Christmas Bucket List Ideas

Five Christmas things to do this December, each with its cost in words and a first step.

Christmas Bucket List Ideas

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  1. Hold a soup night every Sunday of DecemberSmall cost. One big pot, bread, and a different guest invited each week.
  2. Build a snowman for each person in the houseFree. Wait for wet snow that packs, and gather the scarves and buttons ahead.
  3. Take blankets or food to an animal shelter in DecemberSmall cost. Shelters post what they need; phone to check before you carry it in.
  4. Cook the whole Christmas dinner yourself for the first timeSave up for the food. Write a timetable backward from the hour you will sit down.
  5. Go to the tree lighting in your townFree. Find the date on the town's website and arrive early for a spot near the front.

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How it works

These Christmas bucket list ideas are 100 things to do in December: sleep beside the lit tree, cover an orange in cloves, sing carols at a care home.

Read the full guide

Five groups of twenty

At home, Out and about, Make and bake, Give and share and Any December day hold 20 ideas each. The last group is for the month and not the holiday: one long novel read across all 31 days, breakfast by candlelight on a dark morning, the first tracks across a snowy field.

How to read a card

Each line opens with the cost in words: Free, Small cost or Save up. Then comes the first step, often with a date in it: book the ballet in the fall, cut the paper chain on the last day of November.

Questions and answers

What are good bucket list ideas for Christmas?

Mix the kinds: read the same poem aloud every Christmas Eve, hear a brass band play carols outdoors, dry orange slices and hang them in a window, and write one real letter in place of a Christmas card.

What are holiday bucket list ideas that cost nothing?

55 cards are marked Free, among them hang every card you get on one long ribbon, walk the street with the best lights after dark and put a handwritten note in everyone's stocking. Another 34 carry a small cost: paper, a stamp, flour and salt.

What are December bucket list ideas that are not about Christmas?

The Any December day group has 20. Watch the Geminid meteor shower, strongest on the morning of December 14, catch both sunrise and sunset on the winter solstice, which is December 21 or 22 north of the equator, or hold a soup night every Sunday.

Which Christmas bucket list ideas work with kids?

71 cards are tagged With kids, such as set out a carrot for the reindeer before bed on December 24, hide one small ornament on the tree for the others to find and make salt dough ornaments with the year on each.

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All 100 ideas

At home 20

  • Eat a carpet picnic of leftovers in front of the tree Free. Spread a blanket, bring the plates down and leave the dining table bare.
  • Hang every card you get on one long ribbon Free. Pin a ribbon along a door frame the day the first card arrives.
  • Hide one small ornament on the tree for others to find Free. Tell them only its color; whoever finds it hides it next.
  • Keep one present back to open on New Year's Day Free. Each person chooses the one to save and puts it on a high shelf.
  • Leave a jigsaw out on a table for the whole holiday Small cost. Set it up on December 23 and let anyone add a piece in passing.
  • Open a wrapped picture book each night until Christmas Free with a library card. Borrow 24 books in late November and wrap each one in newspaper.
  • Play board games all Christmas afternoon, phones away Free. Choose three games the night before and let the youngest pick the first.
  • Pose for a family photo by the tree, same spot each year Free. Stand in the same order every time; prop a phone on a shelf and set the timer.
  • Put a light in the front window every December evening Small cost. A battery candle on a timer does it; set it to come on at dusk.
  • Read A Christmas Carol aloud, one stave a night Free from the library. The book has five staves, so start five nights before Christmas.
  • Read the same poem aloud every Christmas Eve Free. Choose the poem this year and hand the reading to a different person each time.
  • Record a grandparent telling a Christmas from long ago Free. Use the voice recorder on a phone and ask first what the tree looked like.
  • Schedule a Christmas film for each weekend of December Free if you own them. Write the titles on the calendar, one for each weekend.
  • Set out a carrot for the reindeer before bed on December 24 Free. A plate by the door, and a bite gone from the carrot by morning.
  • Sleep one night on the floor beside the lit tree Free. Carry the bedding down on the last Saturday before Christmas and turn off the big light.
  • Stay in pajamas all day on December 26 Free. Plan nothing, cook nothing new and eat the leftovers cold.
  • Tear one link off a paper chain each night of December Free. Cut and number 24 strips of scrap paper on the last day of November.
  • Tuck a note about this Christmas into the decorations box Free. Write who came, what you ate and what went wrong; read last year's note first.
  • Wrap every present in one sitting with a film on Small cost for paper. Gather the tape, tags and scissors first and clear the floor.
  • Write down who gave what before the paper is cleared Free. One notebook and one person in charge of it, so the thank-you notes are easy.

Out and about 20

  • Go caroling door to door with four friends Free. Print three carols, practice once and choose a street where you know people.
  • Go ice skating outdoors after dark in December Small cost with skate rental. Book an evening slot and bring thick socks.
  • Go to a candlelit carol service Free. Churches and cathedrals post their times; arrive early for a seat.
  • Go to the tree lighting in your town Free. Find the date on the town's website and arrive early for a spot near the front.
  • Hear a brass band play carols outdoors Free. Bands post their December dates; take a coin for the collection tin.
  • Join the singing at a carol concert new to you Free. Read the notice boards of schools, choirs and town halls for a date.
  • Look at the decorated store windows after closing time Free. Go downtown on a weeknight, when the displays are lit and the sidewalks are empty.
  • Ride a train decorated for Christmas Save up. Heritage railways sell their December rides early; look in September.
  • Saw down your own Christmas tree at a choose-and-cut farm Save up for the tree. Find a farm near you, measure your ceiling and bring gloves.
  • See a Christmas ballet or pantomime on stage Save up. Seats for the weeks before Christmas sell early, so book in the fall.
  • See a display of gingerbread houses Small cost, if any. Search your town's name with the words gingerbread display.
  • See real reindeer up close Save up for the ticket. Find a farm or zoo that keeps a herd and check it opens in December.
  • Shop a whole gift list at one Christmas market Save up for the gifts. Write the names down first and bring cash for the small stalls.
  • Take a walk on Christmas morning before anyone cooks Free. Leave boots and coats by the door the night before and go before breakfast.
  • Visit a stately home decorated for Christmas Save up for the ticket. Find one that decorates its rooms in December and book a slot.
  • Walk a child to the mailbox with a letter to Santa Small cost: one stamp. Write it together after dinner and walk it down the next morning.
  • Walk a light trail through a park or garden Save up for the ticket. Light trails sell timed entry; book a weeknight early in December.
  • Walk the street with the best lights after dark Free. Ask neighbors which street goes all out and go on a dry evening.
  • Watch a community Christmas play Small cost. Amateur drama groups put their December dates on posters and local pages.
  • Watch a holiday parade from the curb Free. Find the route, pick a corner and bring something to sit on.

Make and bake 20

  • Bake a Christmas bread or cake from another country Small cost. Choose the country, find a recipe from a baker there and start a day early.
  • Bake a gingerbread house from scratch, walls and all Small cost. Print a template, bake the walls a day ahead and let them harden.
  • Build Christmas crackers from card tubes and tissue paper Small cost. Write the joke yourself and buy the snaps from a craft shop.
  • Cook the whole Christmas dinner yourself for the first time Save up for the food. Write a timetable backward from the hour you will sit down.
  • Cut gift tags from last year's Christmas cards Free. Keep the cards, cut the fronts into tags and punch a hole in each.
  • Draw your own Christmas card and print copies Small cost. Finish the drawing by mid-November so printing and mailing fit.
  • Dry orange slices and hang them in a window Small cost. Slice thin, bake low and slow, then thread with string.
  • Fold a five-point star to top the tree Free. Look up the folds and practice on scrap paper first.
  • Learn a family Christmas recipe from whoever makes it Free. Ask to cook it beside them this year and write down what they never measure.
  • Make a batch of fudge to give away in small boxes Small cost. Choose the recipe, buy the boxes and make it in the last week.
  • Make a lit-up tabletop village out of small boxes Free. Save packaging from November on, cut out windows and stand a battery light inside.
  • Make a pomander: an orange covered in cloves Small cost. One orange, a jar of whole cloves and a toothpick to start the holes.
  • Make a wreath from evergreen clippings Free with what you can cut. A wire frame, twine and an armful of branches.
  • Make hot chocolate three ways and vote on the winner Small cost. One pan each of dark, milk and white, and a spoon for every taster.
  • Make salt dough ornaments and write the year on each Small cost. Flour, salt and water; press a hole for the ribbon before baking.
  • Sew a felt stocking for someone Small cost. Trace a sock shape twice onto felt and stitch around the edge.
  • Sew an Advent calendar you will reuse every year Small cost. 24 small pockets on a strip of felt, numbered with a marker.
  • Stamp plain paper into gift wrap with a cut potato Small cost. A roll of brown paper, a star carved into the potato half and one pot of paint.
  • String popcorn and cranberries for the tree Small cost. A needle, strong thread and popcorn left out overnight so it does not crumble.
  • Tape a hand-cut snowflake to every window pane Free. Fold white paper in six and snip along the edges; no two come out alike.

Give and share 20

  • Bake cookies and take a plate to three neighbors Small cost. Bake on a Saturday and deliver them warm, with your name on the plate.
  • Buy the gift on a giving tree tag for a child Save up for one gift. Look for a giving tree at a library, mall or place of worship.
  • Clear out outgrown toys before the new ones arrive Free. Fill one box with the children and take it to a charity shop together.
  • Fill a box for a food bank from its most-needed list Save up for the groceries. Find the list on its website and shop to it.
  • Give everyone a book to open on Christmas Eve Small cost. Buy secondhand, wrap them alike and read after dinner.
  • Give one gift that is a promise of your time Free. Write the plan and a date on a card: a walk, a meal you cook, a lesson.
  • Give only handmade gifts for one Christmas Small cost. Decide in October what you will make, and make one a week.
  • Hand-deliver a card to every door on your street Small cost for cards. Write them in one evening and walk them around on a Saturday.
  • Host a Christmas cookie swap Small cost. Six people bake a dozen each, and everyone leaves with a mixed box.
  • Invite someone who would be alone to Christmas dinner Free but for one more plate. Ask in early December so they have time to say yes.
  • Mail a card to someone you have lost touch with Small cost: one stamp. Find the address first, then write three lines about your year.
  • Put a handwritten note in everyone's stocking Free. Write one true thing you noticed about each person this year.
  • Record a Christmas story for a child who lives far away Free. Read a picture book into a phone and send the file along with the book.
  • Run a secret Santa with a small spending cap Small cost. Draw names from a bowl by December 1 and agree the cap out loud.
  • Sing carols at a care home Free. Phone the home first and ask which afternoon suits; four voices are enough.
  • Take baking to people who work on Christmas Day Small cost. Phone the fire station or care home first to ask what it can accept.
  • Take blankets or food to an animal shelter in December Small cost. Shelters post what they need; phone to check before you carry it in.
  • Tape a small gift to the mailbox for the mail carrier Small cost. A wrapped snack and a note that says what it is for.
  • Work one volunteer shift in December Free. Ask a food bank or shelter which shift it finds hardest to fill.
  • Write one real letter in place of a Christmas card Small cost: one stamp. One page, by hand, to the person who would least expect it.

Any December day 20

  • Build a snowman for each person in the house Free. Wait for wet snow that packs, and gather the scarves and buttons ahead.
  • Call one person a week you only hear from at Christmas Free. List four names on December 1 and take one each Sunday.
  • Catch both sunrise and sunset on the winter solstice Free. North of the equator it falls on December 21 or 22, the shortest day. Look up both times.
  • Eat breakfast by candlelight on a dark December morning Free. Set the table the night before and leave the big light off.
  • Eat dinner outside once in your warmest clothes Free. Choose a dry evening, carry out blankets and serve something hot in bowls.
  • Feed the birds through the cold weeks and list who comes Small cost. Hang one feeder where you can see it from the kitchen.
  • Finish all your gift shopping before December starts Free beyond the gifts. Write the list in October and buy two a week through November.
  • Hold a soup night every Sunday of December Small cost. One big pot, bread, and a different guest invited each week.
  • Leave the first tracks across a snowy field Free. Leave boots by the door when snow is forecast and go out at first light.
  • Photograph one view on each of December's 31 days Free. Choose a window, stand in the same place and set a daily reminder.
  • Read one long novel across the month of December Free from the library. Divide the pages by 31 and read that many each night.
  • See a frosted park at sunrise Free. Watch the forecast for a clear, still night and set an early alarm.
  • Spend one December evening with no electric lights Free. Candles or a fire, a board game, and phones in another room.
  • Take a December day off with nothing planned Free. Book the leave now, before the calendar fills, and tell nobody.
  • Take a dusk walk on seven December evenings in a row Free. Look up the sunset time and leave the house twenty minutes before it.
  • Take a sled out on the first day the snow settles Free with a borrowed sled. Choose your hill before the snow comes.
  • Toast marshmallows over a fire pit on a cold night Small cost. A bag of marshmallows, long sticks and an adult by the fire.
  • Visit a glasshouse of tropical plants on a gray day Save up for the ticket. Find a botanical garden within reach and go when it is coldest.
  • Watch the Geminid meteor shower at its peak Free. The Geminids are strongest on the morning of December 14. Find a dark spot.
  • Watch your town's lights come on from a hill Free. Arrive half an hour before sunset and bring something to sit on.