18 Best Christmas Experiences To Share With Your Daughter

The holidays are a perfect time to honor an old tradition—or to start a new one.

The Christmas season always makes us nostalgic for holidays past. It also makes us want to spend more time with the people we love most. For moms across the South, this means planning some quality time with their daughters. Mothers and daughters share a special bond, and to celebrate that bond, we've put together a list of ideas for activities and experiences to inspire your time together this holiday season.

Whether you want to whip up a classic recipe together, take a trip, or decorate the house for the holidays, we've got you covered with ideas. Moms, call up your daughters today and start making plans. Spending time together this year, including the inevitable outcomes of making new memories and sharing family stories, will ensure that you both make the most of the Christmas season. Here, are Christmas activities moms and daughters should do together and check off their holiday list.

Whip Up A Beloved Family Recipe

Consult the hand-me-down recipe box before stirring together a cherished family favorite. Whether you choose to make Aunt Barry’s cranberry fluff salad or Uncle Earl’s pecan pralines, the nostalgic flavors of the season are a surefire way to get in the spirit.

Visit A Christmas Town

You’d be hard-pressed to find a place that celebrates the season with the gusto of a small Southern town. From Natchitoches, Louisiana, to Dahlonega, Georgia, there’s no shortage of destinations brimming with cheer and waiting for you and your daughter to come discover the magic. Need some help deciding where to go? Consider this your holiday travel bucket list.

Flip Through Family Albums

Break out the photo albums and flip through them with your daughter. You never know what funny family stories will arise out of an afternoon of reminiscing and sharing memories. You may be delighted to hear new stories too. Don't forget to brew up a cup of hot cocoa before.

Recreate Southern Living’s December Cover Star

For more than 25 years, we’ve featured a “Big White Cake” on our December cover. This year, get in on our tradition and bake the occasion-worthy sweet together. The final result is guaranteed to be a delicious and impressive addition to your dining room sideboard.

Trim The Tree

It’s just not the most wonderful time of year until the Christmas tree is up and every last ornament is hung—and decking the halls is all the merrier when you tackle the tinsel together. An extra set of hands is of course helpful when it comes to wrapping your evergreen in lights, but the real magic comes with reminiscing over each treasured ornament, including the homemade macaroni-noodle one you’ve held onto since your daughter was in preschool.

Set A Holiday Table

We appreciate a beautifully dressed table any month of the year, but Christmastime calls for something extra special, and setting it together makes the task more fun. If your heirloom pieces have been languishing in the china cabinet all year, now’s the time for them to join the festivities: Polish the silver, pull out your most spirited plates, and iron the linens. Bonus points for a centerpiece that’s foraged from your yard—or a generous neighbor’s!

Volunteer Together

Celebrate the season of giving by sharing your time with a local nonprofit organization or community initiative that serves a cause you care about. Some examples: Round up books or toys for the area children’s hospital; walk the dogs at a nearby animal shelter; serve dinner at a soup kitchen; or join in on a litter clean-up.

Bake Cookies

There is no better season for baking cookies than Christmas. Try some of our favorite cookie recipes this year, or break out your cookbooks and find your most-loved classic recipes for an afternoon spent creating delicious smells and sweet treats alongside your daughter.

Stir Together Some Eggnog

If you've never made homemade eggnog before, why not make it together? The perfect sip for settling down to watch Christmas movies or to wash down the Christmas cookies you baked, eggnog is a must-have for the holidays. Stir up a classic recipe or spice it up to make it your own.

Make Pomanders

Need an activity while you’re watching It’s A Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street? Pull out the whole cloves and clementines to fashion some pomanders. Nestle them into your mantel garland, pile them in a shallow bowl on your coffee table, or place them down your dining room table. They’ll deliver a dose of old-world style and bring an inviting burst of citrus-and-spice scent to your home.

Call Faraway Loved Ones

A phone call to a loved family member or friend is a great way to add cheer to the holidays. Try a video call to make them feel near. Set up a date, grab some snacks, and catch up on the latest family news together.

Spread Cheer To Friends And Neighbors

If you don’t already have a signature holiday gift that you give each year, make this the Christmas you come up with one together. Whether it’s a bag with all the ingredients for a fragrant simmer pot or a bottle of your favorite locally made hot sauce, tie on a ribbon and hand-deliver them to your friends and neighbors. Just don’t stay too long when you’re dropping off these holiday happies—people have garlands to hang and cookies to bake!

Watch White Christmas

We won’t miss a single one of the Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas releases, but we’re also big believers in giving the holiday classics their due—and few inspire so much nostalgia and cheer as Bing Crosby’s musical romance, White Christmas. Fair warning: “Sisters” will likely be stuck in your head for days afterward.

Go See The Nutcracker Ballet

Watching The Nutcracker might just be one of the best mother-daughter holiday traditions. It doesn't lose its zest with age, and as your daughter grows up it can become a new experience to enjoy with future generations. Also, due to its popularity, you'll likely be able to find a showing near you.

Craft Your Own Wrapping Paper

This year, skip the store-bought stuff and make your own gift wrap instead. Invest in a roll of craft paper and a few bottles of paint, then let your creativity flow. Alternately, wrap the gifts in plain craft paper and write meaningful notes that show your love to the recipient and hint at the gift inside. Turn up the festive tunes and make an afternoon of it, and know that those on the receiving end of your presents will appreciate the extra-thoughtful touch.

Go Shopping For Christmas Gifts

Take a day and go shopping with your daughter! What's more fun than spending an afternoon strolling past shop windows decked with festive decorations, and hand-picking gifts for loved ones on your list? Plus, it's made even better when you stop for a hot chocolate along the way, or perhaps a Christmas treat from a local bakery.

Pick Out The Perfect Christmas Tree

Get lost in rows of evergreens at a local Christmas tree farm together, and pick your favorite to take home! You'll have so much fun searching for a tree together, and imagining what decorations you'll hang on its branches this year. Plus, the smell of fresh pine never gets old.

Curl Up With A Cup Of Cocoa

Christmastime’s countless activities are best enjoyed when you haven’t run yourself totally ragged by the second week of December. Amidst the cocktail parties and caroling, carve out some time on the calendar for a quiet night in, when you and your daughter can camp out on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate and enjoy one of the season’s greatest gifts—togetherness. 

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