Best Christmas Activities for Preschools

The holiday season is an exciting time of year for both children and teachers, and what better way to celebrate Christmas than with fun, educational, and creative activities that engage preschoolers. Christmas activities for preschoolers can be both festive and educational, promoting social, emotional, and cognitive development. These activities, when aligned with curricular activities in nursery school, not only provide festive cheer but also contribute to the growth of key skills in young learners.

Here’s a list of some of the best Christmas activities for preschools that blend fun with learning, while also making sure to stick to age-appropriate tasks that help preschoolers thrive.

1. Christmas Craft Station

Creating Christmas crafts is a classic and exciting way for preschoolers to engage in hands-on learning. Setting up a Christmas craft station with supplies like colored paper, scissors, glue, markers, glitter, and fabric can help children develop fine motor skills, coordination, and creativity. Some ideas for crafts include:

• Paper Plate Snowmen: Using paper plates as the base, children can decorate their snowmen with buttons, scarves made of fabric, and googly eyes.
• Christmas Tree Collages: Provide construction paper, stickers, and sequins for the kids to make their own unique Christmas trees.
• Handprint Ornaments: Help the children trace their handprints on paper or foam to make cute Christmas ornaments.

Not only do these crafts make beautiful decorations, but they also serve as an opportunity for children to practice their cutting, gluing, and drawing skills.

2. Storytime with Christmas Books

Christmas-themed books are perfect for promoting literacy in preschoolers while immersing them in the holiday spirit. Reading aloud to young children builds their vocabulary, comprehension, and listening skills. Some popular Christmas books for preschoolers include:

• "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg – This magical story of a train ride to the North Pole will excite the imagination of young learners.
• "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss – A great tale to discuss the importance of kindness, generosity, and holiday cheer.
• "Bear Stays Up for Christmas" by Karma Wilson – This story follows Bear as he stays awake to celebrate Christmas with his friends.

During storytime, ask questions like, "What do you think will happen next?" or "How does the Grinch feel?" to develop listening comprehension and encourage children to express their ideas.

3. Christmas Sensory Bins

Sensory play is crucial for preschool development, as it helps children explore their world using their senses. A sensory bin filled with Christmas-themed items can be a delightful activity for little ones. You can fill a plastic bin with various materials such as:

• Cotton balls (snow)
• Red and green beads
• Miniature Christmas trees and ornaments
• Pinecones and cinnamon sticks

Children can explore these items by sorting, stacking, or pretending. This kind of activity strengthens fine motor skills and introduces children to concepts like texture, temperature, and categorization.

4. Holiday Music and Movement

One of the best ways to celebrate the Christmas season is through music and dance. Incorporating holiday songs that encourage movement can be a wonderful way for preschoolers to practice motor skills, rhythm, and coordination. Some classic Christmas songs with accompanying movements include:

• "Jingle Bells" – Children can pretend to ride in a sleigh, shake their jingle bell “bells,” or stomp their feet like reindeer.
• "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" – As they sing along, children can wave their arms and smile.
• "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" – Children can act out the story by pretending to be Rudolph with a bright red nose or the other reindeer who help him.

This activity helps develop gross motor skills and provides a fun, active break in the midst of the holiday excitement.

5. Gingerbread Man Fun

Creating gingerbread men is an enjoyable and engaging activity that brings in both a festive theme and educational concepts. Preschoolers can help decorate gingerbread cookies with icing, candies, and sprinkles, learning about shapes and colors in the process. A few other gingerbread-related activities include:

• Gingerbread man story reenactment: After reading a gingerbread-themed book, such as "The Gingerbread Man" by Jim Aylesworth, children can act out the story or create their own versions using props.
• Gingerbread counting: Use gingerbread cookie cutouts to practice counting. For instance, ask children to put a certain number of buttons or sprinkles on each gingerbread man.

This activity encourages both creativity and early math skills like counting and sorting.

6. Christmas Sensory Bottles

A sensory bottle is a calm, quiet activity that provides preschoolers with a fun way to engage their senses. You can create Christmas-themed sensory bottles by filling clear plastic bottles with various materials such as:

• Water, glitter, and small holiday figurines (snowflakes, tiny ornaments, or beads)
• Rice or pasta with red and green food coloring
• Small bells or sequins

Children can shake or roll the bottles, watching how the objects move inside. This kind of activity promotes sensory exploration and visual tracking.

7. Building a Santa's Workshop

Transform your classroom into a magical Santa’s workshop! Preschoolers love pretend play, and by setting up a corner of the room with toy tools, wrapping paper, ribbons, and empty boxes, children can work on their fine motor skills while pretending to make gifts for Santa.

You can also set up a station where children "wrap" empty boxes with paper and tape, or help decorate "gift bags" with stickers. This play fosters social-emotional development as children engage in cooperative play, helping one another wrap or organize the presents.

8. Christmas-Themed Math Games

Incorporating a holiday theme into curricular activities in nursery school can make learning math more exciting. Christmas-themed math games help preschoolers grasp fundamental concepts in an engaging way. Some ideas include:

• Christmas Tree Shape Sorting: Cut out different shapes and have children sort them by size, color, or type.
• Count the Ornaments: Place different numbers of ornaments on a tree or in a basket, and ask the children to count them aloud.
• Santa’s Sleigh Numbers: Children can match numbers to the correct number of "presents" (small toys or blocks) they should place in Santa’s sleigh.

These activities help improve counting, sorting, and pattern recognition.

9. Visit from Santa Claus

No Christmas celebration would be complete without a visit from Santa! If possible, arrange for a local volunteer or teacher to dress up as Santa Claus and visit the preschool. This will be an unforgettable experience for the children and can help build excitement and anticipation for the holidays. Be sure to have a small gift or candy cane for each child and allow them to interact with Santa.

Conclusion

Christmas is a special time of year, and there’s no better way to embrace the holiday spirit than through a variety of fun and educational activities in preschool. From crafts to games, songs to stories, Christmas activities provide countless opportunities to learn while celebrating. Whether engaging in curricular activities in nursery school or preparing for festive festivities, these activities ensure that the holiday season is full of joy, creativity, and valuable learning experiences for all preschoolers.