With the holidays approaching, I am becoming more and more aware my kids are growing up. My tween and teen aren’t all excited for Santa crafts and reindeer headbands. Sigh. I still love those things, but understandably, they don’t. So I need to start getting creative and come up with Christmas activities for teens and tweens.
Oh, I am excited to have big kids around. Don’t get me wrong. We can watch more interesting movies, visit places with a little less stress, and the kids are fun to hang out with. They certainly are a lot more helpful with holiday preparations. Heck, last year the kids set up the artificial tree all by themselves.
I guess I’m not ready to let go of the little kid activities. Can you tell I loved teaching preschool?
There are so many fun things, though, you can do with teens and tweens around the holidays. I pulled together a list of several different Christmas activities for teens. Take a look and maybe add some to your home this holiday season.
Christmas Activities for Teens and Tweens
I have come up with Christmas activities in three main areas.
- Christmas Activities in the Kitchen
- Crafts
- Movie Time
So, let’s get started.
Things to Make in the Kitchen
- Hot Chocolate Bombs (Owl Baking)- I have noticed that hot chocolate bombs seem to be all the craze this year. They are a fun way to make hot chocolate AND may make handy little gifts this year.
- Nutella Twist Christmas Tree (Kids Spot)- Okay, they had me at Nutella. Seriously though, this is a yummy and cute looking Christmas treat. It’s made with puff pastry and Nutella. Raspberries (or whatever you want to substitute) become the tree ornaments.
- Ugly Sweater Cookies (Taste of Home)- Instead of the traditional Christmas cookies, your teens will have fun making these Ugly Sweater cookies. It will be fun to see who can make the ugliest sweater.
- Christmas Lights Chocolate Bark (Forkly)- This Christmas bark is festive to look at to be sure. The trouble will be trying to keep your teens from eating all the candy while making it.
- Festive Puff Pizzas (Kids Spot)- Using puff pastry again, teens will make yummy Christmas pizzas. In less than 30 minutes, kids will have a warm festive treat to eat.
- Snowball Cookies (Live Well Bake Often)- Snowball cookies are cute little cookies made with a few simple ingredients. Teens will have fun making them.
- Buckeye Balls (Allrecipes)- I put these under Christmas cooking because my mother-in-law used to make these at Christmas time. There is nothing better than chocolate and peanut butter.
- Christmas Wreath Cupcakes (My Heavenly Recipes)- Make your favorite cupcakes and follow these simple directions to decorate them to look like wreaths.
- Hot Chocolate Christmas Cookies (Butter with a Side of Bread)- I love these little treats. I think teens will love making them. Plus, they will learn some neat baking skills, too.
- Gingerbread House (Sally’s Baking Addiction)- Here you will find a recipe on how to make gingerbread houses from scratch. You make your own gingerbread and frosting. There are plenty of tips and help with this recipe.
Hopefully, this list will get you started and inspire you to try out many different recipes throughout the month of December.
Christmas Craft Activities (and Homemade Gifts)
Another fun Christmas activity for teens is making crafts and homemade gifts. The crafts can help decorate your home. While, teens can use their crafting skills to make gifts for family, friends, or even neighbors (teachers, coaches, etc.).
Christmas Projects to Decorate the Home
- How to Make a Traditional Christmas Wreath (Fynes Designs)- Here you will find a wonderful tutorial on how to make a traditional Christmas wreath. I think teens will be up for the challenge.
**If you happen to live in an area where you can’t go out collecting balsam fir branches, you can also buy an artificial wreath at a craft store and buy ribbon, flowers, ornaments, etc. to decorate. I have an artificial one I decorate.
- DIY Candy Cane Vase (Living Well, Spending Less)- Make these simple centerpieces with candy canes. You can then fill them with whatever festive Christmas ideas you have.
- Christmas Gnomes (It’s Always Autumn)- At this site, you can find super simple (and cute) Christmas gnomes. Pssst, they are made out of a toilet paper roll.
- Snow Globe Projects (The Budget Decorator)- Here you have 15 options for making snow globes. Teens will love this Christmas activity.
- Christmas Acrylic Paintings (Step by Step Painting)- I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this site. It is perfect for tweens and teens. Kids learn to paint beautiful paintings with easy to follow directions and videos. On this site, you will find lots of holiday-themed paintings to choose from. It is the perfect Christmas activity for teens.
Ornaments
- Pour Painted Christmas Ornaments (Happy Hooligans)- I LOVE these beautiful ornaments! They are simple and easy for teens and tweens to customize to their own taste. These ornaments will look great on your tree or make perfect gifts, too.
- Scandinavian Snowflake Ornaments (Flourish and Knot)- At this site, you will find a non-traditional snowflake ornament. They are simple and elegant looking.
- Button and Felt Christmas Ornament (Cutesy Crafts)- In this Christmas activity, teens will make cute ornaments AND practice their sewing skills. See what you think. I think they are adorable.
- DIY Wood Slice String Art (Happy Brown House)- Now this activity is perfect for the non-artsy boy in your life. I did this activity with a group of boys in Scouts, and they enjoyed it. What guy won’t like using a hammer and nails to make an ornament?!
Christmas Cards
- Homemade Watercolor Christmas Cards (The Secret Life of Homeschoolers)- In this tutorial, teens will learn to make watercolor Christmas cards. They are definitely not a cutesy Christmas card little kids would make.
- Handmade Christmas Tree Card (HGTV)- The cards in this Christmas activity for teens are really cool 3-D cards.
- Washi Tape Ornament Christmas Cards (Fantastic Fun and Learning)- Take a look at these pretty little ornaments with washi tape.
- Super Simple Bauble Christmas Cards (Red Ted Art)- One of my favorite sites, Red Ted Art, has a simple Christmas card idea with different designs kids can try.
A Few Simple DIY Gift Ideas Teens Can Make
- Sharpie Mugs (Destination Decoration)- I use this tutorial for how to bake the mugs. Your creative teen can add Christmas drawings, the person’s initials, or make them look like snowmen like here.
- Notebook Cover (Sunshine & Munchkins)- Making decorative notebook covers is sure to be a hit. They can personalize notebooks for family and friends with just a few simple items. It would make a practical and thoughtful gift.
- Paracord Bracelets (DIY Projects)- Here is a great project for boys to make or to make for boys. They are also very simple.
- DIY Phone Cases (Sarah Beauty Corner) In this YouTube video, kids can learn to make unique cell phone cases and pop sockets for friends or siblings.
- Look up above and some of the ornaments, cards, and kitchen cooking ideas can also be made into gifts.
Christmas Movie Night
Movie night is always a win in our house. Even though my tween and teen are older, they do still like to watch some of the traditional movies like Rudolph and Charlie Brown Christmas. However, they are getting into older kid shows now.
Over at Sunshine and Hurricanes, you will find a list of Holiday Movies for Teens and Tweens. Make a whole night of it. Bake some Christmas treats from above, make hot chocolate bombs, and snuggle up on the couch for some family time.
Even better, you can choose a movie theme and make food and drinks to go along with it. For example, there are a few Grinch movies. Have a Grinch movie night. Make Grinch pretzels, Grinch popcorn, drinks, and more. You can find a roundup of ideas at Two Sisters.
Whatever you choose for a movie, movie night can be a great bonding time for you and your tweens and teens.
Christmas Activities to Help Teens Keep The Christmas Magic
Christmas time can still be fun with teens. It just looks a little different from when they were little. There are plenty of Christmastime activities for teens to enjoy. Pick a few from the list above and keep the Christmas magic going. Teens may act like they are too old for this stuff, but they will be glad you didn’t stop the Christmas fun.
