Christmas time is almost here, and the fun isn’t just for kids anymore! If you’re looking to intentionally create a joyful, memorable, nostalgic holiday season focused on celebrating friendships, start with this Christmas Bucket List for inspiration!!
This post is all about the Ultimate Christmas Bucket List for Adults 2024!
Christmas Bucket List Ideas with Friends and Family
Travel to a Christmas Market
Do you think you need to live in a snowy wonderland to visit a Christmas market? Well, you’d be wrong! Listen, we live in Atlanta, and even we have multiple Christmas markets right here!
A quick google search will help you find a Christmas market near you. Even if it’s an hour to two away, make some hot cocoa for the road, blast the Christmas tunes, pile your friends into the car, and make some memories!
Wrapping party
This is a tradition my good friend started a couple years ago, and YOU’LL LOVE IT! We have a tradition, two Saturdays before Christmas, we put on Christmas movies, make White Russians, and wrap all our presents.
I strongly recommend starting this tradition with your own friends! You can provide the drinks and snacks, and have each of your friends bring supplies (they don’t have to be expensive!)
For example, maybe one friend brings tape and scissors for everyone, another brings all the wrapping paper, another brings bows and ribbons, another the name tags! Make it an annual tradition that EVERYONE will look forward to.
Fondue night with friends
When it’s getting cool out, what could be better than a hot bowl of melted cheese?
A fondue night is also the easiest thing to plan ever. You as the host provide the actual fondue pot and sticks – this is the set we use, it was a Christmas gift from a friend, a we’re obsessed with it – and you also make the actual cheese mixture. I recommend this recipe.
Make a Gingerbread House
To make this extra fun with your friends, create a theme for each house, write them on slips, and tell everyone to choose one and keep it secret! At the end of the night, everyone has to guess what the theme of your gingerbread house is. Like a very Christmas-crafty game of Charades!
Plan a Christmas movie night
Okay, it doesn’t matter what age you are, Christmas movies are gems! Have your friends over, bake some sugar cookies and ask all your friends to bring some decorating supplies, and have a cooking frosting and Christmas movie night party with your best friends!
Or, maybe this is your ME TIME. Get cozy with a warm blanket, make yourself a spike tea or cocoa and settle in for a great time.
Some of my favorite Christmas movies in no particular order:
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- You’ve Got Mail
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Miracle on 34th Street
- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
- The Santa Clause
- Home Alone
- The Holiday
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The Christmas Bucket List Item to Bring You Closer Together
Make a Christmas Card
First things first, if you’re not making a holiday card annually, 2024 is the year to start! This is my personal favorite tradition, because it truly connects you to the people you love. And every year that you participate in this custom of holiday cards, you will also RECEIVE more and more cards.
This is a beautiful way to connect with those that you love.
Larry and I have used Minted.com for our Christmas card for 5 years, and we are very happy with their service.
Goal is to order it around Thanksgiving, so you can have them in the mail early December. But, please don’t stress if you don’t get a card out on time, there’s no bad time to reach out to friends. Make it a new years card, or even a Valentine’s Day card!
More Christmas Bucket List Ideas:
Enjoy spiked cocoa, mulled wine, spiked eggnog
More than any other season, Christmas is strongly associated with the flavors of chocolate, eggnog, cranberry, cinnamon, all spice, and more! And THIS is one of the main places where being an adult at Christmas time is even better than being a kid.
Enjoy these classic winter cocktails, while you decorate your tree, bake your Christmas cookies, or wrap your gifts.
Go on a Christmas Lights Safari
There are so many ways to do this. Drive around your neighborhood or another neighborhood in your community that is known to have fun lights.
Another great option is to look for light shows at local zoos or botanical gardens (though these are usually ticketed)
You can even just put up a bunch of lights yourself!
Volunteer
There’s no right or wrong time to start volunteering, but Christmas is a particularly powerful time to get involved in any number of local volunteer organizations. Please, spread some love this Christmas season. Do it by yourself, or invite your friends to join you! Here are just a few ideas:
- Organize a coat drive at your school, church, work, or neighborhood
- Work/play with the animals at your local animal shelter
- Join an angel tree program (found in many churches before Christmas), and select a family with children that you will sponsor.
- Hold a book drive for your community’s library or elementary school
- Hold a toy drive in your area
- Volunteer at your local food bank
Do a Christmas Craft:
- Christmas Garland
- Christmas simmer pot
- Homemade wrapping paper
- Homemade cards
- DIY Christmas wreath
- Mantelpiece decor
