I love the holidays as they are the perfect time to plan some fun family activities and create some lasting memories that you can cherish for years to come. One of the fun lists that is included in our Holiday Planning Insert is the Christmas Bucket List. I love so many of the options included there, but I also love to add some of my favorite in the mix as well. Take a look at my TOP TEN Favorite Holiday Bucket List Activities Below: 

1. Hot Chocolate Bar: This is a family favorite. We fill the crockpot with some homemade hot chocolate and then set out a charcuterie board with marshmallows, caramels, grated chocolate, candy canes, whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate chips and flavored syrups and creamers.

2. Grinch Night: There are three fantastic Grinch movies out there these days, and we sit down as a family and watch all three of them in one night. We create Grinch Punch, and make Grinch Cookies. We also throw in some healthy items too, like celery, grapes with strawberry and marshmallow santa hants, and some broccoli with ranch as well. 

3. Decorate the Christmas Tree: Getting up into the attic to get down all the decorations isn’t really a fun task, but when the tree is all put up with all of the ornaments, lights and garland it makes it all worth it. 

4. Making Gingerbread Houses: This is where things get a little competitive at my house. Everyone bring a smorgasbord of candies and we bust out the glue gun. Why the glue gun you might ask…We want them to stay together, and it is cheaper to grab a glue stick or two then to create the cement frosting, so we stick with a glue gun (we aren’t going to eat our creations anyway) and if someone is in the mood for candy, there is always plenty left over. 

5. Christmas Crafting: I love to search Pinterest for some new crafting ideas. I make my own wreaths, but sometimes I like to spice it up with centerpieces, or even gifts that I can share with others that I have made with the heart. 

6. Card Making: The holidays are the perfect time to make some cards and send them out. I keep my card making ideas in the Project Planner insert, and a hard copy of all of the addresses that I need to send them out in an Address Book Insert. This makes sending them out pretty quick and painless. I know exactly how many I need and where I am sending them to, just going down the list I have already created. 

7. Bake Cookies: I am not a baker by any sense of the word, but I have found a few favorites that I use over the years, and I keep them stored in their own Recipe Insert that I only get out during the holidays. 

8. Donation Day: I have had this tradition with my youngest son, probably since before he can remember. We have a day in the beginning of October where he goes through his toy box and bedroom and collects any gently used toys, clothes, and books that he doesn’t want and he helps me to clean them up and prepare to give them to others that might need a boost during the holiday season, along with a few new items as well. It is a great way to teach him about kindness, charity, and selflessness. It is also a chance to do a little “deep” clean of his room before he gets a new wave of toys. 

9. Advent Calendars: We love to do these with our youngest each year. We pick a different one to do with him, and love that it helps him to count down for the holiday. His joy is contagious. Tula XII even has an Advent Coloring Book Insert.

Saran Wrap Ball: This is the highlight of our holiday season, and the competition involved is EPIC!! If you haven’t ever played this game with your family we HIGHLY recommend it. To participate you simply grab some dollar store items, some cash, gift cards, and candy, and you wrap them up in a Saran Wrap Ball. Each year we ask each family member to donate five items so that we can put it in the next year’s ball. We wrap them up with a FULL roll of saran wrap and then get out the dice. You can also add challenges, fun little tricks, and dice play. It is entertaining, and so much fun!! It is the top of our list every year!