All year long there are holidays to celebrate. It can be hard to come up with fun holiday activities to keep things interesting!
Whether you’re looking for holiday activities for kids or adults, it’s time to refresh the way you celebrate and prepare. We have a few fun ideas for activities that everyone will enjoy!
Keep reading for our top holiday activities from New Year’s through the December holidays.
1. New Years Popping Toys
So it’s New Year’s Eve, and you’re looking for child-friendly activities for the entire family. Sure, the kids aren’t ready to go to New Year’s Eve parties, and they may not even stay up until midnight, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t involve them in a fun activity.
Have you ever made your own New Year’s Eve popping toys? Most people buy these from stores, but they’re easy enough to make on your own. We suggest having each person make one popper for someone else, so the contents are a surprise.
All you need are:
- Empty toilet paper rolls
- Wrapping or tissue paper
- Confetti
- Glitter
- Small trinkets to put inside the popping toy
- Ribbon
- Glue
Read the full instructions and start gathering supplies! Then, when it’s time to use them, have fun popping!
2. Making Valentines
Making valentines is a great way to have a fun crafting session with kids and adults alike.
For children, stick with basic craft supplies. Gather old magazines, construction paper, glue, glitter sequins, and anything else that you can think of to make a good card.
If you have small children, make sure to help them when it comes to cutting and gluing things onto their cards. You may also have to help them write any messages inside the card.
Consider having them bring these handmade valentines to class to give to all of the other children. Pair each one with a piece of candy!
For older teens (or even adults), consider making a sentimental shadow box valentine. This is great for anyone who has a special someone to give a gift to.
Fill the shadow box with items that represent your relationship, such as photos, notes, or even tickets (or other trinkets) from dates. This makes a sweet decoration that your loved one will treasure.
3. Easter Egg Hunt
Need a fun Easter activity? Sure, everyone dyes eggs for Easter, but why not do your own Easter egg hunt this year?
Most large-scale Easter egg hunts are community events, but as more people are spending holidays at home, you can make one for your neighborhood for a smaller-scale gathering that’s still a lot of fun.
This is great for all ages, but most of the time, it’s a children’s activity.
Gather a bunch of hollow plastic eggs and place toys and candy inside each one. Group with other parents to hide eggs all around the neighborhood. Make sure that you know where each egg is so you can retrieve them later if no one finds them.
When you’re done, have all of the children start in one area and set them loose as they search for the eggs. Parents or older children should accompany younger children during the hunt.
4. Patriotic Tye-Dye T-Shirts
Ah, Independence Day. Not everyone celebrates this holiday, but it’s a lot of fun to get out in the sun, grill some food with friends, and then watch the fireworks with a few sparklers in hand.
Why not do a fun craft that can also give you a great outfit?
Tye-dye is the perfect craft for summer. It’s best when you do it outdoors to avoid any messes, and tye-dye shirts are part of any classic summer look. It’s easy and fun for children, and you can always add some cool decorations later.
Choose some white t-shirts. You can pick ones with plain images or text on the front, but plain white shirts are classic. You’ll also need dye, water, and rubber bands.
Check out the full guide here.
5. DIY Halloween Sweets
So Halloween is approaching, and your sweet tooth is waking up for the season. Both adults and children understand those Halloween candy cravings when autumn rolls around. Before buying all of the overpriced candies at the store, why not make some sweets of your own?
You can use Halloween silicone molds to hold cookie batter, cake batter, or even chocolate. These spooky molds make it easier than ever to create fun and decorative sweet treats for holiday parties, school lunches, or even sneaky and quick snacks during the day.
When your new treat is ready to decorate, grab some colorful frosting, sprinkles, and edible glitter to make it pop!
6. DIY Halloween Masks
Why stop at DIY treats? Halloween is all about the costumes, and this is a great time to learn how to make your own.
Making masks is a great activity for young kids. It’s easy, inexpensive, and it doesn’t matter if the result looks silly.
All you need for this project is:
- Plain plastic masquerade masks
- Water
- Newspaper (or tissue paper)
- Craft supplies (markers, pom-poms, glitter, feathers, etc.)
- Paint
- Glue (optional: wallpaper paste)
- String or a paint stick
- Scissors
You can buy plain masks online, at some big-box stores with Halloween sections, at a Halloween store, and craft stores.
Start by setting up your paper mache. Mix white glue (or wallpaper paste) with water until it has a thin consistency. You’ll be dipping your newspaper or tissue paper in the mixture to apply to your mask.
Cover the front of the mask in the wet paper. You may have to help children with this step. After this, let the masks dry.
When the masks are dry, start painting. Get creative and start with a vision in mind for your end results.
Once your mask is the right color, it’s time to start adding your extra items. We love using small bells, pom-poms, and feathers to make fun masquerade masks.
Finally, after everything is dry, add a string to the sides of the mask or glue a paint stick to the bottom for a mask that you can hold!
7. Crafty Thanksgiving Turkeys
Whether you eat turkeys or not, there’s no reason that you can’t turn this Thanksgiving mascot into a fun craft! We have two main turkey-related crafts to talk about.
The first is easy as can be, especially for small children. That’s right: it’s the classic hand turkey. This is also a great keepsake for parents.
Put some craft paint on a large plate or tray. Have the child lay their hand flat on the paint, so it coats the entire surface. Then, have them use their hand as a “stamp” on a sheet of paper, so it leaves a brown handprint.
Give the child some markers so they can draw eyes, a beak, and all other turkey-related accessories. Then have them sign their name! The result will look like a cute (albeit simple) turkey.
For children who feel like they’re too old fr such a simple turkey, make a pinecone turkey centerpiece. You’ll need:
- A large pinecone
- Googly eyes
- Colorful construction paper
- Feathers (optional)
- Glue
Take the pinecone and set it on its side. We prefer making the wider end the front, but you could do it either way. Cut out a circle from brown construction paper to make the “head.”
To the head, add the googly eyes and a small orange triangle for the beak. You can also cut out red squiggles for the wattle. Then, cut out large ovals and glue them onto the sides for wings.
For the final piece: either use red and orange feathers or strips of construction paper to construct the colorful and round tail to glue on the back of the pinecone.
8. Advent Calendar Fun
When winter holidays come around, you know that it’s the perfect time for all kinds of crafts. Why not make an advent calendar?
While advent calendars are more common for people who celebrate Christmas, you can make a small gift calendar regardless of what you celebrate. It’s easy, and it makes a great gift!
You’ll need several small cardboard boxes. You can get these in fun shapes at craft stores. The number will depend on how many days of gifts you plan on giving to the recipient.
Paint the boxes in fun and relevant colors. Then, number each box for the day that the recipient is supposed to open it. Inside each box, place a small gift (and the gifts often get progressively better as the days go on).
Put all of the gifts together in a box, or better yet, put ribbons on them to create little gift ornaments for the tree!
We Love These Holiday Activities
Holiday activities are great year-round. Regardless of what you celebrate, at least one activity on this list will be perfect for you and your friends or family members.
Start having fun with one of these activities today!
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