Christmas Traditions: 10 Fun Activities To Do With Your Family After Opening Gifts

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by Amy Sullivan on December 25th, 2011 | 2 Comments »

Wrapping paper crunches as you walk across the floor. Presents line the coffee table. Stockings droop empty and a mug of steaming coffee warms your hands. After months of planning and preparation, you exhale. Christmas morning was a colossal success.

But as you nestle into that perfect spot on the couch, little faces meet your stare and although words are not spoken, you know what’s behind the look. It’s the dreaded question. What’s next?

10 Fun Activities To Do After Opening Gifts

If you are looking for ways to linger a little longer in the magic of Christmas, check out these 10 fun things to do after unwrapping the gifts.

Enjoy your presents. Instead of plowing forward and searching out more activities to fill your time, spend the day exploring your new gifts. Read the first chapter of a new book or play a round of that board game.
Watch old family videos. We record everything from baby’s first giggle to your son’s first high school formal. Dust off old footage, gather around the TV, and laugh about all of the "remember when moments."
Share your favorite Christmas book. Have each family member read different pages of the book to bring the family together.
Cook together. It doesn’t matter if you are going fancy with turkey or fun with tacos. Get in the kitchen and cook something together.
Pick up the phone. Even though our days are filled with social media screaming updates, often we don’t get to connect in real ways with people we love. Call your college roommate, old neighbor, or uncle who lives in California.
Get creative with your thank you notes. Goodbye to writing two, short sentences of appreciation about new gifts. Have your kids take pictures of each other playing with new presents and email pictures as photos of thanks, or use some of the artsy gifts to create art of appreciation.
Start a family journal. Each year, a friend’s family passes around a cheap, spiral notebook, and everyone writes funny comments and stories about the day. The notebook is then packed away with Christmas decorations and pulled out the following year.
Watch one of the many Christmas movies on today. Pop popcorn and toss in leftover red and green, cookies sprinkles and watch one of the many Christmas movies on today.
Make a donation box. As your kids put away Christmas treasures, encourage them to find a predetermined amount of items to giveaway.
Go for a drive and host a best decorated contest. After the sun sets, pile in the car and notice all of the sparkling lights. Have a contest in which your family votes on a favorite home.

What are your favorite things to do after gifts are unwrapped on Christmas?

Can one beyond blessed family move from addicted to themselves to devoted to others? The author of this post shares honestly at Amy L. Sullivan about her family's attempt to become less me, me, me focused and more others centered. Amy writes for print and online publications and is also writing a nonfiction book about serving others.