Inexpensive Christmas Activities for Families

The holiday season is here.  The trees are up, the shopping is underway and all of the usual holiday classics are starting to air on television. Sometimes we forget what the real meaning of the holiday season is.  It's not about gifts, it's about family.  It's hard to remember to slow down and actually enjoy the holidays. Here are just a few of the activities our family enjoys during the holiday season.

1. Bake and decorate cookies for the neighbors and delivery/mail carriers.
Cookies fit perfectly inside of empty Pringles containers.  Wrap them in decorative wrapping paper, let the kids decorate them and fill them with fresh baked cookies.  The kids will have a great time helping and everyone loves cookies!

2.  Dress up in your pj's, fill your travel mugs with hot chocolate and ride around looking for Christmas lights.  My kids love to do this!  We also pack Ziploc bags of popcorn to take along.  One house in our community has a dancing lights show with music, it is always amazing!

3.  Make personalized Christmas ornaments.  You can get a package of the clear cheap ornaments from Walmart or a dollar store for a couple of dollars.  You can paint them or stuff them.  There are endless options of ways to decorate them.  Write the year on the back with a paint pen or a sharpie so that you remember what year they were made. 

4. Snowball fight!  Since we don't have snow in Mississippi we make snowballs out of SOCKS!  You can also use Styrofoam balls.

5.  Make wrapping paper for the kids to wrap gifts.  Decorate brown papers bags and let them wrap their gifts to each other. 

On Christmas Eve night the grown ups make Santa footprints and reindeer poop.  To make Santa footprints mix brown flour and glitter.  Step in it and walk across the carpet.  To make reindeer poop mix raisins and glitter and pour it out in the yard.  The little kids get so excited when they find the "evidence".

What holiday traditions do you share with your family?