Family Fun Inspiration for December

Looking for fun things to do in the month of December with your family?

Check out my Family Fun Inspiration List. These ideas continue to inspire my family and I hope they inspire yours. We’re embracing winter weather, celebrating the holidays and counting down until next year. The remaining days of this year will be filled with food, crafts and all things fun. Bookmark this page to reference all throughout the month of December! We sometimes include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. 

MAKE:

1. Winter Felt Garland
2. Decorate a Gingerbread House (make your own or find a starter kit at the link)
3. Decorate holiday cookies
4. Paper snowflakes
5. Spiced nuts
6. Letters to Santa
7. Paint winter scenes
8. Watercolor Snowflakes
9. Snowflake Ballerinas
10. Salt Dough Ornaments
11. Popsicle Stick Lanterns
12. New Years Wish Jar
13. Bake a pie
14. A comforting bowl of chili (and take some to family)
15. Winterscape on nature table/shelf
16. Create an adventure box to last your family through the next year
17. Holiday-themed science experiments

EXPLORE:

1. Host a bonfire in your backyard and roast s’mores (try these telescoping roasting sticks!)
2. Read holiday book selections from your local library
3. Host or attend a holiday cookie exchange
4. Watch a production of the Nutcracker or another holiday-themed play
5. Watch/listen to Christmas Ships at a bonfire
6. Go ice skating
7. Holiday art market
8. Tree lighting festival
9. Snow day of sledding up in the mountains. Here’s our current favorite stand-up sled.
10. Read: 31 Festive Outdoor Activities to Celebrate the Magic of December for these and more outdoor activity ideas

PLAY:

1. PBS KIDS Scratch Jr. app (Learn to code!)
2. Elf on the Shelf
3. Family board/card games! Here are a few of our current favorites:
   • Do You Really Know Your Family?
   • Catan Family Edition
   • Dragonwood
   • The Scrambled States of America Game

LEARN:

1. Educators: Winter Holiday Collection
   • Winter Solstice: Celebrating Winter Collection (12/21)
     • Great book of Winter Solstice stories to celebrate the season: “The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World”
   • Hanukkah: All About the Holidays (12/7-12/15)
   • Christmas: All About the Holidays (12/25)
2. Computer Science Education Week is December 6 – 12 
   • Read: What Kids Can Learn Through Coding
   • Coding Resources on PBS Parents.org;
   • PBS KIDS Scratch Jr. Collection on PBS LearningMedia
   • Favorite books on our shelf for coding:
     • “Coding Projects in Scratch: A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Coding Your Own Animations, Games, Simulations” (my kids used this book in their beginning coding class)
     • “Coding Games in Scratch: A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Building Your Own Computer Games”
3. Peppermint Water Science
4. For New Year’s: Look forward and look back: write down reflections of the past year and hopes for the coming year.
5. Buy a toy for a giving tree
6. How to teach kids about giving back.

What’s your family like to do in December? Let me know in the comments below!