1. Go Ice Skating

Headwaters Ice Skating Rink is now open to the public.  Open seven days a week with concessions available, it’s the perfect active way to spend an afternoon with your family. Admission for 14 and over is $5, 13 and under is $3, and skate rentals are $2 a set.

Kids even skate free every Wednesday!

 

2. Go See Santa

The best way to get kids in the Christmas spirit is to take them to the see the man in the red suit himself. Bring your kids out to see Santa, whether at Glenbrook Mall or Jefferson Pointe to meet with Santa and get a family photo!

Jefferson Pointe will even have Santa reindeer visits every Saturday evening leading up to Christmas!

 

3. Pick a Favorite Christmas Movie to Start Watching Every Year

Get cozy with your family in the living room, pop a bag of popcorn and curl up to watch a Christmas movie favorite. Netflix offers a selection of Christmas movies you can stream or tune into Free Form’s 25 Days of Christmas.

 

4. Drive Around Downtown or Neighborhoods and Look at Christmas Lights

Christmas lights are a once a year thing, so you and your kids should take advantage of the opportunity to see your city in lights. Whether driving around the neighborhood, downtown or checking out the Fort Wayne favorite, Fantasy of Lights, you and your family can enjoy a night of fun.

 

5. Make an Event Out of Choosing and Decorating the Tree

The Christmas tree is the symbol of the season so make it a good one! Spend an afternoon picking out a tree with your loved ones at a local Christmas tree farm. St. Joe Christmas Tree Farm offers train rides out to pick the tree, as well as a saw and knee pad to help cut it down.  Sip some of their free hot chocolate and follow it up by making an ordeal out of decorating it.

 

6. Begin Elf on the Shelf

A great way to keep your kids behaving through all the Christmas sugar and hype is to begin an elf on the shelf tradition. Buy a cheap elf from a store and place it in one of the main rooms of your home. Remind the children that if they do not behave, Santa’s little elf will have to report back to Santa on any bad behavior. This may help your little ones be more nice than naughty through the holidays.

 

7. Track Santa on Christmas Eve

As if your kids needed another reason to get excited for Christmas morning, Google is now able to “track Santa”, so you and your family can watch where he’s headed the night before Christmas.

 

8. Make and Leave Christmas Cookies Out for Santa

If you have the ability to be home on Christmas Eve, spend a portion of it baking treats for Santa and his reindeer. There are some creative recipes out there, too, on what he may enjoy. Then leave a plate and glass of milk out for the kids to find eaten the next morning.