67 December Bucket List Ideas That Make Winter Feel Like a Fairytale

December always feels like the month that moves fastest. One day you’re unpacking fall sweaters and the next, the year is nearly over and everything smells like pine and sugar cookies. It’s easy to let it all blur together in a rush of parties, shopping, and plans, but that’s exactly why I started making a December bucket list.

These December bucket list ideas are all about leaning into that cozy, festive energy, from small traditions at home to wintry outings that make the most of the season. They’re here to help you savor the last month of the year instead of watching it race by.

Holiday Traditions That Never Get Old

In December, boxes of ornaments come down from attics and suddenly the whole neighborhood glows. These traditions don’t change much from year to year, but they’re full of nostalgia. Even the small things, like hanging stockings or sipping cocoa while decorating, end up anchoring the season in memory.

1. Decorate a Christmas tree with ornaments.
2. Hang stockings and actually fill them with silly little things, because those end up being the favorites.
3. Tackle a knot of outdoor lights until the house glows.
4. Blast holiday music while you decorate, even if you’ve sworn you’re sick of Mariah Carey by now.
5. Read The Night Before Christmas aloud.
6. Bake cookies and let everyone decorate their own.
7. Bundle up for your town’s tree lighting ceremony, and join in the cheer when the lights flicker on.
8. Hang a wreath on your door.
9. Host an ornament exchange party.
10. Watch back-to-back holiday movies, from true classics to Hallmark-level disasters.
11. Hang mistletoe somewhere obvious, and see who notices first.
12. Take family photos in matching sweaters, even if it’s pure chaos.
13. Tape homemade paper snowflakes in your windows.
14. Leave cookies out for Santa, even if the only one eating them is you.

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Snowy Adventures

Fresh snow turns the world into a playground and makes you feel like a kid again. The chores fade away once you’re outside racing, tumbling, or just standing still in the hush.

15. Race down the steepest sledding hill you can find.
16. Build a snowman with whatever props you dig up.
17. Flop into fresh snow to make angels, and get up soaked but grinning.
18. Start a snowball fight that escalates immediately.
19. Try snowshoeing and realize it’s basically hiking in clown shoes, but still fun.
20. Skate on an outdoor rink or pond, and let the bruises remind you how ungraceful you are.
21. Spend a day skiing or snowboarding.
22. Build a snow fort big enough to hide in, and claim it as your fortress.
23. Make glowing ice lanterns out of frozen buckets.

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Giving and Gratitude

For all the shopping lists and chaos, December feels better when it’s about giving. Small gestures of generosity and little moments of gratitude sneak in and turn busy days into meaningful ones.

24. Write holiday cards by hand to your loved ones.
25. Drop toys into a donation bin, so someone else gets a brighter morning.
26. Serve at a soup kitchen once, and remember the faces long after.
27. Deliver cookies to your neighbors, even the ones you don’t know well.
28. Make a list of what you’re grateful for this year, and surprise yourself with how long it is.
29. Sponsor a family for the holidays.
30. Make homemade gifts, because effort always trumps price tags.
31. Leave an extra-big tip for someone hustling through the holiday season.
32. Call an old friend out of the blue.

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Festive Outings

In December, towns and cities flip a switch and suddenly become part of the show. Parades, concerts, and markets are the buzz of the season.

33. Visit a Christmas market and eat everything that smells good.
34. Sit through a holiday concert, and let the carols hit you harder than you expected.
35. See The Nutcracker performed live, even if ballet isn’t usually your thing.
36. Wander neighborhoods that go overboard with decorations.
37. Ride a holiday train with cocoa in hand and feel like a kid again.
38. Catch a community theater holiday play.
39. Book a horse-drawn carriage ride through town lights, even if it’s peak cheesy.
40. Bundle up for a holiday parade and cheer at floats.
41. Take kids to meet Santa.
42. Drive through a wild light display and let yourself be dazzled.

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Comfort Foods of the Season

The kitchen owns December. Flour dusts the counters, ovens stay warm, and everything smells like butter, sugar, or spice. Half the joy of the season is sneaking an extra cookie while something else is still baking.

43. Bake gingerbread cookies and decorate them badly.
44. Cook a roast dinner with every side dish you love, and eat until you can’t move.
45. Make fudge and cut it into squares, then eat too many pieces “by accident.”
46. Smash candy canes into peppermint bark.
47. Attempt a fruitcake once, just to say you tried.
48. Make eggnog from scratch, and realize store-bought might not be so bad.
49. Host a cookie exchange party.
50. Bake bread and tear into it while it’s too hot.
51. Eat candy canes straight from the box.

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Holiday Travel & Adventures

Traveling in December feels extra enchanted, whether you chase snow or run from it. Cities and towns show off their best side, and mountains or beaches each carry their own version of holiday spirit.

52. Stand under the Rockefeller Center tree in New York
53. Fly to Germany for a Christmas market, and eat pretzels bigger than your head.
54. Rent a mountain cabin with a fireplace, and live like you’re in a snow globe.
55. Ski the Alps once in your life, and drink cocoa on the slope breaks.
56. Visit Quebec City in December.
57. Spend Christmas in London, and walk through lights strung across the city.
58. Head to Lapland, Finland, to meet reindeer and chase the northern lights.
59. Escape to Hawaii in December to post your beach photos escaping the cold.
60. Join the New Year’s Eve crowd in Times Square, if you can survive the cold and chaos.
61. Ride a winter train through the Rockies, and stare out at snow-covered peaks.

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Ring in the New Year

The last days of December hold a strange mix of endings and beginnings. You’re closing out one year while gearing up for the next, and the countdown at midnight ties it all together.

62. Host a New Year’s Eve party.
63. Pop champagne at midnight and actually make a toast.
64. Watch fireworks explode against the cold night sky.
65. Write down resolutions that might not stick, but feel good in the moment.
66. Watch the ball drop in Times Square once, even if it’s only on TV.
67. Text or call everyone you love at midnight, even if they’re asleep.