Activities for a Family at Home on Christmas Evening

Plan activities for Christmas evening once the gifts are opened.christmas presents under christmas tree image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com

The presents are opened, Christmas dinner is over and it's time to unwind. Christmas evening offers a chance to spend a relaxing time together as a family. Take advantage of the time to reflect on the holiday with family activities. The age of the kids and the interest of the family play roles in the selected activities for the evening. Get the whole family involved in planning the Christmas activities.

Thank-You Notes

Christmas evening is an ideal time to sit down and write thank-you notes. Thank-you notes are easy to put off and even forget. Writing the notes that evening ensures the task gets done and captures the excitement over the gifts. Getting your kids in the habit of writing thank-you notes for gifts is a good practice, as it teaches them to show gratitude and appreciation. For a more exciting activity, turn it into a craft project. Let the kids make homemade thank-you cards.

Family game night offers a bonding experience for Christmas evening. It's more exciting if the family received new games under the tree. A family game night allows the kids to try out the games they received while spending time together as a family. The types of games depend on the ages of the kids and the personal preferences of family members. If the kids can't agree on games, let them each pick one. Set a certain time limit for each game so all get a fair chance to play games.

Put the Christmas leftovers to use right away. Move everyone to the kitchen for a leftover cooking competition. Each family member creates a dish with the leftovers from the Christmas meal. Pair younger children with an older sibling, relative or an adult. Each family member explains the dish to the family and everyone gives it a try. Award a prize for each dish, such as most creative, best-tasting or strangest combination.

Capturing Christmas moments in a scrapbook creates a keepsake for the family. Start the scrapbook on Christmas evening. Even if you don't have the photos printed yet, you can begin some of the layouts. Leave spots for the pictures and add them once they're developed. If you have a photo printer at home, you can have the pictures right away. Another way to work on the scrapbook is to make notes you can use for captions and journals in the scrapbook. Have each family member write down special memories from the day.