6 Charlie Brown Christmas Activities
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I might be dating myself a little, but I loved all of the televised holiday specials as a kid. Every year I would mark my calendar to make sure I didn’t miss the Charlie Brown Christmas episode airing during prime time. Yes, I had a calendar even as a little kid. I have always had a type A personality 😉.
It wasn’t until I was a classroom kindergarten that I realized that the Charlie Brown holiday episodes were also books!
The plot of this holiday story is quite simple. Charlie Brown is having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. He sees everyone around him enjoying the holiday, but he is feeling lonely and depressed.
Read A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz and then try some of these activities.
6 Charlie Brown Christmas Activities
Try ice skating
The book opens with the Peanuts gang all outside ice skating on a frozen pond. This seems like a quintessential Christmas activity, but in many parts of the country, it is still warm in December.
In fact, I have explicitly told my kids to stay off of ponds, even if there is a thin layer of ice. One year we even watched our local rescue team practice water/ice rescues to help my kids understand that it just isn’t safe to trust the ice here in the South.
Thankfully, we don’t need freezing weather to ice skate. There are other options!
- Visit a pop-up ice skating rink – these tend to be in shopping centers and tourist spots
- Find an indoor ice skating rink
- Pretend to ‘ice skate’ on a wood floor – just put on slippery socks and start sliding around.
Send an unexpected Christmas card
Charlie Brown mentions that he doesn’t receive holiday cards. I’m sure there are many people that feel ignored and forgotten around the holidays, just like Charlie Brown.
This is a great opportunity to reach out to someone. Kids can help prepare or deliver cards to someone who is not expecting a card. This might be family members or friends who you haven’t seen lately or even a neighbor who seems to be alone.
Have a dance party
Charlie Brown is trying to direct the Christmas play, but all of the other kids seem focused on having a dance party. Dance parties are fun!
Play some music and have a family dance party! My family uses our Google Home to play music on the first level of our home. We are making a Christmas music playlist as one of our Advent activities this year, so we will have the perfect music for a dance party.
Make your own Charlie Brown tree
A Charlie Brown tree looks a little pitiful but is a reminder that spirit and intention matter more than appearance. The picture book depicts the Charlie Brown tree as a scrawny branch with no pine needles. It is decorated with a lone shiny red bulb ornament.
There are a few ways to make your own Charlie Brown tree:
- Go for a nature walk and find a bare fallen tree branch. Bring it home and add one red ornament.
- Fingerpaint a Charlie Brown tree with brown and red paint.
- Paint a Charlie Brown tree on a canvas and hang it as a Christmas decoration.
- Make a handprint Charlie Brown tree.
Explore the Charles Schulz museum online
The author of A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charles M. Schulz, has passed away, but there is an entire museum dedicated to his work. The museum is located in California, but there is plenty to explore on the museum website.
Search the digital collection using the term ‘Christmas’ to see artifacts related to A Charlie Brown Christmas
Enjoy Peanuts-related activities under the activities tab. Here you will find things such as a neighborhood scavenger hunt, crossword puzzle, and hidden pictures.
Watch the Charlie Brown Christmas show
I love watching a show or movie after reading the book. This is a super easy holiday activity – perfect for those afternoons or evenings when parents are exhausted! Unfortunately, it can be a little tricky to find A Charlie Brown Christmas. For some years, it is streaming on Apple TV, but I haven’t seen any information for this year.
Amazon has a DVD edition if you have access to a DVD player.
- Factory sealed DVD
Last update on 2026-08-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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