Are you looking for a Christmas bucket list, but you don’t want it to add stress to your already stressful life? You’re in the right place. I present: a low-key Christmas bucket list!
Happy December! Whether you’ve been in the Christmas mindset for a while or you’ve staunchly refused to skip over Thanksgiving, now is the time to go all-in on Christmas. It’s my favorite time of the year, so I always have high hopes for making the Christmas season count. I want the season to be festive, but I really can’t handle adding much more to my plate. It’s supposed to be fun!
To maximize the fun and minimize the stress of the holiday season, I like to give myself some structure in the form of a bucket list. But this isn’t like some other bucket lists that you’ve seen that list 37 things of varying degree of difficulty. This is an extremely doable low-key Christmas bucket list. Ticking off the items on this low-key Christmas bucket list gets you feeling all the Christmas feels while keeping your sanity!
My low-key Christmas bucket list is only 10 things, and most of them are pretty easy to accomplish. If you want to do more, great! That’s just gravy, baby!
Low-Key Christmas Bucket List
Decorate
The first item on the low-key Christmas bucket list has to be decorating. It’s imperative that you decorate for Christmas to set the mood. Now, don’t think that you have to go overboard. Sometimes simpler is better when it comes to decorations.
Tree
Of course, you need a tree. I love my pre-lit Balsam Hill 7.5ft Vermont White Spruce, but you definitely do not need to make this big of a splurge on your tree. If you do want to get the fancy tree, I highly recommend waiting until after Christmas. I bought mine the day after Christmas a few years ago at a very deep discount.
Once you have the tree, you need to decorate it. I highly recommend that you have your kids help you put the ornaments on the tree, even if every fiber of your being is screaming, “no!!!” Channel your inner-Elsa and “Let It Go!” Your kids will be so proud of the beautiful tree they’ve helped create and they’ll revel in it every day the tree is up in your house. That’s worth way more than an aesthetic Christmas tree. Just make sure that any breakable or particularly sentimental ornaments make it to the top of the tree where little hands can’t reach. Great grandma’s faberge egg in a million pieces on the floor is guaranteed to ruin the Christmas magic you’re trying to achieve with your low-key Christmas bucket list.
Lights
If you have outdoor space, throw up a few lights. This could be as minimal as stringing a single strand of white lights off your balcony railing or as maximal as a life-size Santa with his reindeer set to music. Decorate your outdoor space however is speaking to you. We keep it simple with some lights around our front porch and some fun, colorful path lights.
Other
I definitely don’t go overboard with other decorations around the house, but I do like to add a sprinkling of festive cheer here and there. This usually means a Christmas plaid tablecloth, a mantle garland, and a nativity set.
Christmas cards
This might be old-school, but I still like to send Christmas cards to my friends and family. It’s a great way to keep a connection in a fast-paced, stressful world. Keeping with the spirit of a low-key Christmas bucket list, I keep my Christmas cards simple. I choose a simple card template from Snapfish, upload a family photo, and stuff them into envelopes without personalized greetings to each recipient. If you’d rather send a holiday email, more power to you!
Santa
If you have small kids, of course you need to include a visit to Santa on your low-key Christmas bucket list. Seeing Santa and asking him in person for a special item for Christmas is Christmas magic with little ones. Stand in line at the mall, schedule a breakfast with Santa, or attend a local event that features Old Saint Nick. Don’t skip this one, folks!
Santa can still be on your low-key Christmas bucket list if you have older kids. My cousin’s kids, who are in their 20s, still go take a picture with Santa every Christmas as part of their mom’s Christmas gift. It’s such a fun tradition!
Angel Tree
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to buy gifts for kids who wouldn’t otherwise get Christmas gifts. When I was a kid, we always pulled a tag or two off the Salvation Army’s Angel tree in the mall every holiday season. We would go shopping for the kid we selected and then bring the items back to the mall, glad that we could help a kid have a merry Christmas.
Now, as a mom, this is my #1 priority on my low-key Christmas bucket list. Our church partners with a local foster care foundation to make sure that all the foster kids in our community have gifts at Christmas. We pick tags that match our kids and then take them shopping to pick out the presents. My kids can pick out something to wear, something to read, and something to play with for each kid we select. It’s a fun Christmas tradition for my kids and it teaches they how fortunate they are and the responsibility that comes with that fortune.
Festive clothes
An easy item to tick off a low-key Christmas bucket list is some new festive clothes. Grab some Christmas jammies for the whole family (they don’t have to match!) or a fun Christmas sweater. And don’t wait to pop these items under the tree. Get them in the rotation now so you can enjoy them all season long!
Bake
Christmas is synonymous with cookies for me, so baking has to be included on my low-key Christmas bucket list. I like to bake a ton of different cookie varieties little by little. I’m still in the process of confirming my holiday baking list for this year, but you can head to my 2024 holiday baking list for inspiration if you don’t know what to bake.
I bake one batch at a time and then stash the baked cookies in my freezer to have on hand for a variety of uses over the holidays. Cookies make great teacher gifts, extended family gifts, hostess gifts, and holiday party dessert offerings. You won’t regret having Christmas cookies around!
Gingerbread house
I didn’t grow up building gingerbread houses at Christmastime, but it’s a new tradition that I’m doing with my kids and I love it. Is it messy? Absolutely! Do I regret my life choices halfway through the building process? Every year. But it’s so fun to watch the kids build the house, decorate it, and sneak candy along the way!
This year I picked up a Gingerbread house kit at BJ’s that will make two complete houses. This is essential when you have two kids. Sharing a Gingerbread house will take the Christmas magic right out of this particular low-key Christmas bucket list activity.
Christmas lights
Christmas lights really get me in the Christmas mood. Luckily, they aren’t in short supply!
Drive
I love driving around after dark looking at Christmas lights in the month of December! If this activity isn’t on your low-key Christmas bucket list, add it now. To make the most of the joy that Christmas lights bring, make some hot chocolate, grab some Christmas cookies, and hop in the car. Drive around the block, drive around town, or go on an epic journey to find the best light displays in your area.
Display
If you really want to kick your Christmas lights viewing up a notch, find a professional lights display near you. Check out your local zoo or botanical garden or see what resorts within driving distance might put on a show.
All Christmas lights are good Christmas lights!
Christmas movie
Watching a Christmas movie with your family is the epitome of a low-key Christmas bucket list item. This activity requires almost zero effort, but boy do you get the reward of festive cheer! Get everyone in Christmas jammies, dial up your favorite Christmas movie (it’s White Christmas for me), pop some popcorn, make a nest of blankets in your family room, and get lost in Christmas feels.
Holiday party
OK, so this one might stick a toe over the line for a low-key Christmas bucket list. Holiday parties aren’t always low-key. They can be, though!
Host
If you’re feeling good and want to try your hand at hosting a holiday party, invite a few people for a holiday brunch or a holiday play date. Lean on make-ahead dishes and prepared food to keep it low-key.
Attend
If hosting a holiday party sounds about as far from low-key as possible to you this year, don’t feel pressured to do something you know won’t end well for you. Instead, simply say yes to at least one of the holiday party invitations that will likely come your way this season. Go to the office party, stop into the neighbor’s open house. Throw on your festive sweater and have some fun!
Other posts
Looking for more ideas to make your Christmas season extra festive? Check out these posts:
So, tell me, are you going to be checking items off the low-key Christmas bucket list this year? What would you add or remove? Share in the comments below or over on Instagram @sarainseason!