The holiday season can be a bit of a mixed bag for military families. Christmas is a season of magic and togetherness, but that can be hard when a family member is deployed. I know this to be true in my own life. Trying to pull things together and create magical and fun experiences for my kids can be a struggle when my husband is not home for the holidays. However, making the extra effort to find and come up with holiday activities for my military kids is always worth it when I see the smiles on their faces.

Here are some fun Christmas activities for military families to make the holidays extra special this year:

1. Crafting Together

Getting creative and doing fun holiday crafts are a great way to get your kids into the festive spirit! The best thing about holiday crafts is that they can be enjoyed by kids of all ages!

Simple hand and footprint art can be delightful for babies and toddlers and produces precious keepsakes so that you can look back in years to come and remember just how little they were.

For older kids, fun family holiday ideas like making Christmas cards to send to deployed service members could be enjoyable. You could also work on decking halls with festive holiday decorations or handmade ornaments! One entertaining idea to try with the kids is a popsicle stick wreath. Have the kids paint popsicle sticks in different shades of green. Then once they’re dry, glue them together in overlapping layers to form a wreath. Finally, add a red ribbon bow to complete the project.

2. Holiday Story Time

Organizing a holiday storytime event is a great way to bring your local military community together. Military families could all get together either in person or virtually for a read-aloud of favorite holiday books and stories. This could even feature recordings of read-alouds from deployed service members to make it extra special.

United Through Reading is a great non-profit organization that helps connect deployed service members to their kids through reading stories. Their website makes it easy for service members to prerecord stories for their children to listen to later.

3. Local Community Events

The holidays are a great time to explore your local community by attending community events. It is so vital for military families to get connected to their local communities. Many communities host parades, tree-lighting ceremonies, holiday fairs, and more. Check with your local base, social media, churches, or city hall to find out what events are going on in your community.

4. Holiday Cooking and Baking

This is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season! The holidays are a great excuse to try new recipes and bake up some tasty treats! While I love baking, I don’t always love having lots of treats around the house, but this is a great way to meet your neighbors too! I am planning on baking Christmas cookies and taking plates around to each of my neighbors.

5. Virtual Family Gatherings

One challenge that many military families face is distance from relatives. An easy way to make your family feel a bit closer this holiday season is by organizing a virtual gathering. Keep things festive and fun by playing a game together (my family and I enjoy playing card games or dice games virtually since you don’t all have to be in the same place to play together. Another fun idea is having holiday conversation prompts or trivia questions that you all take turns answering.

6. Sending Holiday Cheer

Another great family Christmas craft to feel a bit more connected to a deployed loved one during the holiday season is putting together a care package for them. Have the kids help brainstorm what to put in the package and take them along on the shopping trip!

Pro tip: Bring your care package box with you when shopping to ensure that everything fits and it’s not over or under-filled. This is a great way to immerse your kids in the spirit of giving and help them feel closer to their deployed parent.

7. Expressing Gratitude

The holidays are a great time to reflect on what you are thankful for. Guide your kids in gratitude by talking about what you all are thankful for and take it a step further by making thank you cards. These cards can be for deployed service members, helpers in your community (such as police officers and firefighters), or even other military families. Taking the time to help your child understand all the people they have in their lives to be thankful for can help them feel more connected to their community.

The ASYMCA Specializes in Helping Military Families at Christmas

Military kids go through so much with frequent deployments, PCS moves, and more. It is so important that we make the extra effort to help them create lasting holiday memories and maybe even give them a little extra Christmas magic. Try some new holiday activities for families this year; you never know what might become a valued tradition for years to come!

The ASYMCA is here to help families during the holidays and every day of the year through their many services, child development, and resilience programs! Learn more about the ASYMCA’s mission, values, services, and more today.

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