The festive period is a busy time, so if you've left things a little at the last minute, do not worry if you’re running a little behind schedule this festive season. We've got you covered. With our handy last-minute Christmas activities to do on a budget, you’ll be able to make the most of spending time with friends and family during this wonderful time of the year.
Hold a Christmas Movie Night
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“You’re skipping Christmas! Isn’t that against the law?”
Christmas with the Kranks
Grab some friends or family members, get into your favourite pair of Christmas pyjamas, and enjoy a Christmas movie night. From How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, and A Christmas Carol, to Love Actually, Christmas With The Kranks, and Home Alone, you’re sure to get into the festive spirit without splashing the cash.
Lots of these films are available on video-streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, so be sure to check out our article on Tips for Saving Money on Video Streaming Services so you can save yourself some extra money this Christmas.
Bring a Festive Board Night
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Bring a board night, but make it festive. If you haven’t already heard of the bring-a-board trend, it’s pretty simple. The next time you and your friends fancy a Christmas catch-up, instead of the host cooking or preparing a selection of food (which can often become costly), make it more affordable by each bringing a board.
Dessert Board: Melted chocolate dip, marshmallows, strawberries, brownies, mini Terry’s Chocolate Orange, Cinnamon roll, Fruit Cake, Christmas trees, etc.
Candy Board: Candy canes, festive sweets, Turkish delight, etc.
Red Board: Ready salted crisps, candy canes, Malteasers, red Skittles, Fox’s biscuits, etc.
Green Board: Salt & vinegar crisps, Matchmakers, After Eights, Fruit Pastilles, Aero bars, onion rings, etc.
You can have fun making these as festive as you like by using Christmas tableware, and by arranging your food in festive shapes such as stars, Christmas trees, and more. If you’re stuck and in need of some inspiration, be sure to utilise social media platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok.
Host a Christmas Book Club
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As long as you’ve got at least one family member or friend who is up for reading a festive book, hosting a Christmas book club is an exciting and inexpensive activity to do this year, especially if you know how to buy books on a budget.
Choose a book to read, and then arrange a joyful meet-up to discuss your thoughts on a delicious hot chocolate. If you need some ideas, check out our handy suggestions for festive reads in our Secret Santa Gifts Under £10 article. There is also a great festive book list at MR B's Emporium.
At-Home Wreath Making
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Whether it’s your first time making a wreath or you’re a crafting pro, it’s an easy and affordable way to have fun this Christmas. All you need is a wreath frame, a pair of wire cutters, a roll of wire, your favourite seasonal foliage, and any extra decorations.
Save money by collecting foliage from outdoor areas that you can access, and make your own dried orange slices from scratch in the oven. Re-use ribbon from past Christmas presents, and you’re good to go.
Christmas Decorations Making
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"Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow, they represent a gift of love given a long time ago."
Tom Baker
Opt to make your own Christmas decorations this year and save some serious cash while creating festive memories that will last a lifetime. These would also make thoughtful gifts for loved ones or a Secret Santa gift under £10.
If you’re looking to make them entirely from scratch, all you need is:
Optional acrylic paint if you wish to paint them once dry
Fun tip: Use foliage from your garden and press into the surface of the clay before leaving to dry to create a textured look.
Fun tip: Utilise sites like Pinterest and Google for Christmas bauble design inspiration.
Alternatively, if you’re like me and have some leftover baubles from multipacks that you never use, give them a light sanding and a clean, and paint with acrylic paint. Wait for them to dry, and then enjoy your unique, homemade baubles for a fraction of the cost.
Christmas Baking
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"It’s fruitcake weather!"
Truman Capote, A Christmas Memory
Have fun baking a delicious Christmas sweet treat with the family this festive season. Some great online platforms where you can access an abundance of Christmas recipes free of charge are BBC Good Food and Jane’s Patisserie.
Check out some of the best recipes to bake this year:
Whether you’re looking for a fun night filled with laughs with your family, friends, or colleagues, you can never go wrong with a games night.
Some hilarious and inexpensive Christmas games you can play include:
Christmas What Am I?: Grab some Post-it notes and a pen, and each write something related to Christmas. This could be a person (i.e. Santa Claus), an object (i.e. Christmas cracker), or a movie character (i.e. Scrooge) for instance. Stick the post-it note on the forehead of the person to your left, and the game begins. Asking only yes or no questions, the first person to guess what they are wins!
Name That Christmas Tune: Have someone create a Christmas playlist with some of the best festive tunes ever. Play 10-20 seconds of the song or an instrumental version (if you want to make it harder) and have everyone write down their answers. The person who gets the most correct answers wins!
Cling Film Wrapping Game: This requires a bit of preparation. First, create a cling film ball with little presents and stocking fillers added between layers. The first player tries to unwrap the cling film, while the second tries to roll doubles on a pair of dice. Once the second player has rolled a double, the cling film ball moves on to them, while a third player tries to roll a double, and so forth. The fun of this game is that each person should have a little something at the end.
Snowman Stack Game: Your players have a minute to see how many marshmallows they can stack on top of each other before the time runs out. If this is too easy, try wearing blindfolds or using chopsticks.
Gift Wrapping Challenge: Divide yourselves into teams and see who can wrap a gift the fastest and the most neat. Sound too easy? You have to do it with one arm behind your back, so this one’s about working as a team. Are you up to the challenge?
Tree Ornament Guessing Game: Provided you know how many ornaments you have on your Christmas tree, your guests must each make a guess. The person with the closest guess wins a small prize.
Decorate a Gingerbread House
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You can find a variety of gingerbread houses available at local supermarkets and online, which are ideal for this time of year. If you’re after a joyful Christmas activity that doesn’t require any baking expertise, then this is the one for you. The best part is that you’ll have a scrumptious sweet treat to indulge in.
Luxury Hot Chocolate Making
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‘Tis the season of hot chocolates so why not make the most of it? Grab a few friends and have fun making luxury hot chocolates from scratch. There is a fantastic variety of luxury hot chocolate recipes online including:
If you’re up for making a more meaningful advent calendar this Christmas, it makes for a great activity. For affordable, alternative advent calendar ideas, don’t miss the following:
Affirmation Advent Calendar: All you need for this one is twenty-four envelopes which you can make yourself out of scrap paper. Then write an affirmation for each of the twenty-four days, and insert them into the envelopes. Your recipient or yourself can get their day off to a good start each morning leading up to Christmas.
Candle Advent Calendar: All you need for this one is a pillar or taper candle. Simply paint the numbers, 1-24 on the front of the candle, and light as the days go by. As the candle melts, so do the numbers, ticking off each day until Christmas.
Compliment Advent Calendar: Similar to the affirmation advent calendar, except you write twenty-four compliments for your recipient or yourself to read each morning. These don’t have to be just physical appearance compliments, be creative and think outside the box.
Write Letters to Santa Claus
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"May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve."
Anonymous
If you have little ones excitedly awaiting Christmas day, why not dedicate some time to writing a letter to Santa Claus? Have fun and get creative. Use a tea bag to make the paper feel unique and magical, and don’t forget to decorate once the letters have been written.
What’s more, if you want to go all the way and take the little ones to post their letters, then Royal Mail advises that a letter to Santa should be sent with a postage stamp to the following address:
You can download a free Letter from Santa from the Royal Mail website to make your child's day even more special.
Christmas Paint and Sip
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Get some Christmas cocktails made, along with some festive snacks, and get creative. Whether sketching a Christmassy scene on a mini canvas, decorating wine glasses, or painting candles, you’re sure to get in the festive mood with your friends or family. What’s more, make it even more joyous by coming in your ugliest Christmas jumper.
Check out social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram for more inspiration for your Christmas paint and sip.
Decorate Christmas Cookies
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Bake some delicious Christmas cookiesin advance, and then spend the afternoon testing your cookie decorating skills.
Use the same Christmas cookie cuttersas mentioned in the DIY Christmas decorations section for various joyful shapes. If you need some inspiration, check out the likes of Pinterest.
Build a Snowman
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“I tell you, it’s not a proper winter without a decent snowman.”
Mr. Tumnus
If you’ve been lucky enough to get blessed with snow this year, get outside and make the most of it. Wrap up warm in an affordable winter coatand have a snowman-making competition.
Hopefully, the list above has helped you plan a few activities at home with family and friends this Christmas to get into the Festive Spirit.
I’m Layla, the home and garden editor, and I started working at MyVoucherCodes in November 2022. I have always loved to write, especially after getting my degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, and since getting my own place, I’ve gotten stuck into all things home and garden.
When I’m not writing about saving money on homely purchases, I’m either sitting with my head in a new book, painting a piece of art for my walls, or binge-watching an interior design programme on Netflix. I love to get inspiration and transform my space, usually with the help of a few Pinterest boards and a couple of tins of paint.
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