The Ultimate Christmas Bucket List

Christmas is such a magical time of year and a Christmas bucket list can help you make the most of this magical season! Check out tons of Christmas activities to put on your holiday bucket list along with a free printable to print and make your own at home!

I don’t know about you, but we’ve been celebrating the Christmas season for weeks in my house. Making Grinch cookies, creating a DIY advent calendar, and even listening to my playlist of the best Christmas songs ever!

I’m totally in the celebrate Christmas for as long as possible camp – sorry if you’re not!

One of the things that we do at the beginning of the holiday season is to put together a Christmas bucket list (kind of like our summer bucket list but with just Christmas activities). It’s filled with all sorts of fun and magical things that we want to do as a family together.

And while we put ours together as a family, you can totally do this on our own, with friends, or really with anyone else!

I’ve included our bucket list along with the ultimate Christmas bucket list – all sorts of activities you can put on yours!

Plus, there’s a free printable bucket list you can download at the bottom of this post, well two actually – one that’s filled in with a pre-made list and one that’s blank you can create your own because making your own Christmas traditions is the best!

How to Use a Christmas Bucket List

Start by filling in the blanks with the activities you want on your bucket list. A bucket list is typically just an unordered list so don’t worry about the order, just get them on there.

Then start doing things. Do one thing a day, do five things a day, do an entire day of bucket list adventures. It’s totally up to you how you want to do it!

Cross the things off the list as you complete them! Cover them with Christmas stickers. Complete them in order or just do them on your own time when it happens!

And then if you want, celebrate with some big Christmas celebration if you complete your bucket list! Or just know that you’ve experienced a great season full of fun Christmas games and magic!

Things to Put on a Christmas Bucket List

The Christmas season is the best time of year to make memories with friends, family, and loved ones! It’s also a great time to try out and make new traditions so choose the items from this bucket list that make the most sense for you and go with it.

If you don’t love something, try something different next year. There’s no harm in putting things on your bucket list and trying them once! It’s your bucket list – make it everything you want it to be!

There are seventy-five different items on this Christmas bucket list and a number of those things (like doing one of these gift exchange games), could be done in a variety of different ways. You’re obviously not going to do them all so pick and choose what you can.

If you’re making your own, I also love to add my own local things to the list to make it even more personalized to my family!

You’ll also notice that I tried to include a variety of options that go along with the season – baking, doing good for others, Christmas parties, and Christmas entertainment all make numerous appearances on the list!

Christmas Bucket List Ideas

1. Watch a Christmas movie. Even better if you follow it up with a little Christmas movie bingo or Christmas movie trivia games!
2. Write Christmas cards.
3. Play Christmas charades.
4. Attend a Christmas performance.
5. Make Christmas ornaments.
6. String popcorn for the tree.
7. Make Christmas tree brownies (or these Grinch brownies are good too!).
8. Have a picnic dinner by the tree.
9. Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows.
10. Wear ugly Christmas sweaters.
11. Read stories by a fire.
12. Make a Christmas craft.
13. Go ice skating.
14. Watch a new movie.
15. Read The Polar Express (then check out my gingerbread train on TikTok)
16. Put money in a Salvation Army bucket.
17. Buy a gift for a Christmas tree angel.
18. Take Christmas treats to first responders. I recommend something with no nuts like this cranberry orange bread, these gingerbread cupcakes, or these Andes mint cookies.
19. Put out snacks for delivery people.
20. Donate toys.
21. Read Christmas books.
22. Do a service project.
23. Play a Christmas game. If you need ideas, here are some great Christmas party games!
24. Have a Christmas trivia night. Make a Christmas punch game and let people punch out a prize when they win!
25. Make Christmas gifts for teachers.
26. Watch a tree lighting or Christmas light show.
27. Take pictures with Santa.
28. Write letters to Santa.
29. Go Christmas shopping.
30. Watch Elf.
31. Eat snow cones or snow ice cream.
32. Have a snowball fight.
33. Do a Christmas lights hunt. You could also just find items on this Christmas scavenger hunt list while you search!
34. Make candy sleighs.
35. Go sledding/tubing/sleigh riding.
36. See a live nativity.
37. Have a family game night. These are some of my favorite board games for kids!
38. Make cookies for a friend. Peanut butter blossoms, red velvet cookies, or chocolate cherry cookies are always a hit!
39. Give your neighbors gifts.
40. Leave money on a vending machine.
41. Buy something for the person behind you.
42. Do random acts of kindness.
43. Take Christmas family pictures.
44. Play Christmas minute to win it games.
45. Make Christmas punch or cider.
46. Wrap presents.
47. Make homemade gifts.
48. Take secret Santa gifts to a family in need.
49. Attend or go to a Christmas party. Or use these Christmas party themes to host one of your own!
50. Make gingerbread houses.
51. Make Christmas decorations.
52. Do something for residents in a nursing home.
53. Make reindeer food.
54. Meet a reindeer.
55. Watch the Nutcracker (try out some of these fun Nutcracker party ideas for movie snacks!)
56. Bake a Three Kings Cake
57. Listen to Christmas music. Play Christmas music bingo while you listen!
58. Go caroling.
59. Watch a Christmas Carol. Make it even more special by playing Scrooge your neighbor after A Christmas Carol.
60. Take gifts or food to the homeless.
61. Make cookies for Santa. I know personally he’s a big fan of these Snickers cookies.
62. Read the story of Jesus’ birth. You could even do this follow the star activity to make it more fun.
63. Color Christmas coloring pages.
64. Watch The Grinch. Make Grinch cupcakes for a fun dessert to go with your movie!
65. Play Christmas bingo.
66. Buy a new ornament for the tree.
67. Have a gift exchange. My personal favorite is this dice gift exchange but there are tons of options you could use!
68. Drop off 12 days of Christmas gifts to a friend or someone in need.
69. Play the Christmas saran wrap game. Dollar Tree items make great fillers!
70. Have a Christmas dance party.
71. Roll a Christmas tree. And put one up in your house…
72. Make gifts for grandparents and other family members.
73. Play the left right game.
74. Surprise friends with sweet treats. Make it even more creative with these Christmas treat tags.
75. Read Twas the Night Before Christmas

What fun activities would you add to the ultimate Christmas bucket list?

More Fun Christmas Ideas

If you liked this Christmas bucket list, make sure and check out these other fun Christmas ideas!

• 12 days of Christmas ideas – tons of cute party ideas themed after the 12 days of Christmas!
• Christmas would you rather questions – a fun and silly way to get into the Christmas spirit!
• Christmas appetizers – the ultimate list of Christmas appetizers, so many yummy recipes!
• Candy cane game – have a candy cane Olympics with these hilarious game ideas!
• Christmas scavenger hunt – the best way to find stockings on Christmas morning!

FAQs

Download the Free Christmas Bucket List

Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the printable PDF. You will receive a link to download the PDF to your email within minutes.

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If you’d rather not provide your email, you can purchase it in my shop here as well.

If you don’t see the form below, click here to get to it.

The PDF will include both the bucket list shown with the full list along with the blank version (with the squares) to make your own!