16 Christmas Eve Activities With Free Printables for Children Who Will Not Settle

The best christmas eve activities for kids are the ones that work in order: loud and hands-on at six o’clock, calm and cosy by eight, nearly silent by nine. This list of 16 activities does exactly that, starting with a big shared poster and ending with something you only whisper. Ten of them come with a free printable sheet; the other six need nothing printed at all, and the text tells you which is which.

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1. The Countdown Chart to Morning (Single Shared Poster)

Hang this poster somewhere everyone can see it the moment they walk in. It shows a simple path of numbered hours from now until sunrise, with a small illustration at each stop: dinner, bath, story, lights out, morning. Children tick or sticker each box as the evening moves, and the chart does the nagging for you.

Print one copy on the largest paper your printer allows, or take it to a copy shop for A3. Stick it at child height with painter’s tape. Each child gets one sticker from a sheet to press on when the family reaches that stage, so everyone participates without fighting over the pen.

If the children are at very different ages, let the oldest do the writing and the youngest do the sticking. The chart becomes its own ritual and genuinely reduces the “how long until morning” spiral because the answer is always visible on the wall.

2. Making Reindeer Food in a Bowl (No Printing Needed)

This one needs no printing at all. Set out a big bowl, a bag of plain porridge oats, and a pot of edible glitter or coloured sugar. Children scoop two handfuls of oats each, pour in their chosen glitter, and stir. The mixture goes into a small paper bag or straight onto the lawn later in the evening.

The whole activity takes about ten minutes and gives every child a job: scooping, pouring, stirring, folding the bag closed. Keep a damp cloth nearby because glitter travels. The recipe card printable below pairs with this moment perfectly if you want to add a reading step.

The standard pitfall is a child who pours the entire pot of glitter in one go. Put each colour in a small ramekin instead of leaving the full pot on the table, and rationing takes care of itself.

3. The Reindeer Food Recipe Card (Recipe Card, One Per Child)

Each child gets their own card to follow while they make the food in the bowl. The card lists the ingredients in large print with simple fraction measurements (half a cup, one spoon) and illustrated steps numbered one through four. It doubles as a keepsake because children can colour the reindeer border while they wait for a turn at the bowl.

Print on standard cardstock rather than plain paper so it survives sticky hands. The card is sized to fit a small resealable bag alongside the finished food, which makes a sweet gift if cousins or neighbours are involved.

Children who cannot yet read can still follow the illustrated steps. Pair an older child with a younger one and the older child reads while the younger pours, which keeps both occupied without any adult intervention.

4. The Letter to Leave Out (Guided Lines, One Per Child)

Children fill in a short guided letter to leave beside the mince pie and carrot. The sheet has sentence starters already printed: “My name is”, “This year I tried hard at”, “One thing I hope for is”, “Thank you for”. The child writes only the ending of each line, so even early writers can complete the whole sheet in five minutes.

This is the only writing activity of the night, so position it about halfway through, when children are still alert enough to write neatly but ready to slow down. A fine-tip marker or a decent pen works better than a blunt pencil for small hands on cardstock.

The most common snag is a child who freezes at the blank. Read the sentence starter aloud and ask them to say the answer before they write it. Once they have said it, writing it takes seconds and they feel proud of the result.

5. One Story Read Aloud in Turns (No Printing Needed)

No printing needed for this one. Choose a short illustrated Christmas picture book or the opening chapters of a longer favourite. Adults and children take turns reading one page or one paragraph each, so no single person carries the whole thing and even non-readers can hold the book and turn the page.

Fifteen to twenty minutes is the right length before children start to fidget. Sit in a circle or pile onto one sofa so everyone can see the pictures. Dim the overhead light and use a floor lamp instead; the shift in light signals that the evening is changing gear.

If a child loses the thread, invite them to describe what they see in the illustration rather than the text. It keeps them in the story without embarrassing anyone who is still learning to read, and often produces the best observations of the night.

6. Christmas Eve Colour by Number (One Per Child)

Each numbered region of the image reveals a Christmas Eve scene when coloured correctly: a fireplace, stockings, a sleeping cat, a plate left out on the hearth. The key at the bottom assigns a colour to each number, and children work through it at their own pace, which is the whole point.

Print one copy per child and set out a shared set of coloured pencils in a cup at the centre of the table. Pencils rather than markers keep things quiet. Children who finish early can add their own details in the white margins.

Expect different children to interpret “orange” and “light brown” differently, and let them. The image prompt below calls for regions large enough for small hands, so this works from age four upward without frustration.

7. The Torchlight Hunt for One Hidden Object (No Printing Needed)

No printing needed here. One adult hides a single small object (a tiny foil-wrapped chocolate reindeer, a jingle bell, a felt star) somewhere in one room while children wait outside with eyes shut. The lights go off, each child gets a small torch, and they search together, not racing each other but working as a team to find the one object.

One object, one room, torches only. The simplicity is what makes it work. The whole hunt takes five minutes and then the room naturally stays dim, which helps the wind-down that follows. Play it after the colouring sheets and before bath time.

If children argue over who found it, make the rule clear before the lights go off: whoever spots it calls out “found it” and points, but the youngest child picks it up. That removes most of the rivalry without removing the excitement.

8. Spot the Difference, Quiet Version

Two almost-identical Christmas Eve scenes sit side by side on the sheet. Children circle or tick the eight differences they find. The scene is deliberately calm: a snowy window, a clock on the mantel, a row of stockings, a sleeping dog. Nothing flashing, nothing startling. Quiet subject matter keeps the energy low.

This works well as a solo activity at the table while a sibling is still finishing the colour-by-number. Each child gets their own sheet so there is no arguing about who found what. A fine-tip marker makes the circling satisfying and clear.

Children who find all eight quickly can be asked to invent a ninth difference and add it to both pictures themselves, which occupies them for longer than the hunt did. The answer key prints small at the bottom of the sheet so adults can verify without giving anything away.

9. The Story Sequencing Cards

Six illustrated panels show the events of Christmas Eve in the wrong order: Santa loading the sleigh, reindeer on the roof, children asleep in bed, stockings hung, a family eating dinner, Santa flying away at dawn. Children cut the panels apart and arrange them in the correct story order, then glue or tape them onto the numbered row at the bottom of the sheet.

Print on cardstock so the panels hold up to cutting and handling. Provide child-safe scissors and a glue stick. The activity takes ten to fifteen minutes and is satisfying to complete because there is a single correct answer that feels obvious once reached.

If a child is too young to cut, pre-cut the panels before the evening starts and store each child’s set in a small envelope. The sorting and sequencing still work perfectly without the cutting step.

10. The Wish Card for the Year Ahead

Four small cards print on one sheet, one per child. Each card has three short prompts: something I want to try, someone I want to be kind to, one word for the year ahead. Children fill in their answers with a fine-tip marker, and the cards go into an envelope to open next Christmas Eve. It is a genuinely useful counterpart to the letter left out for Santa because this one is for the child themselves.

Cut the sheet into four before distributing. Write each child’s name on the back of their card in pencil so the envelopes can be addressed correctly later. Store them somewhere memorable: a specific drawer, a Christmas tin, tucked into the decoration box.

Children who cannot write yet can dictate to an adult who writes it for them in a different colour, making the card a collaboration rather than a chore. If you also have New Year plans coming up, the New Year’s Eve games for kids list has more activities in this quieter vein.

11. Putting Out the Mince Pie and Carrot (No Printing Needed)

No printing needed here. This is a ritual, not a game, but it carries the evening forward in exactly the right direction. Each child gets one job: one carries the plate with the mince pie, one carries the carrot, one pours a small glass of milk or juice. They place everything together near the fireplace or front door, wherever the family tradition puts it.

Give the task a little weight. Ask each child to think of one thing to whisper to Santa while they set down their item. No need to say it aloud. The quiet moment of genuine belief or imaginative play is more valuable than any organised activity at this point in the night.

If the letter from activity four is ready, this is the moment to lay it beside the plate. The whole ritual takes three minutes and leaves children feeling they have done something important, which is the best possible state before the next step.

12. Trace the Star

A single large five-pointed star sits in the centre of the sheet inside a dotted outline. Children trace the outline with a pencil or fine-tip marker, then a second slightly smaller star inside it, then a third. The concentric tracing creates a satisfying pattern with almost no effort, and the repetitive motion is genuinely calming.

This belongs late in the evening, after bath if possible. Set it out with one pencil per child and nothing else on the table. The simplicity is the point. Children can colour the bands between the stars when they have finished tracing, or they can leave it as a line drawing.

Keep the instructions verbal rather than reading them off a sheet: “trace the outside line, then the next one, then the next.” No explanation beyond that is needed, and avoiding extra text keeps the atmosphere quiet.

13. The Six Piece Puzzle

The sheet shows a Christmas Eve scene divided into six large jigsaw-shaped pieces with thick borders, all on a single page. Children cut along the bold lines, scramble the pieces face-down, then turn them over and reassemble the picture. Six pieces is the right count for this hour: enough to be satisfying, too few to frustrate a tired child.

Print on cardstock so the pieces feel substantial. Have a flat tray or a place mat ready for each child so the pieces do not migrate across the table and under cushions. Write each child’s initials on the back of their pieces in pencil before cutting to avoid mix-ups.

The puzzle can be done more than once, which matters if one child finishes faster than their sibling. A second solve with the pieces face-down the whole time (feeling the shapes rather than looking at the picture) is a calmer, slower version that works well right at the end of this window.

14. The Whisper Game to Wind Down (No Printing Needed)

No printing needed. This is a single quiet round of Chinese Whispers played in a very deliberate, slow style. Sit children in a line or circle. The first person whispers a Christmas phrase (“the reindeer are on the roof”) to the next, and it travels the chain. No repeating, no asking for another go. The last person says aloud what they heard, and everyone learns how it changed.

One round is enough. The game requires stillness and concentration, which is the work it does. Use a phrase long enough to distort but short enough to hold in a young child’s memory: seven to nine words is perfect.

If energy spikes back up mid-round (it can), end the game regardless of where the phrase is in the chain and move directly to pyjamas. The Whisper Game has already done its job of shifting the register, and a clean exit serves better than a completed round.

15. Draw What You Think Happens Tonight

A large illustrated border frames a completely blank rectangle in the centre of the sheet. Children draw whatever they imagine is happening outside right now: Santa on the roof, reindeer in the garden, elves posting gifts. No prompt, no starter lines, no numbered regions. Completely open.

This is the last active task of the night, so set it out after the Whisper Game with soft pencils and one or two coloured pencils each. Keep the table lamp low. Children who want to add words around the edges can; children who want to sit quietly and draw for ten minutes will do exactly that.

Fold the finished drawings and put them inside the child’s pillowcase or beside their bed. Finding them in the morning alongside any gifts creates a small loop that closes the evening neatly. For more ways to carry the Christmas theme all through December, the Christmas games for kids collection is worth bookmarking now.

16. New Pyjamas Opened Early (No Printing Needed)

No printing needed. This is the close of the evening, not an activity in the conventional sense but the most effective signal that the night is officially winding into its final chapter. Wrap new pyjamas (or even a freshly washed favourite pair) in tissue paper and let each child open theirs at the table, in order from youngest to oldest.

The ritual matters more than the newness. Children change immediately: in the same room, together, no wandering off. Once everyone is in pyjamas, the message that bed is close becomes physical and unavoidable rather than something a parent has to say again.

Pair this with one last look at the Countdown Chart on the wall, where a child can press the final sticker on the last box before lights go low. The evening has a shape now, and it ends here. For a full Christmas Eve party with games that bring more people into the mix, the Christmas Eve party games list covers the adult and family angles too.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best christmas eve activities for kids before bed?

Activities that get progressively quieter work best. Start with something hands-on like making reindeer food, move through colouring and tracing sheets, do the torchlight hunt while children still have energy, then close with the Whisper Game and new pyjamas. The order matters as much as the activities themselves.

What age are these christmas eve activities suitable for?

Most activities on this list work from age three upward. The tracing sheet and puzzle suit three to five year olds well. The story sequencing and spot the difference are best from age five. The wish card and letter work for any age with adult help for younger writers. All of them can be adapted by simplifying the number of steps or pieces.

How many printables should I print for one child?

Print one copy per child of: the letter to leave out, the reindeer food recipe card, the colour by number, the spot the difference, the story sequencing sheet, the trace the star, the six piece puzzle, the draw what you think happens tonight frame, and one wish card (cut from the 4-up sheet). The countdown chart is one shared poster for the whole family.

When should I do the torchlight hunt on christmas eve?

Place it roughly two thirds of the way through the evening, after the colouring activity and before bath time. It gives children a final burst of movement in a contained way, and the room naturally stays dim after the torches go off, which helps the transition to quieter activities.

How do I stop children getting too excited on christmas eve?

Structure helps more than distraction. A visible countdown chart shows children exactly where they are in the evening. Activities that require hands and eyes together (tracing, puzzles, colouring) lower arousal naturally. The key is moving through the list in order rather than letting children pick activities at random, which tends to escalate rather than calm.

Can I use these christmas eve activities with a big group of children?

Yes. The printable sheets simply need one copy per child. For the non-printing activities, adjust the torchlight hunt by hiding two or three objects in different areas if the group is large, and run the whisper game in two parallel chains. The ritual activities (putting out the mince pie, opening pyjamas) scale naturally because every child has their own item to carry or open.