Happy December from your friends at Northwest NC Families – the Triple P providers of Northwestern North Carolina! As your days grow a little shorter and a whole lot colder, it can be a challenge to keep kids entertained around the holiday season.

To make this month a little easier on your family, we created a list of 31 winter family activities to carry you and your kids through the New Year. You will find a combination of local events and home activities for the family to enjoy. We encourage you to read ahead through the activities to stay up-to-date on upcoming events and gather any resources you could need as you tackle each one as a family.

You can also search for Christmas parades and winter events around you – we provide a few local events on our list, and there are endless other possible activities across Wilkes, Watauga, Ashe, Avery, and Alleghany counties throughout December.

If you take family photos of your adventures this month, tag #NorthwestNCFamilies in your social media posts!

December 1 – Notes to the Nursing Home

Let’s kick off the month on a positive note (pun intended) by writing holiday letters for a local nursing home. These cards can be homemade, holiday-themed, or general “thinking of you” cards. Encourage your kids to include drawings and lots of colors. Some nursing homes may provide a list of residents or you can write cards that are not addressed to anyone in particular.

You can take this activity a step further by hand-delivering your cards! Check with the nursing home first for any COVID visitation policies.

December 2 – Participate in a Local Food Drive

Encourage your kids to think of their favorite non-perishable food items and snacks. Then set a budget and head off to the grocery store! Let your kids choose items on their list while staying under budget and then drop your goodies off at a local food bank or church hosting a food collection.

When you have the resources to share, it is great to involve your kids and highlight the opportunity to give back to their community. If you give your kids an allowance, you could encourage them to use their funds to support others this holiday season.

December 3 – Join the Toy Drive

Plan a small shopping budget for each kid and head to the store so they can choose one or two toys to donate! Some toy drives will have an angel tree with information about the kids who will receive gifts; this guide can help your kids choose gifts they know will bring joy to someone else. Remember to bring your donations to the drop-off location unwrapped unless instructed otherwise.

When planning Christmas on a budget, focusing on giving back around the holidays can help your kids understand the joy of giving to others and restructure the cultural push for piles of gifts on Christmas morning.

December 4 – Check out these Local Events

Alleghany County

Christmas Arts & Crafts Show Saturday, December 4 from 9 am-4 pm: Catch the “Spirit of the Season” at the Christmas Arts & Crafts Fair held in the Emerson Black Building at the Alleghany County Fairgrounds.

Ashe County

Saturday with Santa & Tree Fest Open House December 4, 8 am-11 am, Ashe Arts Council: Visit the Ashe County Arts Council in Historic Downtown West Jefferson and see eight thematically decorated Christmas trees and miniatures art exhibits. Holiday gift shop with locally-made art and crafts onsite as well. Across town at the Ashe Civic Center will be a visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus. This event is free, space is limited so reservations are required.

Wilkes County

Wilkesboro NC Christmas 2021 Parade December 4 at 3 pm, Main Street, North Wilkesboro: The 2021 Christmas Parade will start at the CBD Loop. The Theme this year will be “A Patriotic Christmas”

Christmas in the Commons December 4, 4:30 – 8:30, Community Commons & Wilkes Heritage Museum: At 6 pm in front of the Wilkes Heritage Museum, the lighting of the Heritage Square Christmas Tree will take place. A music performance, kid’s activities, and a movie will follow. The Wilkes Heritage Museum Christmas open house will also take place with tours, music, and refreshments offered throughout the day.

December 5 – Deck the Halls

Whether you plan to put up a Christmas tree or not, you can add some holiday cheer to your home with a few strands of string lights! Head to the store and pick up a few strands (or dig them out of your collection of decorations nestled in the attic) and let your kids “deck the halls.” You can add a few extra nails in the wall for hanging the lights, or they can hang the lights on items already in your home.

If a Christmas tree isn’t in the budget this season, you can string lights in the shape of a tree on a blank wall. Without breaking the bank, you could incorporate tinsel, garland, or a few small ornaments into your design and allow your kids to still decorate their home for the holidays. And don’t forget those stair banisters!

December 6 – Let it Snow

With plain white paper or notebook paper and a pair of scissors, your children can create their own snowflakes, each as unique as their creator! You can even add a small piece of string or thread to the top of a snowflake and hang them over your kids’ beds or somewhere else in your home.

December 7 – Volunteer with Operation Christmas Child

This season is a great time to volunteer with Operation Christmas Child at Samaritan’s Purse if you are around Boone, NC! Before the millions of shoebox gifts collected each year can bring hope and joy to children worldwide, each one has to be carefully inspected and made ready for international shipment by volunteers like you. If your kids are older, you can get the whole family involved and turn this into an annual family event to give back to other kids and families worldwide.

December 8 – Dance Party

Crank up the holiday music on the radio, YouTube, or other music platforms and host a family dance party! Your kids can create a ballet dance to the Sugar Plum Fairy, or rock out to “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” or partner up for any slow Christmas ballads. Any musicians in the family? Have them be the “star musician” of the night!

December 9 – Family Meal Planning

Break out any family recipe books or head online to find new recipes or favorite recipes, and bring your kids into the meal planning process. You can grab any unique ingredients on your next trip to the store and get your kids into the kitchen to help create the dish (or dishes) they picked!

You can choose kitchen assignments based on age, skill, and maturity level as you are comfortable. You can let your kids set the table, clean up as you work on the recipe, or let them take control of the whole meal.

December 10 – It’s A Wonderful Life

Cinema Classics: It’s A Wonderful Life (December 10 and 11, 7 pm to 9 pm at the Appalachian Theatre in Downtown Boone) Frank Capra’s classic stars Oscar nominee James Stewart as George Bailey, a decent small-town banker. He learns what life would have been like if he’d never been born after he unwittingly becomes involved in a mistaken case of bank fraud. It threatens his spirit and tests his will to live until a wise angel compels him to see how his presence has made an incredible impact on the people of Bedford Falls.

December 11 – Boone’s Christmas Parade

If you are near Boone, NC, head over to King Street for the annual Christmas Parade from 2 pm to 4 pm. Watch and wave on marching performances, decorated floats, Christmas costumes, and Santa himself!

The parade route travels east on King Street in downtown Boone, beginning at the Poplar Grove Connector and ending at Hardin Street. Community groups of all kinds, including businesses, nonprofits, religious organizations, and performing groups, are encouraged to participate in this annual holiday tradition.

December 12 – Go Sledding

The Town of Beech Mountain offers the only municipal sledding hill in the southeast, and it is designed for kids ages 12 and under, with no charge to use the hill. Beech Mountain does not provide sleds, but you can bring your plastic sleds or rent one from the Beech Meadows Ski Shop for $5. Local shops also have sleds for sale. Hours of operation for the Sledding Hill are 1 pm to 5 pm Monday through Friday, and 9 am to 5 pm Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. Call the Visitor Center to ask about snow conditions at 800-468-5506.

December 13 – Santa Paws

Whether you have pets at home or not, take your family to the local animal shelter or humane society to visit with the dogs and cats looking for new homes. You can donate clean old or new towels and blankets to the shelter to help with their animal care and then spend time with the animals to help them socialize with different types of people. Shelters have wish lists all year long but especially so during these cold winter months.

Call ahead to check on any COVID visitor policies and talk with your kids about why you are visiting the shelter. Be clear that you are not bringing home any new animals this year, and explain to them how visiting the puppies and kittens will help them feel more comfortable around people and help them get adopted quicker.

December 14 – Friday Movie Night

Get your family in the holiday spirit with a movie night! You can tune into the Hallmark Channel or Freeform to see their holiday shows, search for holiday movies on your streaming service, or make a trip to the library to check out a few options!

If your family LOVES holiday movies, have everyone write their favorites on a list and check each one off as you watch them between now and the end of the month.

December 15 – Design Paper Ornaments

Grab a few pieces of paper, coloring utensils, and any other creative items on hand (such as glitter, stickers, or ribbon), and let your kids create paper ornaments. Depending on your kid’s age, you may need to sketch out a few ornament outlines or find blank options to print off the internet.

Once your kids finish their ornament masterpieces, you can add them to your holiday decor or mail them to family and friends.

December 16 – Holiday Charades

Have each family member write down holiday activities, foods, movies, songs, or traditions on slips of paper and add them to a bowl. Split into two teams and take turns sending one team member to the bowl to choose one and act out whatever is on the paper. Set a time limit of 30 seconds or one minute and see how many each team can guess during their turn. You can choose to play just for fun or keep track of points scored each round. Tally the points up once the bowl is empty.

This game is great for parents of older kids but could work with younger kids if you swap the words for easy-to-understand words or pictures and have a little patience as you explain the rules.

December 17 – Christmas Cookies

Grab the ingredients for homemade cookies or pick up a cookie dough mix from the store and bake cookies as a family! You can roll the dough out, chill it for a little bit, and cut out shaped cookies or go with a traditionally shaped cookie – they will taste great either way!

If real cookie baking isn’t an activity for your family, break out the playdough for pretend cookie baking, go through the motions with your actual baking supplies but no ingredients, or head over to the North Pole to bake VIRTUAL cookies right at home!

December 18 – Hot Chocolate Taste Test

Pick up a few different types of hot chocolate at the grocery store and make them all, then let your kids do a blind taste test of each one. They can rank their favorites, describe each one, and guess which hot chocolate is which. Think dark, milk, and white chocolate variations for starters!

December 19 – Frozen Arts and Crafts

Create beautiful ice decor with two tin cans, faux greenery, berries (this can come from your backyard as colorful leaves, pieces from evergreen trees, red berries, or nuts), and some water! This activity is a wonderful option for your older kids and will look great on your front porch in the cold western North Carolina evenings. Get inspired with the original instructions from Practically Functional Ice Lanterns.

December 20 – Build a Snowman

Collect any clean, used tin cans (or plastic bottles) and wrap them in white paper or cover them in white paint. Add snowman faces to each one with markers, crayons, or colored paper. Assemble the snowmen in a hallway or on the porch and roll a ball towards them for a fun wintery bowling game.

December 21 – Cocoa and a Show

Make some hot cocoa for your family and either hit the road to see Christmas lights, bundle up for a walk around your decorated neighborhood, or search “Christmas lights tour” on YouTube for a virtual light show.

December 22 – Beech Mountain Christmas Parade

The Town of Beech Mountain is hosting its second annual Christmas Parade on Wednesday, December 22, at 4 pm. It will begin at Beech Mountain Ski Resort and finish past Town Hall.

December 23 – Christmas Carol Sing-A-Long

Encourage each family member to write down their favorite Christmas carols and Christmas songs, then find each on YouTube or another music platform and play through the whole list! Singing along is greatly encouraged as you enjoy the family’s favorite holiday songs.

December 24 – Feed Santa’s Reindeer

Another activity great for the whole family is to make reindeer food for the reindeer to have as a “snack.” A simple recipe would include oats to sprinkle outside or a carrot to leave outdoors. Seeing a carrot missing a bite or two or a pile of oats that are missing the following day will be thrilling for younger kids. Depending on the age gap in your kids, you could get older children to help with this activity.

December 25 – Kind and Thankful

Write kind notes for family, friends, or teachers – this would be a great time to work on any thank-you notes for Christmas or holiday gifts if relevant for your family. If you don’t need to write thank-you notes for gifts, you can think of people close to your family and encourage your kids to express gratitude through letters of appreciation. You and your kids can hand deliver these notes if they are local or snag a few stamps to mail them out of town.

December 26 – Family Chore Day

Get the whole family together to clean up your home once the holidays are over. Create lists for each family member and get to work! It is easier for kids to stay engaged with chores when they see other family members at work on their tasks, so try to plan chores around each other so everyone stays motivated.

Make a big deal about checking items off the chores list by using fun colors or stickers to mark off tasks and celebrating each item you check off.

December 27 – Feed the Birds

Build a bird feeder (or a few) with a pine cone, peanut butter, and birdseed, then hang in the trees for your bird friends. These are also wonderful gifts for neighbors! If you have leftover birdseed, hold onto it for the next snow day; clear away a patch of snow and spread the seeds on the uncovered ground so the birds can find food easily in the cold.

December 28 – Take a Walk

Visit your favorite park, a new greenway, or stroll around your neighborhood as a family. You can encourage your kids to look for unique leaves or rocks as you walk or keep your eyes out for different wildlife along the path. Is it snowing outside? Don’t forget to shape some snow angels.

December 29 – Visit the Library

Head to the library to check out a new book for each child, or check out a few books to read as a family. You can also look for audiobooks to accompany physical books to read along when your kids are growing in their reading skills.

December 30 – Closet Clean Out

Help your kids (and yourself) go into the New Year with a little less clutter by going through your clothes to remove items that no longer fit. This activity provides an excellent opportunity to make a clothing donation with clothes you purge in good condition. You can also take inventory of items your family could need in the New Year and create a plan to find those items when shopping or working with others to support your family.

December 31 – New Years Resolutions

Spend time reflecting on 2021 as a family and discuss the high points of the year and low points of the year. Encourage each family member to share their vision for 2022, such as things they would like to accomplish, something they would like to change, or things they would like to stop doing. Work as a team to set goals as a family or individually to help each person work towards their vision. Capture these thoughts on paper so you can celebrate successes and encourage each other to achieve goals.

We hope you have enjoyed time with your family this month and this year. We are looking forward to celebrating a new year with you! Are you looking for New Year’s Resolutions for parents? Contact Northwest NC Families to get paired with a local provider, and let’s harness the national, state, and local resources of Triple P to help your family have the best year yet!