Christmas 2026: What to do? Christmas vacation tips for kids
Christmas 2025 will be unforgettable with this festive article full of great activities! Enjoy at home and outdoors. The 2025 Christmas vacation is the same across the Netherlands: from December 20, 2025, to January 4, 2026.
In this blog, we share fun and creative activities you can do with your kids, both at home and outdoors. Together, let’s ensure unforgettable moments during this special time of year.
Holiday activities at home
Singing Dutch Holiday songs
Bring the Christmas atmosphere into your home by singing Dutch Christmas songs with your children. Not only does it create a cozy atmosphere, but it is also a fun way to practice the Dutch language. For this, be sure to also see the free lesson (number 2) in 3 times language with Christmas.
Special Dutch Crafts
Let your kids’ creativity run wild with fun Christmas craft projects. Think about making Christmas cards, decorations, or even a unique Christmas tree. This way, they will not only have fun but also develop their fine motor skills.
Lots of fun ideas to be found. Here is the top 3:
- Kidsproof wrote this fun blog with 10 Christmas crafts for kids.
- Kekmama also has very nice ideas.
- Finally, Natuurmomenten has this nice page: Christmas crafts with Oerrr.
Reading stories
Dive into enchanting Christmas stories together. Whether classic stories or contemporary children’s books, reading Christmas stories aloud not only strengthens language skills but also brings a magical atmosphere into the home.
Find your inspiration from a variety of sources:
- A top 10 best children’s books about Christmas
- With the library’s LEES app, your kids can read and listen to more than 100 e-books and audiobooks for free without being a member.
- 5 stories chosen by the EO to read aloud
Bingo: reading in Dutch
Make reading even more fun with a Christmas-themed reading bingo. Compile a list of various books and let your kids enjoy reading during the vacations. A fun way to foster a love of books. Three in a row:
- From Zwijssen
- From Miss Bumblebee, juf Bijtje
- From teacher Maike
Baking cookies with children
Get into the kitchen and bake delicious Christmas cookies together. Let your kids help knead the dough, cut out shapes, and decorate the cookies. A tasty and fun activity!
Watching Dutch movies
Create a cosy cinema atmosphere at home by watching Christmas movies together and decorating your living room or bedroom cosily. Add popcorn or homemade cookies, make a nice Christmas movie, and enjoy a cosy movie night. If you have no inspiration, read how Mom Lies does it.
Ten fun family movies are:
- Festive Wonder. Experience the enchanting adventure full of joyful surprises and compelling tunes, perfect for amazement from the little ones.
- Arctic Journey: An intriguing animation takes you to the North Pole, where the magic of Christmas comes to life.
- The Grumpy Creature’s Tale: Discover the entertaining story of a peculiar creature trying to disrupt the Christmas spirit for the lively residents of Whoville, a unique twist on the beloved Dr Seuss book.
- Muppet Magic at Christmas: Experience the magic of The Muppet Christmas Carol, a unique fusion of the timeless Dickensian fairy tale with the irresistible humour of the Muppets, a must-see for the whole family.
- A Magical Christmas Quest: Join us on an enchanting journey for little ones. This magical adventure follows Nikolas on his search for his father, who goes on a journey of discovery to Elfhelm, the mysterious village of elves.
- Home Alone: A timeless adventure full of humour that captivates children and adults alike. Relive the comic antics of young Kevin McCallister.
- Heartwarming Expedition: A heartwarming story about a boy who, on a magical train ride to the North Pole, teaches us about the power of friendship and the essence of Christmas.
- A Yuletide Tale: This story, inspired by Charles Dickens’ timeless novel, highlights the meaning of kindness and the joy of giving.
- Buddy’s Quest: Dive into the humorous adventure with Buddy the Elf as he searches for his true identity, a journey full of laugh-out-loud twists and turns.
- The Grinch’s Christmas Revelation: Discover the deeper meaning of Christmas with the Grinch in this compelling story about the magic that lights up the holidays.
Puzzles
Choose several Christmas puzzles of different difficulty levels and get to work together. It’s both entertaining and stimulating. You can actually collect puzzles in the theme, or you can puzzle online.
- Online Christmas puzzle jigsaw puzzles for toddlers and preschoolers
- The puzzle factory has something for everyone
- Jigsaw also goes online for all ages
- Word searches, gallows, etc. Christmas and language
An evening of family board games
Organise a special evening of favourite board games for the whole family. Set out some treats and enjoy each other’s company. Use your board games at home, or look for new ideas. Language family games include Boggle, Scrabble, the Word Game, the ABC Game, etc.
Read here for 15 more fun family games!
Creativity: card crafting
Let creativity flow as you craft Christmas cards together. Use glitter, stickers, and colored pencils to create unique cards for friends and family. And for writing, you can use this free lesson (#1). Christmas writing lesson: write a Dutch Christmas card.
A fun alternative is to make your own talking Christmas card. Teacher Renske has been doing this for years and is now sharing her step-by-step plan and an explanation video with us, so everyone can have a card like this too!
Karaoke
Set up a karaoke party with Christmas songs. Let the kids sing their favourite songs and make it a happy and musical afternoon or evening. You can use YouTube with subtitles or Google “karaoke with kids at home. You can use spoons as microphones or craft one together first. For example, like here from a kitchen roll.
Photo corner
Create a special corner in the house with Christmas decorations where the kids can take pictures. It’s a fun way to capture and share memories.
Dress-up party
Have the children dress up as their favourite Christmas characters. Organise a small fashion show and take pictures to capture the creative outfits.
Merry Christmas 2025
With these various activities, we hope your Christmas vacations will be filled with joy, connection, and unforgettable moments.
Happy holidays!
Warmest regards,
Wendy van Dalen
Teacher and founder of Dutch for Children
0 Comments