas Card List

We used to have hand-kept address books, which held the names, addresses, and contact details of all our friends, family, and acquaintances. Now, we mainly have our phone book in which most entries are a name and mobile – nothing else! So if you’re going to go ahead with Christmas cards this year, it’s worth putting that list together early, so you know how many cards to get printed (if you’re using your In The Frame mini-shoot pics, especially!) and what addresses you might need to update. A dull but useful December Activity.

6th. St Nicholas Day

This one we’re lifting from Wiki –

Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, observed on 5 December or on 6 December in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra; it falls within the season of Advent. Wikipedia

But it’s a really interesting thing to look into if you want to show the kids where Santa got started. Lots of European countries have great traditions around the jolly man in red.

7th. Christmas Music Playlists

What is your go-to Christmas playlist? Are you still a die-hard fan of 2001 classic “Now That’s What I Call Christmas” or some of it’s descendants? Perhaps you’re one who relishes the annual defrost of Mariah Carey and collecting Michael Buble from long-term storage? Either day – this is a great day for prepping.

8th. Christmas Jumper Day

One of the big charity days operated in December – Save The Children’s Christmas Jumper Day

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day

9th. Carolling

The last ten years have seen the number of door-to-door carol singing events increase in the UK. Quite often by local charities, or branches of larger charities, to collect some funds and have some festive fun! If you have a few queries about where this ancient December activity came from? Check out this video

10th. Christmas Fayres

Two weeks before Christmas and things get busy! We know the shops will be packed, so how about a little Christmas shopping which supports local schools, clubs, small businesses and communities? Find out what fayres, fetes, December activities, and festivals are operating in your area!

11th. Santa Letters

Ready to dust off the Argos book, begin an Amazon list, and try to convince Father Christmas of how nice and deserving you are this year? Get going on your Santa letters early so family members can be clued in.

12th. Christmas Wreath Making

For those more crafty among us, Christmas wreath making is an enjoyable and surprisingly meditative night’s fun, plus a great addition to the front door. Many of our craft December Activities are great decorations – but also beautiful gifts.

13th. Write Christmas Cards

A cold Tuesday night in December is the perfect time to light a few scented candles, enjoy a mince pie and write out those Christmas cards (perhaps with a nice background Hallmark movie or Christmas classic!)

14th. Lights & Decoration Drive

What amazing decorative ideas have been put up by your neighbours, and their neighbours, and their neighbours…?

A nighttime drive around the town to take in the big lights displays and charity scenes can be a great evening! Check the local Facebook groups for a certain thread or two on where to find the best!

15th. Panto

Of course, this is a great December activity or January fun day – they’d all likely be a great day for Panto. Here are a few of the great ones in our area this year:

• Aladdin at the Boxmoor Playhouse
  https://www.hhtheatreco.com/whats-on
• Hansel & Grettel at the Sandpit St Albans
  https://sandpittheatre.co.uk/SandpitTheatre.dll/WhatsOn
• Beauty & The Beast – Watford Palace Theatre
  https://watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk/events/beauty-and-the-beast/
• Cinderella at The Grove Dunstable
  https://www.grovetheatre.co.uk/cinderella-2022-i3394
• Jack & the Beanstalk – St Albans
  https://alban-arena.co.uk/events/jack-the-beanstalk/

16th. Wear a Christmas Hat Day

“Wear A Hat Day is a family of three hattastic annual fundraising events. Together these events have raised millions of pounds to help fund the fight against brain tumours.

Each of these events is hugely popular, with tens of thousands of people taking part in schools, workplaces and social communities across the country. We support this fundraising with a fantastic range of collateral and merchandise.

Get your hat on and join us for these brilliant fundraising days!” – What a great December activity to get involved with.

https://www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/wear-a-hat-day-events

17th. Wrapping & Movies

With only a week to go, now is a great time to get that pile of wrapping done! Especially as you’ll almost certainly run out of paper or tape and need to run out to the shop with some time to spare! Here are some amazing Xmas movies to keep you going:

18th. Start of Hanukkah

We know December isn’t ALL about Christmas of course – and many of the worlds religions hold a winter commemoration, celebration, or important observation.

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE. Wikipedia

19th. Ice Skating

What December activity is better than winter Ice Skating and hot chocolate?

If you’re lucky enough to head to an outdoor rink like Hampton Court Palace – don’t forget to wrap up nice and warm!!

20th. Donations

We know that there’s a lot of giving and receiving at Christmas, and sometimes that’s just a nice treat – others have significant meaning. Perhaps this 20th December, you set aside some time for donating?

It doesn’t need to be financial – we’re all struggling this year, so perhaps you donate some time to help someone who could use a hand or you give some time to a local charitable organisation. If you are able to help from a financial perspective, it’s a great time to bring things to food banks, to help make Christmas special for those having a tough time. It also sets a great example for the younger members of our community, only hoping to get things from Father Christmas, and not yet considering what they could give.

21st. Winter Solstice

The solstice on December 21st marks the point where the earth’s poles are furthest from the sun. It’s an astrological event but has also been observed by religions, farmers, and communities in virtually every culture in history, in some form. December activities can be just as nature involved as summer ones!

It’s an ideal time to do crafts and activities that use nature!

22nd. Schools Break Up

The Hertfordshire Schools system overall breaks up on the 22nd this year (some inset days here and there might change your school dates, so worth a check!). We certainly know this is the best December activity for some!

But the excitement as children come pouring out of classes with cards, treats, school work, 3 jumpers they swore weren’t at school, and someone else’s English homework will be infectious and palpable!

Perhaps it’s a great day to celebrate with a movie or a trip for a Starbucks Red Cup Hot Chocolate.

23rd. Bake Christmas Cookies

Ready to have some messy fun? CHRISTMAS COOKIES! One of the best December Activities there is

24th. Reindeer Food & Father Christmas/Reindeer Treats

It’s nearly time – let’s make sure the Reindeer know how to get to you!

25th. Wake up VERY EARLY

The big day is finally here… so get it going with a bang! What better way to round off our December activities!