How to Celebrate Christmas with a Pet

Christmas becomes even more fun if you have a pet in your home. Read this blog to find out how you can make Christmas even more special this year.

How to Celebrate Christmas with a Pet

Pets are an important part of our lives. They teach us kindness, compassion, courage, patience, perseverance and a lot more.

They give us the kind of unconditional love that only a pet can offer.

With the holiday season approaching, you must be excited for the festivities. And let me tell you, so is your pet.

When you are a pet parent, no celebration is complete unless you include your four-legged family member.

So, we present nine ways to celebrate Christmas with a pet—  

1. Prepare a feast or a special treat for your pet.

Whether you have a pet cat, dog, bird or gecko, they probably love getting treats every now and then.

Why not make their Christmas special with a treat or a feast that is prepared especially for them?

You can find many pet-friendly recipes online and make some scrumptious cookies, pizzas, donuts and muffins for your little darling.

If you have a cat, you can even add a little catnip to the goodies for an extra-good time.

A gingerbread man in a hand with a Christmas tree in the background.

2. Treat your pet to a spa day.

In the last few decades, the pet care industry has grown exponentially. In current times, the facilities for pet health and wellness care are at par with their human parents’.  

There are countless dog groomers and pet shops that offer full grooming services including pet massages.

Planning a nice and relaxing spa day for your dog or cat is a great way of celebrating Christmas with pets.

And if you are on a budget or your pet is wary of strangers, you can simply learn some pet-massage techniques (regular massage, acupressure massage etc.) from online videos; and treat your pet to a spa day at home.

3. Dress up in matching jammies with your pet.

If you have never had a pet before and it is your first Christmas with a pet, then you might be worried thinking how to celebrate Christmas with a pet at home?

Well, what better way is there than to carry on a Christmas tradition and get dressed up in matching jammies?

You can get a matching night dress for your whole family including your pupper or your cat. Everyone can get dressed in those clothes on Christmas eve.

So, when you wake up on Christmas morning to open the gifts, gathered around the Christmas tree, you would all look the same; like members of the same family.

Nothing beats the feeling of cuddling your pet in matching jammies on a Christmas day.

You would look cute and your hearts would be full of love and warmth.    

A woman and her cat wearing matching sweaters.

4. Walk or drive around with your pet watching the Christmas lights.

Taking a walk or driving around the neighbourhood with your family or friends, soaking in the views of impressive holiday decorations, is a tradition that many people follow.

You can take your dog or cat along for the ride. They would enjoy the twinkling lights, life-size figurines and wintery landscapes as much as you would.

The fact that they are getting to spend some extra quality time with you makes this activity even more special for your pet.

5. Give your pet their own piece of Christmas decoration.

An important part of Christmas celebrations is each of the family members having their own specific piece of decoration that they use to decorate the Christmas tree; along with other ornaments.

This specific piece of decoration denotes them in some way and is saved to be put up on the tree every year.

One of the best ways of celebrating Christmas with a pet is to give them a Christmas tree decoration item that is solely theirs.

This piece of decoration can also signify their importance in your life.

Alternatively or additionally, you can also hang up a Christmas stocking with their name on it, full of goodies especially for them.

Sweet little dog posing in front of the Christmas tree.

6. Give your pet some extra attention.

The holidays are all about spending time with your family and friends, and making them happy.

And nothing makes a pet happier than getting your attention does. So, give your pet some extra time and attention.

You can snuggle up with your pup on the couch and watch the snowflakes touch the ground, get under the blanket in your bed and enjoy a movie together.

Go for a long hike or dance around the living room. Basically, spend some quality time together doing things that you both have fun doing.      

7. Find the perfect gift for your pet.

Finding the perfect Christmas gifts for dogs or cats or any other pet is not the easiest thing to do. Afterall, we want the best for our furbabies.

The pet care industry understands this need to provide the best for our pets.

Hence, there are numerous cute and useful things available at pet shops that fulfill the criteria of being good Christmas gifts for pets.

A comfortable bed, a nice fluffy blanket, chew toys, mind-stimulating toys, interactive scratch posts, window hammock, teepees, tasty treats— the choices are endless.

If you like doing little projects, DIYs and such, you can also make a gift for your pet with your own hands.      

Orange cat sleeping in front of a fireplace
Cute cat taking a nap in her cosy bed.

8. Do a Christmas-special photoshoot with your pet.

Doing a Christmas-special photoshoot with the family has been a part of Christmas tradition for many decades now.

So, why not include your pet in this sweet tradition?

Whether you have a pet cat or a dog, you can dress her up in matching clothes and accessories.

Get her glam on and make her feel like a star for a day. And what better time to do that than on Christmas day?

This may not be a suitable gift for all pets as not all pets love to pose for photos.

But, if you have a little diva in your home, then a Christmas-special photoshoot can be the perfect gift for them.

9. Get out and about with your pet.

Most pets love to go out of the house and explore the world they live in.

Dogs, cats, geckos, reptiles, bunnies and hamsters— doesn’t matter what kind of pets you have, they all love to go out of the house sometimes.

So, to make their Christmas truly special, take them out of the house for a while; be it on Christmas eve or on Christmas day.

You can visit their favourite dog park, take them on a walk on their favourite route, take them with you when you visit friends or other family members.

You can also go on a roadtrip with them or take them along with you if you go for a Christmas vacation.

You also have the option of taking them out for a nice meal at a pet-friendly cafe or restaurant. Pets usually have a great time whenever tasty food is involved.

And if leaving the house is not really an option due to snowfall and such; you can simply play fetch in the backyard if the snow is not too heavy.  

A dog companion looking out of a car
A dog enjoying the view while on a road-trip.

Celebrating Christmas with a pet can be super-fun but you need to take care of a few things as well.

Be careful with Christmas tree ornaments and other decorations. Make sure that they are safe for your pet to be around.

Keep a close eye on your pet in case they have a habit of playing with Christmas decorations as they can ingest them accidentally and end up in the ER.

You would also have to ensure that they don’t eat the foods which are meant for humans; as a lot of food items are dangerous for dogs to eat.

Especially chocolates— which are available in most homes during the holiday season— are poisonous to dogs and many other household pets.

Chocolates can even be fatal to your pets. So, take caution.