Don’t let the December cold keep you indoors this entire holiday season. Get outside and have some fun with your kids during the holidays. There’s so much to do outside this time of the year; so many fun things to see and places to explore. Today, we’re sharing 15 outdoor holiday activities to do with kids. Many of these outdoor activities can be done no matter where you live or what holiday (if any) you celebrate. This December, make it a goal to spend more time outside celebrating together in nature. Put your own twist on these outdoor activities and make them your own. Maybe they’ll even become yearly traditions! So, what are you waiting for? Bundle up and get outside!
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Outdoor holiday activities
When you think of the holidays, you probably don’t immediately think about outdoor adventures. We want to change that! Regardless of how many things are going on inside this time of year, kids need outdoor play. They need to burn energy, explore and play outdoors. They need fresh air and sunshine (what little there is this time of year) and room to move! Kids should be enjoying nature and the outdoors year-round. The holiday season is no exception.
There are so many fun things to do and experience outside in December. We’re sharing just a few of our favorite ways to get outside, get active and have fun amidst the holiday chaos. I have a feeling that the more of these activities you incorporate into your holiday, the more fun you and your kids will have! We’re hoping you make getting outside a priority for your family this holiday season.
Photo credit: @andreamartinphoto
1. Make a wreath
Making a holiday wreath with kids is such a fun craft. My favorite craft projects usually start with time outside, exploring and collecting materials. For a holiday-inspired wreath, head outside and look for evergreens and anything colorful. Bring a bag with you to collect all your finds and goodies. You’ll need quite a few branches, so consider bringing scissors or something to use to safely cut the plant without damaging it (leave this with a grownup). Make sure you’re in a public area or have permission to make any cuts to trees/plants or take anything.
Once you’ve collected enough materials, head home and arrange everything around a wreath structure or even a cutout piece of cardboard. Choose your method of adhesion (hot glue, rubber bands, etc.) and get started! Let the kids help as much as they can and give them free rein over their creation. When all’s done, add a few pinecone embellishments, some holly berries or a big bow. Finally, hang on the door for all to see!
2. Hot chocolate stand
While lemonade stands might be all the rage in the summer, hosting a hot chocolate stand in the winter is a great way to put those entrepreneurial skills to good use. The cooler weather is a great excuse to put a new spin on a traditional outdoor childhood activity. Plus, get your little ones in the giving spirit by selecting a charity or cause to receive half (or all) of the profits of their shop. Then, help your kids come up with everything they need to set up a booth to sell hot cocoa, spiced cider, coffee, tea, or baked goods. All you need are your supplies, some change, a table, and a big sign! Choose a location where you’ll encounter some foot traffic and voila!
Photo credit: @dorenehookey
Photo credit: @embrace_the_deep
3. Holiday lights walk
Going on a holiday lights walk is one of my kids’ favorite holiday traditions. We choose one night in December (close to Christmas) to bundle up and go for a holiday walk to see lights. The kids get dressed up in their warmest clothes and grab a blanket of their choice. We fill travel mugs with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Then we load everyone up in the wagon, stroller or buggy and go for a walk around the neighborhood.
The kids stay nice and toasty in the wagon, all snuggled up together. I drag or push them down our street and around a couple of blocks in our neighborhood to find the houses with the best lights. We ooh and ahh over the decorations and pick our favorites. Sometimes we’ll even bring a Bluetooth speaker with us and play holiday songs and sing along to the music. Depending on how cold it is, we usually stay out around 30-40 minutes. But even 10 minutes up and down our own street feels great once you’re outside and moving!
Photo credit: @crystalphoto.ca
4. Outdoor ice skating
Ice skating outdoors is one of my favorite things to do with the kids during the holidays. There’s something magical about being outside in the crisp air, all bundled up, and slip-sliding around on ice skates under the twinkle lights. Many cities have wonderful outdoor ice skating rinks that are open around the holidays. They’re usually open in the evening, surrounded by lights, so it’s one of the few outdoor activities that you can do in the evening since it gets dark so early.
Make a full family event out of ice skating and see who’s the best. Most rinks have skate rentals for kids as young at two. Plus, there are lots of options for kids that are still learning, including buckets and braces. And for the grown-ups, there’s always the wall to hold onto! After your skate, head out to dinner or for dessert and make a special night out of it!
Photo credit: @littlepinelearners
5. Feed the birds
Making bird seed feeders for the birds and squirrels is a wonderful way to teach kids about kindness and compassion. My kids love making eco-friendly bird feeders from supplies and materials we have at home. Our favorites are pinecones dipped in peanut butter and then rolled in birdseed. Not only do the kids have to get out and explore to collect the pinecones, but they get to get messy while they make these. We also love cutting apples in half and leaving them out for the animals. If we have snow, we’ve even gone to our local park and make a giant birthday cake out of snow and decorated it with birdseed, carrots, lettuce leaves and orange slices for the animals. Here are three fun and easy options for making bird feeders with kids.
Photo credit: @catrinadebruin
6. Cut down your tree
There are so many great reasons to choose to cut down your own (or purchase a live) real tree. Heading out to the woods or local tree farm is a great way to get some fresh air and exercise in the cold month of December. It’s also a fun family tradition you can start and continue doing each year. When you purchase a live tree you’re also supporting a farm that depends on the income from those trees to continue to run. While the trees are growing, they help clean the air we breathe. Once the trees are cut down, they’re replaced with new ones. When they’re in your home, they smell heavenly!
Once you’re finished with a real Christmas tree, it can often be repurposed. Many cities collect the live trees and turn them into wildlife habitats, mulch or other products, or use them to help with erosion. In these cases, the tree gets another life before it decomposes. If you need tips on what to do before you go tree hunting or how to choose the right tree, we’ve got a great post with tips on cutting down your own tree.
Photo credit: @lovely_littlediego
Photo credit: @sara_mccarty
7. Go caroling
This is another one of my kids’ favorite holiday traditions. Every year, all the kids on our street go house-to-house caroling. It’s honestly one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen and I hope we continue this tradition forever! The kids love it so much. They sing 2-3 songs at each house and collect a donation to give to a local charity. We print off a few the lyrics of around 10 songs for the big kids and the little ones that can’t read shake jingle bells and try to sing along as best they can. We usually hit about 10 houses and then head back to a neighbor’s house for cookies and hot chocolate.
Don’t celebrate Christmas? No worries! There are a million other songs you could sing! No one said that caroling had to include Christmas songs. Make a list of some of your kids’ favorite songs or Google fun/silly kids’ music and learn a few songs. Bust out your favorite Disney songs, like Let it Go, Hakuna Matata and Bare Necessities. Some of our favorites for little ones include: Ram Sam Sam, She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain, You are my Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle, Ants Go Marching, Baby Shark, Wheels on the Bus and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
Photo credit: @e_hawthorne_photography
8. Winter hiking
Another great family tradition to start is to go on a holiday hike. We all tend to overindulge around the holidays and take full advantage of the delicious food and drinks. It’s also easier than ever to skip exercising and opt for snuggling on the couch or watching a movie instead of getting outside and active. Those things are all fine, as long as you also make time for getting outside and enjoying nature. Winter is a great time for hiking, as you can see so many things you can’t in the other seasons (bird nests high in the tree, frozen waterfalls, etc.
Make it a new family tradition to go on a Christmas Day hike after opening the presents to burn off some energy and get some fresh air. Let the kids wear their Christmas jammies or Santa hats! Or make it a New Year’s Day tradition to start the year off with a hike through the woods and get a jump start on your outdoor hours for the year. Check out your local parks and rec department for options to get outside with others. Our state conservation department offers group night hikes in the winter months to listen for owls, coyotes and more!
Photo credit: @zionadventurephotog
9. Make ice lanterns
Ice lanterns are such a fun and beautiful holiday project to make with kids. There are a few different ways to make these, but none of them need much more than a few bowls and cups, balloons and battery-operated tea lights. The first way to make an ice lantern is to fill a cup with water, then place a smaller cup inside it. Let the water freeze and then pull the ice out of the larger cup and remove the inner cup. This will leave you with a hollowed-out ice container. Place a battery-operated tea light inside and set outside along a walkway or around your yard to light a path.
Another fun way to make an ice lantern is to fill a balloon with water and then let it freeze. Once you have a frozen water balloon, remove the plastic ballon and place the frozen globe over a battery-operating tea light in the snow. The whole thing will glow like magic!
Photo credit: @europeanmommyof2
Photo credit: @helendonphotos
10. Attend a tree lighting
Tree lightings are really fun ways to celebrate the season outside with your community. Lots of cities, towns, neighborhoods, and areas have local tree lightings that you can attend with the kids. Most are outside and are accompanied by a special visitor from the North Pole! Our local community’s tree lighting is adorable and filled with kid-friendly holiday activities. All the kids gather outside city hall and sing Christmas carols until Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive. They come roaring up on a fire truck called the Polar Express! There are lots of booths and stands selling hot chocolate, cookies and donuts and holiday goodies from local shops and vendors. The kids have the chance to get a photo taken with Santa or help decorate a gingerbread house.
Photo credit: @dariajungerbalint
11. Create an ornament from nature
There are so many fun ways to use items you find in nature to create beautiful Christmas ornaments for your tree. One of my favorite nature-inspired ornaments is to use small twigs to make stars, trees or snowflakes. You don’t need much for these super cute and easy DIY ornaments that you don’t already have in your yard! Tie a few sticks together with some twine to make a star or use hot glue to create a tree. Leave them natural for a rustic looking ornament or let the kids have fun painting them! They make great grandparent gifts, too. If you want other nature-inspired ornament ideas, Pinterest is full of them!
Photo credit: @ruta_pj
Photo credit: @nina.bogomaz
12. Holiday campfire
Winter is a great time of year to have a bonfire outside. Gather some firewood and those you love and spend some time outside together around a fire. The nights are cold and dark. Take this opportunity to make s’mores and share cups of hot chocolate (put a candy cane in them for extra holiday goodness). And then take the time to bond with those around you over stories of holidays past. Talk about the best gifts you’ve ever received/given, your favorite meals and what you look forward to each year. Sharing songs and memories around a campfire is such a simple and beautiful experience for families. It makes kids feel incredibly special to be part of it, to listen and participate.
Photo credit: @seldabelda
13. Go on a sleigh ride
Do a little research and see if you can find a place near you to take the kids on a real-life horse-drawn sleigh ride. There are lots of places these days that offer sleigh rides, through the woods, in parks, on local farms or through conservation areas. If you don’t have snow or you’re in the city, try a horse-drawn carriage ride! Our local parks offer carriage rides through a winter wonderland of twinkle lights in all size carriages. Some are huge and can fit large groups and some are small and intimate. One even looks like Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage. A sleigh ride outdoors through the crisp air, while you’re bundled up in blankets is a thrill! It’s something super special and unique that doesn’t happen every day. It’ll be a true holiday memory that will last a lifetime.
Photo credit: @mamabearphoto
14. Candy cane hunt
Last year we started the tradition of doing a small backyard candy cane hunt. Similar to a scavenger hunt, but only for candy canes. All I did was buy a box of candy canes and hide them around the backyard. I hung the candy canes from tree branches and bushes and the fence. Once the whole box was hidden, I sent the kids outside to find them all. I can’t believe how much fun the kids had with this simple game!
It didn’t take them that long to find all the candy canes (maybe 15 minutes), but they loved the game so much we had to do it over and over and over! Then they took turns hiding the candy canes for each other. And then they moved to the front yard. One box of candy canes got them outside and playing for probably five hours! No one ate a single candy cane because they wanted to save them to play again the next day! I think this year I’m going to buy a couple of boxes and hide them up and down the street and let all the neighborhood kids play! This can also be done with nearly anything – it doesn’t have to be candy canes.
Photo credit: @thejohnsonettes
15. Outdoor act of kindness
Get your kids in the holiday spirit by performing some random acts of kindness for others. Put a new spin on your good deeds by taking them outdoors this year. Try to come up with a few ideas of things you could do for others outside. For example, have the kids shovel the snow off a neighbor’s porch or sidewalks. Pick up litter in a local park. Decorate an outdoor tree for the wildlife. Return your neighbor’s trash bins. Leave candy canes on the windshields of cars in a parking lot. Deliver handmade cards to neighbors you don’t know. Leave sidewalk chalk messages of encouragement for people at the park.
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