56 Best Christmas Activities for Kids in 2023

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Looking for fun Christmas activities for kids?

Here are some of my favorite holiday activities for kids to try this Winter. Since Christmas is my all time favorite holiday, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to share all my favorite holiday crafts and the best Christmas activities for kids with you. 

These holiday activities for kids are the perfect way to spread Christmas joy in your classroom this year. You can use them at home to spend quality time making holiday memories with your little ones too.

These easy Christmas activities are perfect for learning about reindeer, snowmen, gingerbread, and more. Plus, they’re a fantastic way to get into the holiday spirit.

Keep reading for cute holiday activity ideas and easy Christmas crafts for your whole family to enjoy this December. You won’t want to miss these fun ideas!

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Silly Ugly Sweater Holiday Activities for Kids

Looking for something unique to do with your kids during Christmas time? Have an ugly sweater party! You can plan and decorate your own ugly Christmas sweaters to wear to the event. Share ugly Christmas sweater cookies, and have fun with my ugly sweater Christmas activity for kids.

Print these ugly sweater templates and have fun decorating with stickers, pom-poms, tinsel, and gift bows. Each sweater comes with a card telling kids what decorations to add and how many of each. It’s a fun way to practice counting with this silly Christmas theme.

Counting Christmas Lights

If you’re looking for another hands on way to practice counting and number recognition in your classroom this Winter, look no further. These Winter activities counting mats are perfect for learning with numbers.

Just grab my counting lights printable and some manipulatives for hours of mathematical fun. I used festive Candy Corn but you could always use Pom-poms, Playdoh, or mini erasers too!

Snowman Activities and Christmas Crafts for Kids

Do you want to build a snowman? These snowman themed activities and Christmas crafts for kids are the perfect way to enjoy snowmen no matter where you live. 

Printable Snowman Crafts for Kids

If you’re looking for a printable snowman craft for kids, these two easy winter crafts will easily be a big hit.

Customize each snowman by number of snowballs, color paper used, or number of buttons. Then add in some writing and sequencing practice with my how to make a snowman worksheets.

This would be an adorable addition to a snowman preschool theme this Christmas.

Snowman Paper Plate Craft

First, build your own snowman craft. Here’s what you’ll need: 

• paper plate
• scissors
• glue
• cotton balls
• construction paper
• buttons 
• Googly-eyes

Once you’ve gathered your materials, cut out the center of the paper plate. Be sure to save the middle circle because it will become the head of your adorable Christmas snowman. After that, have kids glue cotton balls around the edges of the paper plate. 

Older children can cut out their own paper plates, but younger children might need assistance. The cutting and pasting skills you’ll be using in this snowman Christmas activity are ideal for helping young children develop fine motor skills, so resist the urge to take over. There are so many ways to differentiate these fun crafts making them perfect for children of all ages.

Create a Winter Wonderland with the entire family as your kids learn and craft their own little snowman for Christmas.

Snowy Beginning Sounds Worksheet Activity

Are your kids early readers? If so, this Christmas activity for kids will be just perfect! You’ll need my holiday beginning sounds worksheet, part of my Christmas activity pack for preschool.

Kids can practice identifying beginning sounds with fake snow in this fun holiday activity for kids.

Snowman Books and Songs for Kids

For even more snowman themed fun with your kids this Christmas, check out some of these adorable books for storytime and songs to sing together over the holidays. Here are some of our favorite snowman songs:

• Frosty the Snowman
• Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
• LIttle Snowflake

Looking for some books featuring magical snowmen to read aloud with your kids this Christmas? Here are some of my favorite snowy tales:

• Snowman at Night by Caralyn Buehner
• All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle
• Snowballs by Lois Elhert

Reindeer Crafts and Holiday Activities for Kids

There are so many fun ways to learn about Santa’s reindeer this Christmas! Check out my favorite Christmas crafts for kids all about reindeer and enjoy a few of these favorites with your little ones too.

Letter Tracing with Reindeer Cards

This hands-on handwriting practice activity is sure to be a hit with kindergarten and preschool learners this Christmas. You’ll need a candy cane, my reindeer letter tracing cards, quick oats, and a tray. 

First, spread a layer of quick oats across the bottom of your sensory bins or trays. Give kids candy canes to use for writing utensils.

Then, let them practice making the letters on each reindeer card with their candy cane. It’s a great way to practice letter identification and letter writing with kids this Christmas season.

Free Reindeer Food Printable Christmas Craft for Kids

This magical Christmas craft for kids is one of my absolute favorites! Together, you’ll be making your very own reindeer food for Santa’s friends on Christmas Eve. It’s a brilliant way to add a little extra magic to Christmas Eve night with your kids. 

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• My free Christmas craft reindeer food template
• Quick oats
• Sugar or sprinkles and
• Ziplock bags

For even more fun, you can turn the bags into cute reindeer too with googly eyes, a brown pipe cleaner, and a red pom-pom. Need to know how to make reindeer food? Follow the simple directions below:

1. Print the reindeer food tag printable
2. Cut the top off of a Ziplock bag
3. Add a cup of oatmeal in the bag and sprinkle in some sugar or festive sprinkles
4. Take the pipe cleaner and wrap it around the top to seal the bag
5. Scrunch the ends of the pipe cleaner to create the antlers
6. Glue the eyes and nose on the bag and
7. Attach the tag with a ribbon

That’s it! Aren’t these the cutest reindeer food tag printables? Your kids will be so excited to see what Santa leaves them Christmas morning after this fun holiday activity.

Rudolph Counting activity

My newest winter counting activity is the perfect way to get creative as you learn about numbers and counting with your preschoolers this Christmas. You’ll get a printable Rudolph counting mat and number cards you can use to practice number identification and counting this holiday season.

To increase the opportunities to build fine motor skills (and to make it more fun!) I like to swap out Playdoh and Pom-poms for holiday themed candy corn. They make this winter math activity so much more fun and tactile for preschoolers!

Plus, it gives your preschoolers a sweet treat to enjoy when they’re done.

Jingle Bell Pattern Practice

Ready to practice some early math skills in a fun new way for the holidays?

Check out these jingle bell pattern practice pages. You can use them with colorful jingle bells to practice patterning with early learners in a new and engaging way. 

Reindeer Paper Plate Craft

Don’t you just love paper plate crafts? They’re so easy and totally adorable! These cute reindeer will make an adorable decoration for your home this holiday season. Here’s what you’ll need to get started: 

• Paper plate
• Construction paper: tan, white, red
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Washable markers: brown, black

First, cut the paper plate into thirds. You can even take a minute to talk about fractions with early learners while you work. Then, choose one-third and color the backside brown.

Next, cut a red circle nose, two tan antlers, and two white circles for eyes. Finally, assemble your reindeer using a glue stick. Tada! You’ve just created your very own reindeer friend.

Easy Christmas Activities All About Elves

Elves are fascinating! These colorful, fun, and magical little helpers are an inspiring theme for kids this Christmas.

You can use my favorite easy Christmas activities all about elves to have fun learning at home and in the classroom with your kids this December. Check out my favorites below.

Elf Name Christmas Craft for Kids

Do you know your elf name? Have fun discovering everyone’s elf name this Christmas with the Elf Name Generator.

Then, use this cute Elf name Christmas craft to practice name recognition with your preschool and toddler kids this December. Or, make it fun for older kids by letting them use their “elf name” to complete the craft.

Grab my elf craft template, construction paper, scissors, and glue to get started. In no time, you’ll have a cute little elf craft to decorate your child’s chair this Christmas.

Elf Job Christmas Worksheets 

These elf jobs are perfect for kids that have always wanted to help Santa get ready for Christmas. If you can’t join the elves at the North Pole, you can help them right here with these Christmas activities for kids!

Help the elves measure gifts to practice non-standard measurement using printable jingle bell rulers and different sized gifts. This activity includes printable gifts, but you can make it even more hands-on by wrapping a variety of boxes for kids to measure instead.

Then, help the elves load Santa’s sleigh with Christmas gifts for children all over the world.

In this sight word activity, kids will guess which sight word gift bag the printable gift is hiding in with this fun Christmas activity.

If your little ones aren’t quite ready for sight words, you can use my Christmas letter recognition worksheet instead. 

Elf Name Crafts for Christmas

Here’s one last elf name craft to get you through the holiday season. This free elf craft will teach your preschoolers their name and fine motor skills this Christmas holiday.

Simply print out the elf template and assemble it as shown. Then write your child’s name on red paper and glue it on as the elf’s shirt.

Free Elf Hat Template

How cute is this elf hat template for kids to make this December? It’s easy to recreate and is a fun elf craft for kids to make this winter.

Just print the template on the colored paper of your choice, cut it out, and attach it to a sentence strip.

Christmas Elf Family Movie Night 

For a magical family night this December, share some popcorn, break out the Christmas cookies and cocoa. Then, watch your favorite Christmas movies together. Here are some of our favorite elf themed Christmas films to watch together:

• Prep & Landing Series
• The Elf That Rescued Christmas
• The Year Without a Santa Claus
• Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas
• Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas

Christmas Tree Holiday Crafts and Activities for Kids

My kids love singing Christmas songs like Oh, Christmas Tree during the holidays. Singing Christmas carols with kids is a fun way to help children build vocabulary and explore rhyme and rhythm.

In addition to singing songs about Christmas trees, check out some of my favorite Christmas tree crafts and activities:

Paper Plate Christmas Tree Craft

I love paper plate crafts because they’re easy to do with young children and super cute too! With this craft, your kids can make and decorate their very own Christmas trees.

You’ll need a paper plate, scissors, glue, a green maker, colorful pom-poms, and a gift bow.

First, cut the paper plate into thirds. Then, glue each third together with the point facing up to form your Christmas tree.

Next, color it green with the marker. Kids can decorate their trees with as many colorful pom-poms and craft supplies as they like. Top it with a bow and your Christmas tree craft is complete.

Christmas Tree Shape Craft

Learn basic shapes this December with this adorable Christmas tree shape craft for kids. Cut and paste a Christmas Tree craft then count how many shapes you used and record them on the worksheet.

There’s no better way to teach your preschooler shapes this Winter than with an adorable holiday shape craft of a Christmas tree.

Ornament I-Spy Christmas Activity for Kids

This cute Christmas craft for kids is a craft and learning activity all in one. Plus, it looks really awesome hanging on your Christmas tree. Here’s what you’ll need: a clear Christmas light ornament, letter beads, and holiday sprinkles. 

Fill the ornament with a mix of letter beads and sprinkles, then use my Christmas light letter printable to turn this fun craft into a letter identification activity for your kids this December.

Gingerbread Crafts and Christmas Activities for Kids

Gingerbread is a classic Christmas treat, so it’s the perfect theme for all kinds of fun activities and read alouds with your kids this Christmas. Check out my favorite gingerbread crafts and Christmas activities for kids to get some great ideas for your little ones this holiday season.

Gingerbread Syllable Christmas Activity for Kids

Dividing words into chunks helps kids learn to decode and begin reading. This Christmas activity for kids will help your early learners do just that. You’ll get my gingerbread house mats and printable gingerbread men. 

Kids can identify the number of syllables in the words each gingerbread man is holding. Then, match them to the correctly numbered gingerbread houses. For extra fun, reward your kids with a delicious gingerbread cookie snack.

DIY Gingerbread Ornament Christmas Craft for Kids

These cute felt gingerbread Christmas crafts are perfect for decking the halls with your little ones! Building these gingerbread ornaments is a great way to practice important fine motor skills with your kids this holiday season.

Gingerbread Man Science Experiment

Science experiments are always so fun to do around the holidays. Try this gingerbread man science experiment to get your students exploring the tasty cookies in different liquids.

This awesome science experiment for kids comes with 3 different variations in worksheets so that you can easily differentiate the needs of your students as needed.

Be sure to also check out my Halloween science experiments, winter science experiments, and Christmas science experiments for kids.

How to Make a Gingerbread Cookie

If you’re looking for a way to enhance your sequencing skills while crafting, you’ve come to the right place. This adorable gingerbread craft and how-to writing is the perfect addition to your Winter lesson plans.

Grab the templates in my shop and learn all December and January long!

Best Gingerbread Tales for Kids 

Reading aloud to kids is the best way to encourage your children to fall in love with books and help them develop important early learning skills too. Check out our favorite gingerbread stories to read aloud at Christmas:

• Gingerbread Mouse by Katy Bratun
• The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires
• The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup
• Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett

Santa Themed Activities and Christmas Crafts for Kids

Ask any child what they’re most excited about this Christmas and they’ll probably say Santa. That’s why Santa-themed Christmas activities and crafts are perfect for celebrating the season with your little ones. Check out my favorite Santa Christmas crafts and activities to try:

Santa Name Craft for Kids

Have you ever read the book Santa’s Stuck? It’s a cute story about how Santa gets up and down the chimney each Christmas Eve.

Grab my free Santa printable to create a Christmas name craft to pair with this story this Winter.

kids Games Christmas

Pull out the old Tic-Tac-Toe board and try out this fun and simple kids game this Christmas. Help your kids build important analytical skills this Christmas with a fun Santa themed version of tic tac toe. It’s an easy game that’s lots of fun for kids of all ages.

I got Santa Tic Tac Toe boards from Dollar Tree but there are similar ones at Oriental Trading too. Then, I turned it into a fine motor skill-building activity by adding giant tweezers and jingle bells.

Santa Stories to Read Aloud

Some of our favorite stories to read in December are all about Santa. You can share them with your children this Christmas to help them learn to love reading as much as they love the man in the big red suit. Check out these favorites:

• Guess Who’s Coming to Santa’s for Dinner by Tomie de Paola
• T’was the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Build a Beard Santa Activity

This cute Christmas activity for kids is a fun way to help little learners practice their counting skills this December. Use my printable number cards and beardless Santas to get started.

Add some cotton balls and voila!  A fun hands-on way to practice counting and one-to-one correspondence with lots of giggles this Christmas.

Santa Popsicle Stick Crafts for Winter

Aren’t these popsicle stick crafts so festive and perfect for the winter holidays? We got these easy Christmas craft kits a few days ago from Target and I decided to bust them out and be a crafty momma.

I love how cute these turned out and how much fun my little one had with this hands on activity.

Feeling extra crafty? This is the perfect diy craft for kids to do if you have popsicle sticks, foam, pom poms and googly eyes lying around!

More Christmas Printables and Holiday Activity Ideas

I hope my favorite Christmas crafts and holiday activities for kids have given you lots of the best ideas to share with your little ones at home and in the classroom this December. Share your favorite Christmas crafts in the comments.

I can’t wait to read about them and try a few with my kids too! Want more holiday crafts and Christmas activities for kids? Check out my second week of Christmas activities for preschoolers here!

Or these Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Pumpkin activities for fall are amazing too.