Every year around the first week of December, I tell myself we are going to do all the things. The holiday market, the cookie decorating, the drive around the neighborhood to look at lights in our pajamas. And then every year, life happens, Shane picks up extra hours, Carolynn has a meltdown because her advent calendar wrapper crinkled too loud, and Camden spills hot cocoa on the dog. By December 26th I am standing in my kitchen wondering where the month went.
So this year I decided to get a little more intentional about it. Not in a Pinterest-pressure kind of way. Just in a “let’s actually do some of this stuff before it’s January” kind of way. And the thing that has helped us the most? A Christmas Activity Bingo card.
Instead of a long to-do list that overwhelms everyone, bingo turns holiday activities into a low-stakes game the kids actually want to participate in. Carolynn is obsessed with checking boxes. Camden just likes yelling “BINGO!” at random times even when nothing has happened. It works for us.
Below I am sharing all 25 squares we included on our family bingo card this year, broken into categories so you can mix and match your own. I will also walk you through how we actually play it as a family, because the logistics matter when you have a six-year-old and a three-year-old involved.
What Is Christmas Activity Bingo?
Christmas Activity Bingo is basically a holiday bucket list in bingo card form. You create a 5×5 grid with 25 seasonal activities, one in each square. The free space in the middle can be whatever your family loves most. As you complete activities throughout December, you mark off the squares. The goal is to get five in a row, but honestly we just aim to get as many checked off as we can before Christmas morning.
It is a great way to make December feel intentional without turning it into a stressful checklist. The game format takes the pressure off because you are not expected to do every single thing, just enough to get a bingo or two.
How We Set Up Our Family Bingo Card
We printed ours out and laminated it so the kids could use a dry-erase marker to check things off. If you do not have a laminator, a sheet protector works just as well. We hung it on the fridge at Carolynn’s eye level so she can see it every morning and remind me of approximately seventeen activities we have not done yet.
Shane helped the kids pick the free space. They landed on “watch a Christmas movie in sleeping bags,” which tells you a lot about what this family prioritizes.
You can also do a digital version if you are a paperless household. A simple Google Slides or Canva template works perfectly. But there is something about a physical card on the fridge that keeps the kids engaged all month long.
All 25 Christmas Bingo Card Activity Ideas
Here are the 25 activities we used this year. I organized them into categories below so you can see the variety, but on the actual card they are shuffled around randomly.
Outdoor and Community Activities
- Drive around and look at Christmas lights (bonus points for staying in pajamas)
- Visit a Christmas tree farm even if you are buying a fake one, just go for the vibe
- Find a free holiday event in your town like a tree lighting or parade
- Go on a winter nature walk and collect pinecones or sticks
- Mail a Christmas card or letter to someone you love
At-Home Crafts and Creating
- Make a paper chain countdown to Christmas
- Decorate a gingerbread house
- Make homemade ornaments
- Write a letter to Santa
- Draw or paint a Christmas picture and gift it to someone
Food and Baking
- Bake Christmas cookies together as a family
- Make a special holiday breakfast like pancakes with sprinkles or a festive egg dish
- Try a new holiday recipe you have never made before
- Make hot cocoa from scratch and top it with all the things
- Pack up treats and deliver them to a neighbor
Cozy Indoor Activities
- Watch a Christmas movie in sleeping bags (our free space)
- Read a Christmas book every night for a week
- Build a blanket fort and hang lights inside it
- Play a family board game by the Christmas tree
- Have a Christmas music dance party in the living room
Giving and Community
- Donate a toy, book, or coat to a local drive
- Do an act of kindness for a stranger
- Write thank-you notes for people who have helped your family this year
- Volunteer or help a neighbor with something
- Leave a surprise for your mail carrier or garbage collectors
Tips for Playing Christmas Activity Bingo with Little Kids
Keep It Low Pressure
The whole point is joy, not achievement. If we get one bingo by Christmas, great. If we do not, we still did a bunch of fun stuff. I do not want December to feel like a performance, so we genuinely play it loose. Some squares get checked. Some do not. Nobody goes to bed upset about it.
Let the Kids Have Input
Carolynn helped pick about half of our squares this year. It matters a lot to her to feel like the plan includes her. Camden mostly pointed at pictures and said “that one” but his picks made the card too, which he takes very seriously. When kids help choose the activities, they are way more invested in actually doing them.
Aim for One Activity Per Week, Not One Per Day
December is already a lot. If you try to do a bingo activity every single day on top of school, work, parties, and everything else, it is going to feel like a chore by the second week. We aim for two or three activities a week, more during the weekends when Shane is around and can help wrangle the kids.
Combine Activities When You Can
One Saturday we knocked out three squares in one afternoon: winter nature walk, homemade ornaments from stuff we collected, and a Christmas movie that night. Efficiency is a love language when you have a toddler and a first grader running in opposite directions.
Take a Photo for Each Square You Complete
This is not required but it is something I started doing this year and I already love it. Each completed square gets a quick photo on my phone. At the end of December I am going to put them in a little album or at least a highlight on my phone. It is a nice way to actually remember that you did the things.
Making the Card Work for Your Family’s Specific Situation
Not every family looks the same, and not every December looks the same either. If your kid has dietary restrictions like Camden does, the food squares just need a little creativity. Dairy-free hot cocoa made with oat-free plant milk works great. Allergen-friendly cookie recipes are very doable and I have covered a lot of them here on the blog. The bingo card itself is totally flexible.
If your child does better with routine and transitions (hi, Carolynn), having the card visible and consistent actually helps. She knows what is coming, she knows what choices exist, and that sense of control makes December smoother for her. It is not a cure-all but it genuinely helps our December feel less chaotic.
Free Printable Christmas Activity Bingo Card
I put together a simple printable version of our family bingo card using all 25 activities above. You can grab it, print it, laminate it, or just tape it to the fridge. It is designed to be simple and readable for little ones who are still learning to read with an older sibling who can help.
To get the free printable, sign up below and I will send it straight to your inbox. It comes as a ready-to-print PDF, no design skills needed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas Activity Bingo
What is Christmas Activity Bingo?
Christmas Activity Bingo is a holiday tradition where you create a 5×5 grid filled with 25 festive seasonal activities. As your family completes each one throughout December, you mark off the squares just like a regular bingo game. The goal is to get five in a row, but most families enjoy simply working through as many activities as they can before Christmas Day.
How do you make a Christmas Activity Bingo card?
You can make one by drawing a 5×5 grid on paper or using a free template in Canva or Google Slides. Write one activity in each of the 25 squares, leave the center as a free space, and either laminate it for reuse with a dry-erase marker or print a fresh one each year. Fill it with activities your family actually enjoys doing together in December.
What activities work best for a Christmas Bingo card with toddlers and young kids?
Simple, hands-on, and sensory-friendly activities work best for toddlers and young kids. Good options include decorating cookies, building a blanket fort, going on a nature walk to collect pinecones, watching a holiday movie together, and making paper chain countdowns. Avoid anything that requires long wait times or complex instructions for the youngest kids.
How many Christmas Bingo activities should you try to do in December?
There is no set number, but aiming for about two or three activities per week throughout December gives you a good chance of getting at least one or two bingos before Christmas. That adds up to roughly 12 to 15 activities for the month, which feels festive without being overwhelming for most families.
Can you play Christmas Activity Bingo with more than one child at a time?
Absolutely. One card works fine for the whole family since you are completing activities together. If your kids are older and want a little friendly competition, you can give each child their own card with the squares arranged in a different order so they are racing to get five in a row. With toddlers and preschoolers, one shared family card keeps things simple and cooperative.
Let’s Make December Actually Fun This Year
If December has felt like it slips away from you every single year, I want to encourage you to try this. It does not take much setup time. It does not require a Pinterest-perfect home or a big budget. It just takes a printed grid, some activities your family genuinely likes, and a little intention going into the month.
We are not trying to do every square. We are just trying to show up for the season a little more intentionally than we did last year. Some years that is all you can do, and that is completely enough.
If you make your own Christmas Activity Bingo card, I would love to hear which squares your family is most excited about. Drop a comment below or tag me over on Instagram. And if you want the free printable version of our family card, grab it from the form above and go put it on your fridge today.
Happy December, friends. Here is hoping we all get at least one bingo before Santa shows up.
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