Fun things to do on Christmas Eve! This list of Christmas Eve traditions will surely create great memories for you and your loved ones!
In my family, Christmas Eve is the big event. We have so many fun traditions for Christmas Eve, plus the anticipation of Christmas the next day just adds to it.
Growing up, we didn’t do much outside of decorate cookies, so it is so much fun to be able to create these memories for my kids.
Things to do on Christmas Eve:
Check out the Christmas light displays in the neighborhood
We love driving around with hot chocolate or apple cider and listening to Christmas music while looking at the lights. I might love it a little more than the kids though.
Christmas Jammies
Opening one gift on Christmas Eve is so fun. Make it Christmas pajamas and then finish the night with a movie! You can also add these to a Christmas Eve box, with their favorite movie snack & couple other small gifts.
Watch a Christmas movie
Every year we watch A Muppets Christmas Carol
Take out for dinner
I love this idea of reducing chaos on the holidays. A popular take out on this day is Chinese, which sounds amazing right now.
Make homemade pizza
Us on the other hand, always make a homemade pizza on Christmas Eve. My husband had told me it was a tradition for him growing up. Turns out, it wasn’t. But we still enjoy it!
Play holiday games
Make sure they’re on theme! Something like Christmas charades, or Pictionary!
Christmas Karaoke
This one’s fun because most people already know all the words to classic Christmas songs. Grab a karaoke microphone & get singing!
Go on a Christmas walk
Locally, we have a neighborhood that goes all out at Christmas. It is so fun to bundle up & walk through looking at the lights.
Decorate gingerbread houses
My kids usually can’t wait on this one & decorate earlier in the month, but it would be a fun thing to do on Christmas Eve too.
Track Santa
Every year we check Santa’s flight path on the Norad Santa tracker website. This is also great incentive to get the kids to bed. Once they see Santa is near our part of the US, they rush to bed without complaining.
Set up a Santa trap.
My son especially loves trying to catch Santa. His traps get more and more elaborate each year. Last year he even set out to record Santa on video! I still can’t believe he didn’t catch him.
Ornament reveal
Every year we add a new ornament to our tree. We typically like to do a new homemade ornament. Anything from reindeer clothespin ornaments to shutterfly printed ones.
Set up a hot cocoa bar
You could include tons of toppings like whipped cream, crushed peppermint, salted caramel, toffee bits, sprinkles, etc.
Capture the memories
Take pictures with a polaroid or even video! Ask each family member what their favorite part of the day was. You’ll have so much fun revisiting those tapes when they’re all grown.
Decorate Christmas stockings!
I used to have so much fun as a kid decorating my own stocking! All you need is a plain stocking, some glitter glue/puffy paint and maybe some felt cut out in various Christmas shapes.
Decorate sugar cookies
This one is a classic. Step it up a notch & make it a decorating contest. The best of the best make it on Santa’s plate.
Make Cinnamon ornaments
These are not edible, but smell amazing & are perfect for your tree! Try this recipe.
Make Tamales
So far, I’m the only one who loves tamales in this house. My kids are going through a picky stage. They love to help out in the kitchen, so I’d love this to be a tradition for us!
Read Twas the Night Before Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas is such a classic book! We also love Olaf’s night before Christmas
I hope this list helped you think of different things to do on Christmas Eve and possibly even make them into new yearly traditions! If you’re looking for different ideas of things to do all month long, check out our Christmas tradition list here.