10 Fun Christmas Activities To Make The Holidays Extra Special

by CharityReading time: 4 min.

As an Au Pair, you want to come up with some fun Christmas activities that both kids and adults will enjoy. These will help you create strong bonds and unforgettable memories with your Host Family. It will also help you avoid homesickness by not thinking too much about the fact that you’re not spending Christmas with your own family.

Create a Christmas playlist

A good Christmas playlist is the backbone of any proper holiday activities! Having the right song playing in the background can transform the ambiance from regular activity to full-on Christmas cheer. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that no Christmas activities are complete without some holiday tunes.

Personally, any Christmas song sung by Sinatra does the trick. Make sure to accommodate everyone’s tastes when creating this playlist. You should also consider adding a song or two in your own language. This is a great way for the family to learn about your Christmas traditions and, on a larger scale, your culture.

Here are some songs you should definitely include in your playlist:

Baby, it’s cold outside
Santa baby
Jingle bell rock
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

Put the kids in the kitchen

Kids love to get their hands dirty so let them do so in the kitchen. They could help you and the host parents prepare the Christmas meal. Chances are if they helped cook the vegetables, they will want to eat them.

Alternatively, you could make some pastries with them. For instance, you could ask your little helpers for assistance cracking some eggs into the bowl, or whisking the batter into deliciousness. Most importantly, always let them decorate the Christmas cake or the cookies, and don’t forget to let them taste their creations.

When it comes to decorating your cookies, let your imagination run wild. With the help of some colored frosting and glittery toppings, turn your cookies into edible Christmas ornaments.

But who says cookies have to be round? Use a shape-cutter to create some Santa or reindeer-shaped deliciousness.

To spice things up, turn the cookie decoration session into an originality contest. Put the kid’s resourcefulness to the test and then decide as a family which cookie is the most surprising. The winner gets the honour of opening their presents first!

Read them a Christmas story

Kids love a good story, so gather around the fire to read your host kids a story to get the Christmas spirit floating in the air.

Teach them about some classic Christmas literature:

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
The Polar Express

just to name a few.

Watch a Christmas movie

If reading isn’t your thing, grab a warm blanket and turn on a good ol’ Christmas movie. You have a large gallery to choose from.

You could either turn on the TV and you’re bound to find at least 5 different films to choose from. Otherwise, you could discuss together what you would like to watch.

Here’s a short list of some classic holiday movies:

Elf — my personal favorite.
Home Alone
The Christmas Chronicles

Share some of your christmas traditions

Tell them how you and your family usually spend the holidays. They’ll be happy to learn about how other parts of the world celebrate Christmas.

Play in the snow

*Knock, knock, knock*... Do you want to build a snowman?

This is probably the best thing you could tell your Host Kids. They will enjoy touching the snow and choosing the perfect beanie to place on its snowy head. Don't be surprised if this escalates into a full-blown snow fight. Instead, embrace the moment before heading home for some warm cacao.

If you really don’t want to be playing in the snow, you could take the children sledding. These fun Christmas activities are guaranteed to put a smile on any kid’s face!

Do some Christmas crafts

Kids love creating things with their hands. They enjoy seeing what they are capable of doing. Why don’t you create some ornaments for the Christmas tree? This will keep them busy and seeing their art hung up on the tree will make them oh-so-proud.

Click on the following links for step-by-step guides:

If the Christmas tree is already full, make some Christmas crafts the kids will be able to gift their parents. Not only will the kids be happy, but the parents will love you for it!

Here’s a list of DIY Christmas gift ideas

Dress up

Honor this special day by harboring your ugliest Christmas sweater and dress the kids up with their reindeer overalls. Once everyone is in costume, pull out the camera and have a photoshoot. If the parents agree, these can appear on the annual holiday cards.

Play some games

Nothing beats playing some Christmas games and spending time together.

Dust off the old board games and get ready for a fun-filled afternoon. Make sure to pick a game that everyone can play and that everyone likes.

Here are a few games you could play with the whole family:

Pictionary
A scavenger hunt
Guess who
Twister

Take in the Christmas vibes

Put on your coats and step out into the unknown. Take a stroll around the neighborhood and look at the Christmas lights shimmering from a distance. If you’re looking for a bigger thrill, find out if there are any Christmas markets in the area. Everyone can find something they like there!

At the end of the day, what you chose to do doesn’t really matter. The most important thing about the holidays is that you spend some quality time together. That’s what Christmas is all about! Happy holidays!