15+ High Impact/Low Effort Ideas for the Holidays
One of my very favorite things for holidays is looking for high impact, low effort ways to celebrate!
I mentioned these bats that I hang on our fireplace every year (they’re $3.99 for a pack of 100!) as one of those high impact, low effort holiday traditions and asked my Instagram community what suggestions they had for other high impact and low effort holiday celebrations!
Here are some of my favorite high impact, low effort recommendations!
15+ High Impact/Low Effort Ideas for the Holidays
Holiday Movie Night – We do family movie night on Friday nights, but I love the idea of selecting a movie based off of an upcoming holiday.
Hang the kids seasonal art – Chances are, the kids are going to come home with seasonal and holiday themed art projects from school. Instead of the tossing them aside, show them off around the house! It’s really a win-win: the house feels more festive with the decor, and the children will feel proud that their work is being displayed.
Framed photos on display of kids in Halloween costumes from previous years – This is one of my favorite Halloween decorations in our house. It’s super festive, meaningful, and affordable. All you have to do is print off your photos, slip them into frames, and voila! (I’ve also seen others frame their yearly Christmas cards for the Christmas holiday.) If you don’t have a place to set all of the frames, my assistant Analese uses these $7 picture fridge magnets for the same impact!
Small wreaths on the interior doors for Christmas – Why do front doors always get to have all the fun? Hanging smaller wreaths on the interior doors adds so much extra spirit to the whole house. Better yet, make it more personal and let everyone in the house design a wreath to display on their door.
Big picture frames and change out the “painting” with seasonal wrapping paper as art – Talk about high impact – low effort and low cost! Swing by Ikea and pick up a few large picture frames, fill it with some gorgeous wrapping paper, and you have a statement piece for the holiday.
Monster cut out from black poster board in the windows – If you are feeling crafty, grab a pair of scissors, black poster board and mount some monster silhouettes in the windows. (Ghosts would also be fun!) I also love these window clings that make the same effect, if you don’t have the time to make your own. Added bonus, these take minimal storage space and are under $12.
Seasonal Reading Charts – You know I couldn’t have this list without including a seasonal reading chart! Every year Everyday Reading comes out with a summer, Halloween, and Christmas reading chart to get kids excited for the upcoming holiday through reading. (If you haven’t downloaded this years Halloween Reading Chart, there is still time!)
Create a family holiday playlist – Holiday dance party anyone? We love to have silly dance parties for Halloween and Christmas. (Get a free trial of Amazon Music here!)
Gingerbread houses/haunted houses with graham crackers instead of gingerbread – This is one of my girls’ very favorite holiday traditions (and one of the ones I really enjoy too). We’ve always done graham cracker houses. They’re a thousand times easier to make, they cost practically nothing, and you’re not spending a million hours trying to decorate something enormous. I have an entire blog post about how we do our gingerbread houses here.
Holiday pajamas – I bought Ella pair of skeleton pajamas when she was a toddler and all four of my girls wore them over the years – it’s just so cute! (And you can get ones for the whole family!). We also do Christmas pajamas every year, and I think these have been my all-time favorites!
Twinkle lights – Nothing screams festive like twinkle lights. How fun would adding some orange twinkle lights to the exterior of your house be for Halloween? And you can’t go wrong with white or multicolored for Christmas.
Holiday sprinkles on yogurt – There is just something about sprinkles that kids ADORE! This might be one of the lowest effort ideas on this list, but it’s one the kids won’t forget. Add a shaker of Halloween or Christmas sprinkles to your grocery order and you are all set!
Holiday books as decor – This is probably my favorite type of decor! I have stacks of books out for the girls to read for each holiday, and it definitely adds to the festivity.
Draw festive art on lunch baggies – If you have a cold lunch packer, take a few days leading up to the holiday to make some fun art on the outside of a paper lunch bag. It is a fun surprise for the kids that will bring a smile to their day.
Holiday themed coloring placemats – Last year I found some fantastic coloring placemats for the holidays (which adds a fun element to the dinner) and I am happy to see that there are Halloween coloring tablecloths, Thanksgiving placemats, and Christmas placemats already for the upcoming holidays!
A new Christmas puzzle set out on the table every week of December – This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. I get SO MUCH joy from doing Christmas puzzles – after the craziness of my job during Q4, having time to sit down and do a puzzle and putting aside my work responsibilities feels absolutely magical. Now, I look forward to doing Christmas puzzles every single year in December.
Black feather boas on mantles, shelves, and chandeliers – I am deeming this the “garland of Halloween”. Take a black feather boa and deck the halls for a little spooky take on Halloween.
Halloween glow stick bath – Turn out the lights, throw a handful of glow sticks in a nice warm bubble bath, and you have an instant holiday favorite! Don’t just stop at Halloween, this would work great for any holiday.
Something fun i enjoy doing- I keep a folder of photos on our computer for each holiday and I just make that whole folder our screensaver at the start of a new holiday season. It’s such a fun blast from the past and we all enjoy looking at them again and again throughout the season!