6 Classic and Fresh Festive Activities for Holiday Fun Home Decoration by Lucy Parker - December 24, 2017October 16, 2019 6 Classic and Fresh Festive Activities for Holiday Fun In need of nifty ideas to avoid having a boring holiday or boring your guests? Well, look no further because I have some holiday-cheer-inducing ideas that will guarantee fun for all. These activities are mom approved, by the way, and are great for an individual or a group. If you want to make them more (ahem) adult-oriented, responsibly add cocktails. So, whether you’re hanging with family, friends, or yourself, you’re sure to find something that will keep you and everyone else distracted from trying to open gifts early. 1| Handmade Cinnamon Ornaments This is a classic and my personal favorite. It was a tradition to make cinnamon ornaments every Christmas, and I still have some from my childhood. In case you haven’t heard of them before or if your memory is a little foggy, these DIY ornaments are made out of cinnamon and applesauce! So, not only do you get cool handmade ornaments for your tree, but you also get fragrant tree fresheners — 2 in 1! If you’re wondering if they’re edible, technically, yes. But it’s not as tasty as you might think, so I would just stick to cookies. Pic Source: itsalwaysautumn.com Here’s how you make them: Combine 1 cup of cinnamon, ¾ cup of applesauce, and 2 tablespoons of glue in a mixing bowl and mix until it thickens to a dough-like consistency. If it seems too wet, add more cinnamon. Or if it’s too dry, add more applesauce. Use holiday-themed cookie cutters to create fun shapes. Then, let the ornaments sit for 3 – 5 days to dry (it might take longer or shorter depending on thickness). To use them as ornaments on your tree, poke a hole with a toothpick and tie a ribbon through it to make it easy to hang. If the fragrance starts to fade, just add a drop or two of essential cinnamon oil to the ornament. They also make great stocking stuffers. You’re welcome. 2| Personalized Stockings Pic Source: designertrapped.com Everyone gets their own stocking, so how do you tell them apart? They’re all red and look like oversized socks. The solution is to personalize stockings by decorating them. This is also a great group activity. Whip out the glitter, glue gun, and festive arts and craft supplies to make a truly unique stocking that can no way get mixed up with someone else’s. That is, unless someone is a copycat. But that’s out of my control. If that happens, then play rock, paper, scissors — winner takes all. 3| Play Elf on a Shelf Either you’ve heard of this mysterious game or you vaguely remember hearing about it somewhere with no other context besides the fact that it’s Christmas-related. It also may be just some catchy rhyme that haunts you. It might make you feel better to know that a lot of people don’t really know what Elf on the Shelf is for, they just know it exists (like Santa). Actually, it’s an elf that sits on a shelf and spies on kids in order to report their behavior to Santa. Kids aren’t allowed to touch the elf or else it’ll lose its magic. If they accidentally touch it, they have to write an apology note to Santa (or some variation of that). Every night, someone (usually an adult) moves the elf to a different spot or position, making it seem to kids that it’s actively reporting to Santa. Pic Source: brit.co You can get creative with elf on the shelf. You can hide the elf and reward whoever finds it first with a treat. Or you can take hilarious pictures of it doing silly things. You don’t have to buy a specific elf either, just as long as it’s elf-like. You can even make one yourself. You can stick with the original game, as well. It’s up to you. Now, you know the secrets of elf on the shelf! 4| Furoshiki Gift Wrapping Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese method of using cloth to wrap up and transport gifts. It makes for an unique and thoughtful way to present a gift that can be reused, making it environmentally friendly! This can easily be turned into a group activity where everyone can wrap gifts together. You start off with a piece of cloth that you wrap around a boxed gift. Then, you make a special kind of knot as seen in the photo above. Check out frockfiles for more detailed instructions. Pic Source: gladysmack.com.au 5| Create a Holiday Playlist What better way to get into the holiday spirit than through music? Be the holiday DJ of your shindig or have everyone join in the fun by picking songs together. To make it feel super vintage, use a record player to spin vinyls. You can have a playlist of classic Christmas songs, updated tunes, or a good mix of both! Because all I want for Christmas are good tunes and baby, it’s cold outside. Feel free to add more Christmas song catchphrases. Pic Source: Shutterstock 6| Have an Ugly Sweater Party Remember when ugly sweaters were the tackiest thing ever? They still are, but now you can host a party dedicated to these Christmas abominations. Try to out-ugly each other’s sweater in a competition for the title of “The Tackiest Of Them All.” It’s super fun to compare sweaters. The best part is that you can apply some DIY to it by adding your own personal touches like pom poms and googly eyes. You can even make cute/ugly sweater shaped cookies. How precious! Honestly, is it really a Christmas party without an ugly sweater? Pic Source: afternooncrumbs.com Hopefully, this will keep your loved ones’ mitts off of their presents until Christmas day. So, lay back and relax with a cup of eggnog and watch everyone enjoy themselves. Let me know if I should add anything to this list or if you end up doing any of them! About the author: Lucy Parker is the Resident Design Consultant at HomeDecorAZ.com. When she’s not busy helping clients with interior design projects, Lucy writes blog posts related to home décor. She’s also a foodie who loves traveling and enjoys movies (except horror).