Winter Bucket List!

Thanksgiving is over, and Fall is coming to end, which means Christmas is right around the corner, and it's time to bundle up and enjoy winter! Here is our Winter Bucket List to give you some inspiration and to help you make this Christmas and this winter season special for you and the kiddos:

1. Make paper snowflakes.
2. Do Elf on the Shelf: Go all out! Read the story, watch the movie, name him/her, leave a letter from the Elf to each kiddo, create mischief for them to find when they wake up each morning, even have a North Pole Breakfast to welcome the Elf! 
3. Decorate the Christmas tree together.
4. Learn to knit.
5. Have French Toast and hot chocolate for dinner.
6. Go on a night drive to see the Christmas lights around town (walk through a Christmas lights display, if you have one close to where you live).
7. Make candy cane milkshakes, tea, or coffee.
8. Take pictures under a lighted, covered bridge.
9. On December 1st, leave a package on the doorstep from the North Pole. In it: a new Christmas book and a new Christmas movie to get everyone in the Christmas spirit!
10. Get pictures with Santa.
11. Have a sleepover under the Christmas tree.
12. Decorate Christmas-shaped sugar cookies; use icing, sprinkles, the works!
13. Have a candlelight dinner with the hubby on the longest night of the year, December 21st.
14. Send out Christmas cards to family and friends.
15. Make a snow globe.
16. Kiss under the mistletoe.
17. Make homemade eggnog (alcoholic or non-alcoholic).
18. Take treats to neighbors and friends.
19. Have the kiddos make a card/give a gift to give to their teachers.
20. Have a Family Game Night (I definitely prefer board games to the game systems for this!).
21. Write letters to Santa, and mail them!
22. Go all out with Christmas decorations inside and outside the house!
23. Turn up the Christmas music and have a dance party!
24. Make homemade ornaments.
25. Visit a nursing home.
26. Pick out "ugly" Christmas sweaters and take family pictures and/or add an "Ugly Sweater Contest" to your Christmas party!
27. Give can foods to a food bank.
28. Read the Nativity story.
29. Go on a winter nature walk.
30. Make a blanket fort to play in/sleep in.
31. Go on a winter scavenger hunt outside.
32. Make a box for Operation Christmas Child.
33. Make Christmas art.
34. Set up a Nativity set and/or a Christmas town set.
35. Make holiday recipes together.
36. Play hide-and-seek in the dark!
37. Read Christmas books together. Think about even doing a Christmas Book Advent (leave them all wrapped under the Christmas tree on December 1st): a Christmas book and a Christmas craft every day, or just read a different Christmas book every night as a bedtime story.
38. Finish up your yearly family photo book/scrapbook. I love using Mixbook!
39. Make Christmas crafts.
40. Do the 12 Letters of Christmas from the North Pole, from Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Head Elf, and all nine reindeer! Leave out one each morning for 12 days to let the kiddos know what's going on at the North Pole!
41. Watch Christmas movies together.
42. Have a "Polar Express Day:" Stay in your pajamas all day, read the book, drink hot chocolate, and watch the movie together!
43. Send a Christmas card and/or write a letter to a soldier for the holidays. There are quite a few different websites that will give you information on this, and the Red Cross does it around this time of year as well.
44. Make a yearly family newsletter of everything significant and special that happened this year. Even if you don't send it out, it's still a great family keepsake (maybe think about making a book of them)!
45. Make homemade ornaments for the grandparents.
46. Host a Christmas party for family and friends: Christmas music, Christmas movies, decorations, hot chocolate, eggnog, dancing, caroling, maybe some piano playing? Have someone dress up like Santa and let the kids make and decorate cookies for Santa, as well as make "Reindeer Food" for the reindeer.
47. Have a "Polar Express Night:" Go through the kiddos' bedtime routine as usual, while the other parent makes popcorn and hot chocolate and puts them in the car. When the kids climb into bed, they will find a golden ticket saying, "Minivan Express", or something of the sort, and telling them what to do. Load everyone up in the car and go for a ride around town to see the Christmas lights.
48. See the reindeer and Santa coming out to feed them daily on Reindeer Cam.
49. Take lots of photos!
50. Follow Santa's route around the world on NORAD.
51. Make a gingerbread house.
52. Call Santa for free at (951) 262-3062. 
53. Make homemade fudge.
54. Go to your town's Christmas parade.
55. Pick out a special family ornament commemorating the year.
56. Go and pick out a real tree together.
57. Go on a horse-drawn carriage ride.
58. Go to a candy store to pick out a holiday treat.
59. Make fireplace/inside s'mores.
60. Go see "The Nutcracker" or another holiday play together.
61. Go ice skating.
62. Have a winter photo shoot (in the snow, if you have it).
63. This is hard where we live because we might get snow once a year, but if you have it, build a snowman and dress him up, make a snow angel, go sledding (or skiing), have a snowball fight from behind your snow fort, have an icicle sword fight, etc.
64. Now, if you're like us and barely ever get snow, feel free to make your own!
65. Bake cookies to leave out for Santa (make sure to leave a carrot for Rudolph!).
66. Have a "Christmas Eve Box" that is under the tree (maybe left by the reindeer or elves) or left at the door from the North Pole to open on Christmas Eve night. Fill it with new Christmas pajamas, Christmas socks, popcorn, Christmas mugs, hot chocolate, marshmallows, and a Christmas book. Spend the evening together and cuddled up.
67. If you don't have a chimney, leave a special key on your doorknob so that Santa can still get into the house. Feel free to add a cute little poem for Santa to add even more Christmas magic!
68. Make it magical! On Christmas Eve night, my dad used to stomp on the roof and jingle bells outside my bedroom window as a kid, and I will always remember how excited it made me and how special those memories will always be to me!
69. Decorate the house for Christmas morning while the kiddos are asleep on Christmas Eve night. 
70. Make sure to leave little reminders that Santa and his crew were there, such as "Santa Footprints" or crepe paper taped across the kiddos' door frames that they have to bust through on Christmas morning (this would have been done by the elves to make sure they stayed in their rooms).
71. Make a New Year's resolution. 
72. Watch the ball drop on television (or go to your own town's ball drop).
73. Kiss as the clock turns midnight. 
74. Set off fireworks!
75. Decorate for New Year's. Have party hats and noisemakers on hand!
76. Have a New Year's party or get together, drink champagne or sparkling wine (sparkling grape juice or milk and cookies for the kiddos). Set up a photo booth, play New Year's music, and play New Year's games, such as balloons to pop every hour that have a note telling you what to do (bake cookies, play a game, truth-or-dare, etc.) or a game asking questions about things that happened to you this year.
77. Dress up, whether you're going out or just hanging out at home.
78. Make a New Year's Day lunch/dinner for friends and family, eat all the foods that bring luck for the coming year: greens = money, etc.