Regrettably, moms and kids do. 

So while I support your attempts to make memories through Christmas activities and new family traditions, I’d also like to equip you for the winter days that are shorter than they look. 

In this blog post on Christmas activities for kids, you’ll find realistic holiday experiences. 

I’m not grinching out on you. These fun Christmas activities for toddlers, kids, and teens are indeed memory manufacturers—but they’re festive without the fuss. Try out these new holiday traditions that take less effort and less money than their idealistic counterparts and sleep in heavenly peace this holiday season.

Here’s your perfect Sunday afternoon Christmas activity for kids: Transform your living room into Santa's workshop. Grab the glitter—unless you have an “allergy” like I do—and glue. Pull out the construction paper, pom poms, safety scissors, and stickers. Your kids are Santa’s elves, and they need to have five kids’ Christmas gifts completed by dinnertime. Ten if they’re swift workers. Let their creativity flow from the Christmas craft supplies you have on-hand, or jumpstart the holiday activity with this wooden gingerbread house kit. 

 Wooden Embroidery Gingerbread House Kit // Christmas Honeycomb Garland

If you read our last blog post on holiday home decor, then you got a sneak peek at 2023’s cutest Advent calendars for kids. These aren’t your grandma’s Advent calendars. 

There’s a soft plush penguin Advent calendar for 3-year-olds and older to move a stuffed fish from day to day as they await Christmas morning. For older kids, you’ll find this Advent calendar that doubles as bohemian holiday decor and ticks all of the boxes for millennial motherhood. (Each tear-off pouch has a handmade wool ornament inside and is decorated with a question, encouragement, or intentional thought for your kids!) More Advent calendars are available in dinosaur theme, charm bracelets, and circus aesthetic. My recommendation: Order your Advent calendar now. If it comes with fillable pouches, plan to drop stickers, treats, or encouraging notes in each day’s pocket. That’s minimal effort for holiday magic every. single. morning.

Advent Calendar // Polly Penguin Advent Calendar // Winter Ballerina Charm Bracelet Advent Calendar Suitcase

If the wooden embroidery gingerbread house kit was a hit, then you can’t go wrong with an edible, sugary building experience. A great Christmas tradition for kids who love to build and parents who don’t yell bad words when their cookie roof slides off of the gingerbread walls for the fourth time in a row (I’m no longer allowed to participate in the Harrison family gingerbread house competition), gingerbread houses are more about the experience than the finished product. We found this homemade gingerbread house recipe if you catch the holiday baking bug. There are prepared gingerbread house kits in the holiday shop of most grocery stores for the rest of us. 

Suit up in your holiday pajamas for the next fun family Christmas activity. Unlike most Christmas traditions, this winter activity brings peace and rest to both parents and kids. Turn on a Christmas classic like “Home Alone,” a vibey flick like “Harry Potter,” or a Christmas comedy like “Elf,” to keep the holiday magic flowing at home. It is the recommendation of this author that you do not tell your kids there’s a “Cocomelon” holiday special unless you’d prefer to spend eleven bonus months singing carols with JJ and friends. 

By the way, movie snacks are an absolute must for your family movie night, but don’t feel like you have to make them at home. This year, you can do less while enjoying more special moments with the family. It’s 100% okay to buy pretzels and popcorn and NOT dip them in white chocolate for movie night. 

Organic Waffle Basic Zip Footie | Gingerbread Man // Christmas Trees Pink | Organic 2-Piece Set // Organic Waffle 2-Piece Set | Gingerbread Man
 

Host a family snowball fight as a new tradition, but first build your snow field! Inspire creativity in your kids by letting them be the gamemakers. They can craft intricate paper snowflakes or keep it basic with blanket forts and boxy obstacles to hide behind. For added mom magic, gather all of the packing peanuts you have and drop them from your second story as a light snowfall during the building phase. Next, you’ll work together to form a ton of snowballs from printer paper or recycled paper, and then you’ll split the teams. Once you’re ready, the indoor snowball fight begins! Winner gets extra marshmallows in their post-game hot cocoa.

Homemade Christmas ornaments are a rite of passage for bored kids on holiday break. Cultivate kids' creativity as they design their own unique ornaments and prepare them for market. Show them the designs for some of the ornaments you made as a kid—like sequins on popsicle stick stars, foam picture frames, and pipe cleaner candy canes. Then let them pretend they’re selling their Christmas tree ornaments at a holiday market. They’ll have a blast trading homemade ornaments for cold, hard, (pretend) cash. 

What are the 2023 moments your kids will always remember? Find out which moments are solidifying into core memories and then decorate a tree in their bedrooms with that theme. For instance, if your child had a huge soccer year, track down soccer ornaments for their personalized tree. Did they read a ton of books? Discover a new hobby? Connect with the animals at the zoo? Eat a ton of snacks? Shop for Christmas ornaments that fit their theme and let them express themselves by displaying it in their bedroom or play room. Here are some snack and animal themed ornaments to get you started. 

Christmas Pretzels // Christmas Sugar Canes // Metal Ornament Set - Winter Wonderland

Every winter, I crave seasonal treats like pumpkin bread, firecrackers, and peanut butter blossoms. These recipes were holiday traditions for my family while I was growing up, and I love baking (and eating) them as continued family traditions with my own kids. Another takeaway from my nostalgic Christmases in the country is the holiday treat exchange that was an unspoken tradition among our neighbors. Friends would wind down our white rock driveway with holiday treats that were a part of their cultural traditions, and we would give them a tin of peanut butter blossoms or white chocolate popcorn in return. My husband’s family frosted Christmas themed sugar cookies with cookie cutters like these Santa & Reindeer cookie cutters. My daughters are cupcake lovers, so they’re excited to try out the festive house cupcake kit or nutcracker cupcake kit this year. While I’m less likely to knock on my neighbors’ doors today, I still like the idea of showing Christmas kindness through a homemade treat (free of common allergens) in their mailbox or on their front step.

Christmas Motif Cookie Cutters // Festive House Cupcake Kit // Santa & Reindeer Christmas Cookie Cutters

Send your kids to their happy place with a doll house or gingerbread that could use a festive touch. The holiday collection from Maileg invites little mice to shoop, shoop, shoop down the miniature slopes, toast one another at a tiny tea party, and rock around the LED light-up Christmas tree. Your kids will spend hours setting up their little house with cosy couches and decor, and then they’ll play with it for hours more. This is the lazy mom (lol, as if there was such a thing) Christmas activity because it requires very little interaction by you, and is the perfect diversion for when you need to hide the Christmas gifts from your kids.

Winter Mice Twins - Little Brother & Sister // Cozy Christmas Set // Gingerbread House - Mouse

As a mom, you’re used to facilitating the fun, but your kids and partner would enjoy spending more quality time with you instead of losing you to activity prepping and perfecting. Take a page out of the lazy mom’s playbook (again: there’s no such thing as a lazy mom), and choose realistic, intentional Christmas activities this year. Less is more for holiday togetherness magic.

We’re pulling out the Easter baskets to fill with beautiful, sustainable Easter gifts. We’re prepping the mantle for felt garlands, the playroom for a soft flower wall. And we’re picturing how cute our little bunnies will be in fresh, spring pjs and daisy bonnets. 

We honestly can’t wait for Sunday, April 9, but we’re going to enjoy every second of filling Easter baskets with colorful Easter gifts for kids and getting our family-friendly weekend activities ready for launch. 

Speaking of family Easter activities, ours will look a bit different this year: We’re having an eggless Easter. We can think of plenty of reasons to ditch the eggs—a vegan lifestyle, the current egg shortage, that funky smell they leave in the kitchen—so we’re going for it.

We came up with some Easter kids’ activities that aren’t reliant on eggs, and we’d love to share them with you! For starters, though, let’s dig in to 2023’s best Easter gift ideas for kids’ Easter baskets. 

Read on for a step-by-step guide to filling your kids’ Easter baskets with sustainable gifts, floral and gingham pjs, party accessories, and so much more. 

How to Fill Kids’ Easter Baskets in 2023

Step 1 // Choose Your Kids’ Easter Baskets

This should come as no surprise—the most important aspect of your kids’ Easter basket is the basket, itself. Easter baskets transform a regular gift bundle into a delightful and sustainable gift experience. Consider which play activity your child enjoys the most: a pretend picnic, a trip to the farmer’s market, a hike through the forest, or a stroll with their baby doll. Our piki baskets  are ideal for a Parisian picnic, while these retro baskets (with matching styles for bohemian mamas) aesthetically house all of their farmer’s market finds. Similarly, the mini chari stays in place while kids traipse through the enchanted forest and the strolley in natural or rose is the dreamiest Easter basket for your mini mama.

Piki Baskets  // Retro Baskets // Mini Chari // Strolley in Natural or Rose

Step 2 // Pick Their Pajamas

Are your kids growing as fast as ours? It’s as if they take a developmental leap around the same time U.S. clocks spring forward. Don’t you wish you could slow down time? Since that’s not an option, we suggest making the most of every moment with Easter themed pjs for babies, toddlers, kids—and yourself. You’ll find adorable bunny options in blue and pink, as well as gingham prints for your dapper fellows and posh little ones—and for the flower-obsessed, this spring floral print is an absolute must. Your kids will love snatching these Easter pajamas from their Easter baskets, and you’ll love seeing them in bedtime threads that actually fit!

 Bunny PJs // Gingham PJs // Floral PJs // Mommy PJs

Step 3 // Play to Their Creative Side

Engage kids' creativity by continuing to fill your kids’ Easter baskets with craft supplies and pretend play toys. We’re enamored with this DIY wand and flower crown craft kit from Meri Meri, which pairs wonderfully with an Easter activity like bunny embroidery! Watch them become busy bees while decorating with Easter stickers, or let them loose on the back patio with these new handmade sidewalk chalks in bunny, macaron, or alphabet shapes. 

Step 4 // Add a Bunny Stuffie or Baby Doll

This might be (read: definitely is) our favorite category of Easter gifts for toddlers and kids: Stuffies and Baby Dolls. We are dying over these new bunnies from Cuddle + Kind, and each purchase provides meals to a North American family in need. This therapist-designed narwhal will help your child with problem-solving skills (in an aesthetically Easter pastel hue), and this cozy dinkum lion pip is perfect for your wild ones. Need a soft and soothing plush for little hands, this new bunny from Maileg will bring a calming presence to your youngest Easter babies. 

 New Bunnies from Cuddle + Kind // Therapist-Designed Narwhal Kin // Cozy Dinkum Lion Pip // New Bunnies from Maileg

Step 4 // Fill in the Nooks & Crannies

Follow your heart for this final step of filling your kids’ Easter baskets. In our opinions, an Easter appropriate pair of bunny ears is essential, and these organic cotton shirts (with matching headbands and dresses for dollies) will keep them neutral and on-trend at their next playdate. Kids are sure to go wild for the surprise carrots (with a fluffy chick, temporary tattoos, and a joke inside), and we imagine they won’t be hopping far without this very chic, plush bunny bag. The options are endless for filling in the gaps in your Easter baskets, and we hope you’ll find everything you desire in our Easter collection for kids, babies, toddlers, and mamas. 

 Bunny Ears // Organic Cotton Shirts // Surprise Carrots // Daisy Bonnet

Easter Activities That Don’t Require Eggs

As promised, we want to share several egg-less Easter activities for your family in case you’re taking this holiday off-script, too! Here’s a non-exhaustive list, but feel free to get creative on your own and sculpt an Easter extravaganza that fits the unique passions of your kids and babies!

1. Go on a nature hunt for smooth stones and then decorate them with paint, glitter, or these decorative Easter egg tattoos.

2. Plan a trip to the park with friends! If possible, go a bit early to set up these bunnies, creating a maze through the park. The kids will work on their observation skills and have a blast searching for the gingham clues!

3. Have a crafting party! Sit down for some sewing with the bunny embroidery kit and then get to work on a DIY flower crown! You can use fresh flowers from your yard or enjoy this flower crown craft kit from our Easter collection. 

4. Put on a puppet show! Make your own from craft supplies at home or pick up this organic cotton bunny puppet to play out all kinds of silly scenarios. 

5. Use natural dyes on bandanas—not eggs—to enjoy the transformation to fun colors with sustainable practices! You can find instructions for experimenting with turmeric, black beans, onion skins, and avocado pits from various online crafters.

6. Bake a vegan cake together—or use wooden eggs for your pretend cake with this Bunny Hop Mixer Set. 

7. Go on a family bike ride—with brand new bikes for extra fun! 

8. Make a fruit plate in the shape of an Easter egg! Encourage kids to get creative with colors and patterns while filling in an oval shape. 

9. Play some outdoor games! Fun for kids of all ages, croquet, bocce, and corn hole are a few of our faves (They can also be played indoors!).

10. Go on an Easter Egg Hunt for treasure eggs! Choose from gold-coated, egg-shaped sidewalk chalk or plush bunnies in sparkly paper eggs.

Ready to try out some of these Easter egg-less activities? We’d love to hear how they go! Tag us on social @shopbohemianmama to share how you and your kids are embracing Easter 2023!