15 Fun Christmas Activities in Australia

Embrace the festive spirit down under with a twist! As 2024 rolls around, it’s time to shake up the traditional Christmas festivities with uniquely Australian experiences. Whether you’re a local looking to explore your backyard in a new light or an international visitor keen to experience the Aussie summer Christmas, this bucket list is packed with laughs, adventure, and those only-in-Australia moments.

From quirky traditions to breathtaking natural wonders lit under the Southern Hemisphere’s summer sky, prepare for a holiday season filled with fun and interesting escapades that will make your 2024 Christmas unforgettable. So slap on some sunscreen, don your favourite Santa hat (or maybe a cork hat), and let’s dive into these bucket list ideas that embody the true Aussie spirit of Christmas!

We created this Christmas bucket list full of wonderful family Christmas activities you can share with your loved ones this silly season. From crafting to holidaying, baking to scavenger hunts, there are plenty of family Christmas activities on this bucket list to keep you and your family busy and having great Christmas experiences throughout the holiday period. It’s time to do those things you’ve been longing to do – step out, try something new, and make this Christmas the most special one you’ve had in years.

Christmas Bucket List

15 Family Christmas Activities To Do in Australia 2024 During the Holiday Season:

1. Make a Gingerbread House

Have you ever wanted to try making your own gingerbread house but never found the time? There’s no time like now for one of the Christmas concepts like this. First port of call, gather a crew of happy helpers. Then, head straight to the lolly aisle in your local supermarket to stock up on gingerbread house goodies.

Making your gingerbread house isn’t something you can whip up in a couple of hours, so make sure you prep well for this Christmas bucket list activity. Turn it into a weekend project or devote a few days to completing it. You’ll need enough time to make the gingerbread dough and the pattern pieces, roll them out and bake them, assemble them, and then decorate them. All while singing Christmas songs, of course.

Happy kids decorating a gingerbread house with their mum

For most people, the fun part is decorating your gingerbread with lollies. Here, you can use whatever sweet things your heart desires. Get creative with your Christmas ideas this year!

Use peppermint candies, marshmallows, red liquorice twists, sprinkles, candy canes, M&Ms, shredded coconut for snow… A word of warning: taking your little ones with you to stock up on lollies will likely lead to you having more lollies than you need for the gingerbread house!

If we’re honest, most kids will only want to participate in decorating. But the most joyful Christmas experiences involve putting every bit and piece of the house together from scratch.

There’s something wonderful about seeing all your hard work pay off in the end and having gone through these Christmas activities with your loved ones. This is a great step-by-step instruction guide and recipe for making your gingerbread house from scratch. Don’t have time to make your own gingerbread house?

No stress! Plenty of gingerbread cake kits make it easy to assemble your house without starting from scratch.

2. Go Glamping

For many of us, Christmas holidays are synonymous with regional travel and family trips by the beach or in the heart of the bush. If you’ve meant to shake up your usual Christmas family holiday by trying new Christmas experiences, perhaps it’s time you went glamping.

Glamping is the perfect combination of rugged, back-to-nature camping and the glamorous comforts of a hotel stay. It should be on everyone’s fun Christmas activities list in 2024. Kids will love running amuck in nature while mum and dad enjoy their creature comforts. At night, everyone sleeps soundly on comfortable beds with mosquito nets, keeping the bugs out! 

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Surround yourself with the sounds of nature, crickets, and birds. Enjoy fun Christmas activities like going for long bushwalks, playing Christmas-themed ball games, and having picnics in the shade. There’s so much to do when you slow down and step out into nature for a few days. If you’d like someone else to organise your glamping trip, consider our Culinary Camping adventure one of the unique Christmas experiences.

For this multi-day journey, we’ll take you and your family to a secret spot surrounded by big shady trees and the tranquillity of nature. Please spend a few days immersing yourself in quiet, quad biking with the kids, horse riding, going on nature trails, and visiting local farms and producers to sample their artisan goods.

At night, a private chef will treat you and your family to a delicious spread cooked under the stars and with ambient Christmas lights. And when you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a healthy, hearty breakfast ready for you.

Glamping is a luxurious way to travel, and one of the great Christmas ideas is returning to nature. You won’t have to deal with the messiness and discomfort of staying in a tent, less-than-ideal bathroom situations, and cooking outside.

It’s the best way to enjoy all the comforts of being indoors while making the most of the great outdoors with fun family holiday activities. So please put it on your bucket list and try the Christmas experience 2024 for yourself!

Check out our article, Ideas for the Work Christmas Party for Small and Medium Businesses.

3. Visit A Christmas Market

What better way to bask in the Christmas spirit than by attending Christmas markets and revelling in the cheer with others? Many of us miss the social atmosphere of being surrounded by people, the buzz and excitement of being in a crowd, and the freedom of perusing objects and taking the time to enjoy ourselves while shopping.

So, it makes sense to include visiting markets during Christmas on your holiday season list as one of the best Christmas activities for 2024!

Stall with wooden toy decorations at the local holiday market.

Make a note of Christmas markets happening in your area. This website has a useful list of markets in all the major cities. Mark the date and take the family out to enjoy a day or night of Christmas activities and cheer.

Christmas markets are a great place to source unique handmade or one-off gifts and Christmas ornaments for your loved ones. At the same time, you’ll be supporting local artisans and makers after what’s been a tough year for many small businesses. 

4. Go Ice Skating

Have you always wanted to experience a white Christmas? The next best thing to do when heading to the Northern Hemisphere is simply partaking in a traditional white family Christmas activity – ice skating!

This is one of those family Christmas activities we see in the movies. People roll around on ice skates, drink mulled wine or hot chocolate, and share laughs with their loved ones. Make it your turn to join in on the fun Christmas activities for 2024!

Sydney Ice Skating Hit.com.au

Many cities in Australia host outdoor ice skating rinks during the Christmas season. Some have been postponed or cancelled this year due to lockdown.

If this is the case in your city, visit an indoor ice rink instead and make the most of what you can get! Enjoy jamming to the music and partaking in an old-fashioned Christmas activity different from the usual. Experience this Christmas with laugh, fall, dance, and be merry!

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5. Have A Cosy Christmas Movie Marathon

Ahh, the good old Christmas movie! You can’t go through Christmas without watching at least one Christmas-themed film. But why not watch a bunch of them instead?

Get your family or friends together for a big old Christmas activity – a movie marathon full of cosiness, relaxation, yummy snacks, and heart-warming goodness. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Let everyone vote on a bunch of movies, stock up on plenty of food and drinks, put on your comfiest pyjamas, and spend several hours watching your favourite Christmas movies back to back. Here’s a list of popular Christmas movies for 2024 according to IMDB.

While away, the hours in the company of your loved ones and plenty of sentimental Christmas cheer to get you feeling the excitement in the air! Simple but homey Christmas experiences you would like to have.

7. Build Your Blanket Fort

Here is one of the good Christmas ideas for embracing your inner child in 2024. Build a blanket fort with your closest friends and family for cheeky fun and adventure! Kids especially will love fun family Christmas activities like this. They will love to see you embrace your inner child and let loose a little bit.

To build your blanket fort, gather sheets, towels, blankets, and whatever you can use to drape over furniture, and go ham! Make sure you clear enough space to give yourself room to build your sprawling blanket fort. Tie blankets to chairs or drape them over furniture. Ensure you have plenty of pillows and cushions to get cosy inside your fort.

Inside, you and your little ones can create fun family Christmas activities like writing letters to Santa, reading aloud some Christmas books, playing a game, or just cuddling together and having your Christmas movie marathon inside the comfort of your blanket fort. Take a look at these awesome blanket fort ideas on Pinterest to get some inspiration.

7. Get Crafty With Festive Fun

Have you ever wanted to try a particular craft but haven’t found the time, energy, or inspiration? It’s time to stop putting it off and put it on your Christmas bucket list! Whether your ideal Christmas craft activities are weaving or pottery, knitting, painting, or candle-making, take the time this Christmas to sit with your family and friends and enjoy a little crafternoon. Kids will especially love bonding with you while sitting and making something together.

Anyone can make crafts. It doesn’t require talent or skill. Just start small and put no pressure on yourself. The beauty in your craft is the unique mark you leave on whatever you’re making. Make a scrapbook of your Christmas holidays, knit some socks, or even try picking or making jams!

You can give your crafts as unique, handmade Christmas gifts. Keep this Christmas experience as a reminder of your special 2024 bucket list! 

8. Stay In Unique Accommodation

We’ve mentioned some Christmas experiences like glamping, but there are plenty of other ways to turn your annual Christmas holiday into a unique & memorable getaway. With international travel still in the not-too-distant future, consider taking your family on the ultimate staycation this Christmas.

Suppose you’ve always wanted to experience a tiny house. In that case, your children have dreamed of sleeping in a treehouse, or you’ve fantasised about spending the weekend on a houseboat… this is the time to stop thinking about it and permit yourself to go on your dream holiday.

Australia has no shortage of incredible stays that offer unique holiday Christmas experiences.

JR’s EcoHut Unique Accommodation in Australia

You and your family will always remember when you stayed in an enormous cave, rented a luxury yacht for Christmas or had a warm and cosy stay at a barn house. Find your inspiration in this list of unique Airbnbs by Australian Traveller.

10. Let A Private Chef Cook For You

If one of your biggest dreams is to be pampered by a private chef, let this Christmas be when you treat yourself to the occasion. A private chef can also be a great addition to a company Christmas party, making it a unique and memorable event.

Experience the luxury of being cooked for by a top chef. Let a personal chef serve a decadent meal designed just for you and your taste buds. Gather your loved ones and serve this traditional ChristmasEve or Christmas Day meal.

A private chef is a hallmark of luxury and fine tastes. This Christmas, give yourself the gift of enjoying one of the finest Christmas experiences in life with an extravagant meal prepared by your personal chef.

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We have a team of highly skilled and creative chefs all across Australia, ready to come into your home and cook for you in the comfort of your own space. We can decorate your home or garden and transform it into a beautiful dining space.

Your private chef could meet you in a park or at the beach and provide an outdoor cooking spectacular while you lay in the sun and relax with your loved ones. Or let your private chef come aboard your sailboat and cook a fresh fish for you! Whatever it is you imagine when you think of your dream meal, a private chef can turn that into a reality for you. Click here to book your private chef experience now.

10. Do A Family Digital Detox

Doing difficult things is always easier when we do it together. If you’ve felt like it’s time you and your family took a short break from the screens, this Christmas could be the time to do it. Use the opportunity to reconnect with each other in the old-fashioned way.

Engage in fun off-screen activities that will renew your zest for life and make you appreciate the present moment more than ever. Start by collecting everyone’s phones, tablets, and laptops. It’s only fair if everyone participates! Store these safely in a cupboard somewhere (well out of the way to stop sneaky teens from retrieving them!). Then, prepare to enjoy the present moment and real life as it used to be.

Digital Detox is the time to disconnect from electronic devices. Mobile phones are on the basket in the background of the picnic. You can use this time to go on family Christmas activities like a bushwalk, spend the day at the beach, go camping or glamping! Or you could stay home and play board games, get crafty, or make your gingerbread house – so many fun Christmas ideas without digital distraction!

You could even visit friends and play sports games outside or go for long bike rides. There are so many ways to spend hours away without a screen. Best of all, every moment will feel crisp when everyone is attentive and present together.

You only need a digital detox for one day to feel noticeable differences. However, if you can go longer, you will have more power! The real Christmas experiences require your full commitment.

12. Make A Funky Advent Calendar For Your Kids

Ring in the festive season with other Christmas ideas, like making a funky advent calendar for your kids. This Christmas idea list activity perfectly combines getting crafty with setting aside some time.

Set aside time and get creative by building an advent calendar full of surprises to keep your little ones excited about Christmas. Making your advent calendar is very simple. You can also easily make it using recyclable materials you normally throw out.

This page includes several ideas for making your DIY advent calendar, from Christmas stockings to toilet paper rolls! Your children will adore that you’ve made a special advent calendar. You’ll fill it with all their favourite goodies so nobody will be disappointed!

12. Do Random Acts Of Kindness To Spread The Christmas Spirit

One of the most important parts of the Christmas experience is the coming together of people. Paying it forward, partaking in charity and kindness, and sharing the love and Christmas experiences with those who are less fortunate than ourselves enhance the holiday spirit.

Make it part of your bucket list this Christmas to spread cheer around your local community by doing random acts of kindness. Sit down with your family and think of ways to unite and share love with the people around you.

Your kindness could be as simple as leaving inspiring or motivating messages in people’s letterboxes. You could hand out candy canes at the local supermarket. Christmas ideas include nice drawings on your community noticeboard.

Or maybe you could bake some cookies to share with friends and family in the area. Whatever it is, it will feel good for you and the other person, too! This article is a good starting point for thinking about ideas for random acts of kindness this Christmas.

13. Get A Real Christmas Tree

If you haven’t yet experienced the joy of celebrating Christmas with a real Christmas evergreen tree, make this the year you do. Artificial trees can be just as beautiful as a real tree, but nothing quite comes close to the fun and adventure of heading to an evergreen tree farm with your family and choosing the perfect tree to take home and make your own.

Make an entire day of it. Enjoy your time walking through the farms and looking at all the different trees before you settle on the one you’ll take home. This Better Homes & Gardens page lists Christmas tree farms in every Australian state, so look and see if you can find one near you.

14. Have A Scavenger Hunt

This is just another opportunity to give and receive gifts – with it as one of the fun Christmas experiences. Hosting a scavenger hunt is a fantastic way to enhance the holiday spirit and keep kids entertained throughout the school holidays, making this year’s Christmas more adventurous. This could be the perfect activity to do during the family digital detox. Your kids will be occupied and excited without screens, busy looking for clues.

The Christmas idea with a scavenger hunt is to hide clues or riddles your children must follow for their final surprise or gift. This could be their Christmas gift, a lead-up to receiving their advent calendar, or you could have them follow clues and end up in a pile of yummy Christmas cookies or chocolates.

You can hide the clues around your home or even scatter them around your local park or neighbourhood. To make things more engaging, add small challenges to the clues (for example, take a dip in the ocean or climb a tree).

15. Go To A Christmas Play

When was the last time you went to see a play? Support your local community and see a Christmas show or play nearby. After several months of distance from our peers, Christmas is the perfect time to head out into the world and engage with our communities.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a play, either – any show or Christmas carols concert will work here. It could be a concert, it could be carolling. Perhaps you could take your family to a comedy show and share some laughs as one of the Christmas experiences. Or maybe head to the opera house and listen to the soothing sounds of an orchestra.

The idea is to gather with your loved ones and engage in a shared activity that will help you appreciate the arts and support your local community while you’re at it.

Christmas Bucket List – what is your favourite?

As Christmas Eve draws near, it’s the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself and your whole family in the festive spirit by exploring a holiday market. The air is filled with the scent of mulled wine, hot chocolate, Christmas cookies and Christmas tunes.

Getting the kids involved in such outings can turn these moments into cherished memories as they experience the magic of Christmas time. Whether listening to carollers, singing your favourite Christmas tunes or picking out unique gifts for loved ones, these activities enrich your holiday season and bring joy to those around you. So, why not make this Christmas Eve memorable by creating new traditions involving the whole family?

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