101 Fun and Easy Christmas Activities For The Classroom
12 Nov, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- 101 Christmas activities for the classroom.
- How to find and apply for the best education and SEND jobs.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Throughout December, children are excited about presents and snow, which means that keeping students entertained, engaged and focused in the classroom can be a challenge.
However, there are plenty of fun but educational activities which you could take part in over the festive period. The resources, activities and games in this guide are designed to aid children’s learning around various school topics but with some Christmas magic sprinkled on top.
From maths and science, to drama and art, these 101 fun and festive activities strike the perfect balance between challenging and entertaining.
101 Christmas activities for the classroom
Throughout this guide, we’ve split the Christmas activities into 11 school subjects and fun categories:
- Traditional Christmas ideas.
- English.
- Maths.
- Arts and crafts.
- Science.
- Food.
- Music.
- Drama.
- Physical Education.
- History/Geography/Religious Education.
- Games.
Traditional Christmas ideas
Kick off the festivities with some traditional Christmas activities in the classroom to get pupils and Teachers excited over the Christmas period.
Decorate the classroom with homemade decorations and posters.
Allow students to decorate the Christmas tree in their classroom with homemade ornaments of their name or favourite Christmas character.
Participate in Secret Santa so every pupil gets a chance to exchange small and inexpensive or homemade presents with their classmates.
Video call Santa Claus to surprise your pupils and bring them some joy. Or ask your Alexa to ‘Call Santa Claus’ to hear a message from the big man himself!
Provide your students with a class advent calendar to give everyone the opportunity to open one of the advent calendar doors.
Organise a Christmas quiz made up of Christmas trivia questions.
Provide each pupil with a Christmas stocking and fill it with treats for an end of year surprise.
Initiate a present appeal and ask students to bring in toys, books and gifts for charity or children in need.
On Christmas jumper day, encourage the whole school to donate £2 to Save the Children and wear their best Christmas jumpers.The money raised helps support other children's futures.
Encourage students to perform random acts of kindness throughout December to think of those who may be lonely or sad at Christmas time.
Organise a school Christmas fair complete with raffle, baked goods and decorations.
Enjoy a Christmas film on the last day of school before Christmas. From The Santa Clause, Arthur Christmas and The Muppets Christmas Carol, there are countless Christmas classics to choose from!
English
When it comes to English lessons, there are many Christmas activities and tasks for students to do in the classroom that are still beneficial to their learning and enhance their creativity.
Read a Christmas classic to the class e.g. The Snowman, Twas The Night Before Christmas or A Christmas Carol and encourage students to read passages aloud to improve their confidence, reading and speaking skills.
Write a Christmas acrostic poem to give students the opportunity to express what Christmas means to them and put their work on display around the classroom.
Get students' brains ticking with some Christmas-themed riddles and brain teasers sure to challenge, excite and motivate. Christmas-themed riddles can enhance problem solving and critical thinking skills.
It wouldn't be Christmas if children didn't write their letters to Santa. Write letters of gratitude, and a Christmas list and post them in a class mailbox addressed to the North Pole.
Christmas tongue twisters are a fun way to help students remember patterns and words faster than speaking. Challenge students to say ‘How many deer would a reindeer reign if a reindeer could reindeer?’ to strengthen jaw muscles for clearer and more accurate speech.
Hand out Christmas inspired word searches and crosswords to the class for a quiet, independent activity that is enjoyable and benefits students problem-solving skills and concentration.
Ask students to rewrite a Christmas story or update a classic tale to make them more relevant today.
Write a diary entry from the point of view of a famous Christmas character in literature, film or television such as the likes of Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch.
There are a lot of difficult words in the Christmas vocabulary that are challenging to spell and pronounce like Mistletoe, Ebenzer, Bauble and Bethlehem. Host a spelling bee to test your students' knowledge of words and grammar and assess their ability to work under pressure.
Ask students to identify images associated with Christmas and describe their value, relevance and purpose. Assess the grammar, spelling and punctuation of the written work as well as the quality of the content and the descriptive language.
Maths
Transform your maths lessons into a holiday celebration with these fun activities and maths scenarios to challenge students to count, build and think mathematically. ‘Christmaths’ will no doubt become every pupil's favourite subject with these activities.
Teach students about 2D shapes and angles with a Christmas theme e.g. using shapes to construct a Christmas tree or a snowflake.
Do Christmas jigsaws.
Build a 3D snowman out of paper.
Learn to count with a giant advent calendar.
Challenge students and test their multiplication skills with a Christmas tree time table.
Test students' maths skills with a ‘count the candy canes activity.’ Dot candy canes around the classroom and ask students to count them (just make sure there is one for everyone to eat once the game is complete!)
Write Christmas scenario maths problems for pupils to work out e.g, "if Santa has 12 reindeer and he adds 4 more, how many reindeer does he have in total?"
Discuss the concept of symmetry using images of Christmas trees and symmetrical snowflakes.
Give students a ‘budget’ to buy Christmas gifts from a wish list to assess their mathematical skills, knowledge of money, and ability to stay within a budget.
Give students a ‘budget’ to fund a Christmas party asking them to consider the costs for decorations and food, and use their additional, multiplication and subtraction skills to stay within the budget.
Arts and crafts
There are many crafty activities that students can do over the Christmas period to help decorate the classroom, get in the festive spirit, and treat family & friends.
Make and write Christmas cards out of recyclable materials to wish family, friends and Teachers a Merry Christmas!
A quick and easy Christmas project for the classroom - DIY snow globes! All you need is a jar, glue, an ornament or figurine, some glitter and water!
Embrace the season of goodwill and make presents in the classroom e.g. candles, mugs or treats. Homemade gifts can be even more sentimental, special, and affordable.
Go one step further and decorate a gift box or gift bag to present the item in a more appealing and special way. Use cardboard, wrapping paper, glitter and ribbon to package the perfect gift, all ready for Christmas day!
Making decorations is the perfect task for pupils to help decorate the classroom or take home for their own Christmas tree.
Homemade hand warmers make for great Christmas gifts in the colder months and this is a great sewing task for beginners.
Wreaths are widely considered a staple in Christmas decor and there are a variety of different styles children can recreate. Take students on a nature walk and collect pine needles and branches for a traditional wreath, or use paper plates, pipe cleaners, buttons and candy canes.
Make homemade Christmas crackers, and fill them with jokes, maths equations and riddles to create a bang in the classroom!
Turn unpaired socks into a snowman doorstop. Fill a sock with rice, twist it and secure it with a rubber band. Do the same again to make the snowman’s head, and decorate adding something for the eyes and nose.
Paint by numbers activity of festive images or Christmas scenes.
Provide students with a template to design their own Christmas jumpers - consider Christmas colours, staples and traditions. This activity allows students' imaginations and creativity to run wild and is a great encouragement for self expression.
Build a winter wonderland and create homemade igloos in the classroom. Make them out of cotton wool, paper or even sugar cubes!
Colouring is a simple but entertaining activity for students that encourages relaxation, patience and positivity.
Create a team Christmas banner for the classroom. Assign each team a word, image or theme for their banner. Ask them to think about the materials and colours, as well as the role everyone in the group will play.
Nutcrackers are synonymous with Christmas. Why not make model nutcrackers using kitchen roll as the basis of the body, and wool for hair?
Bring in a professional to do Christmas face paint for pupils.
Science
There are several activities and science experiments students can do in the classroom over the Christmas period that are beneficial, academic and scientific as well as festive.
Make Christmas bath bombs and watch them fizz.
Collect snowflakes and study them under a microscope.
Conduct a candy cane experiment, by covering them with baking soda, vinegar and food colouring - then watch them fizz! Discuss what reaction occurred and why.
Fitting with the baking soda and vinegar theme, pour the ingredients into a Christmas bauble and watch it erupt!
Study the power of magnets and make some magnetic ornaments and wreaths.
Make some hot chocolates and along the way make scientific observations. Students could predict what temperature the milk will dissolve the hot chocolate at, and how the hot water molecules break down the mixture.
Get messy by creating fake snow or Christmas slime.
Food
Christmas is synonymous with good food so it would only be fair to have food technology lessons that involved food traditionally eaten at Christmas time. Students can learn basic culinary skills, how to follow recipes as well as health, hygiene and safety in the kitchen.
Make yummy gingerbread houses or decorate a ready made gingerbread house.
Christmas fruit cakes take a year to age to perfection, so make one with your students, check on the progress throughout the year and then decorate it!
Save time by buying supermarket ready cookies or cupcakes and decorate them with edible glitter, sprinkles, flowers or cake toppers!
It wouldn’t be Christmas without traditional mince pies, so why not teach your students how to make them?
Organise a Christmas buffet encouraging students to bring in traditional Christmas foods from their cultures or countries. Each student could present a brief description of the food they bring in and the meaning behind it.
Music
Classic Christmas songs and carols are played throughout most of November and December in anticipation of Christmas. It’s only fitting that Teachers bring Christmas music into the classroom to ensure that students are in the Christmas spirit and have the opportunity to embrace the feeling that comes from playing festive songs.
Singing carols lift spirits, so why not host a carol service at the school for students to perform to an audience of parents, family and the local community.
Name that Christmas tune - play a small segment of Christmas music and give students a chance to guess the right song.
Learn to play a Christmas carol on an instrument and get ready to jingle all the way!
Ask students to write their own Christmas carol or song.
Recite the 12 Days of Christmas song.
Play musical statues to classic Christmas songs. Encourage students to dance, but when the Christmas music stops, they must freeze like a snowman.
Play musical chairs while dressed in Santa hats, tinsel and elf ears.
Throw a Christmas party and allow students to dress up, dance and sing.
What could be more fun at a Christmas party than a bit of Christmas karaoke?
Drama
Drama Teachers listen up, it’s time to get theatrical and breathe some enthusiasm and drama into Christmas with these activities and performance ideas.
Perform the Nativity scene to an audience in assembly.
Act out an iconic scene from a Christmas film or story in a drama lesson.
Encourage students to write and perform a monologue from the point of view of a Christmas character, perhaps Tiny Tim, the Nutcracker or even explore what the Snowman might say if he could talk.
Create a Christmas advert for a toy or product and have the students write the script, create props and film their performance.
Have students mime or act out Christmas activities e.g. wrapping presents, pulling crackers or having a snowball fight. The remaining students must guess what action is taking place.
It’s behind you! Pantomimes take place at Christmas time and a class trip to the theatre is a great way to get students interested in the arts.
If a trip to the theatre isn’t possible, perform your own pantomime at school to boost your students’ confidence and encourage them to be more creative.
Transform the class into residents of Whoville, by creating some wild and wacky festive hairstyles from the Grinch. Encourage students to bring in their own props and accessories to add to their Cindy Lou Who hairdo!
Physical Education
Keeping students fit and active is crucial, and with some Christmas-themed activities, you can encourage your students to push themselves and have fun exercising.
Choreograph a simple dance routine to a classic Christmas song.
Take part in a Santa sack race.
Swap a snowball fight, for a snowball toss! Toss white bean bags or balls into targets set at different distances.
Set up an obstacle course where students act as Santas elves, collecting the most presents from around the room before the time is up.
Give every student a chance to do a relay race overcoming obstacles to rescue Rudolph on the other side of the room. Once they’ve reached Rudolph, they must blow a whistle, so the next member of their team can join them.
Organise a scavenger/treasure hunt in the classroom. The aim is to find the festive ornaments using clues about Christmas movies, the nativity and carols.
Assign the students a different reindeer with a different action to perform when that reindeers name is called. It could be jumping jacks, skipping, squatting and not only does it get students on their toes, but it keeps them thinking about what action they need to perform.
Create a 25 days of Christmas ‘active’ calendar. Allocate a few minutes every day to complete a quick physical activity over a 25 day period. Like an advent calendar, put a chart on the wall to keep track of the daily activities behind each door e.g. day one do 10 lunges, day two skip etc.
Play a game of Christmas tree tig where players must stand with their arms in a ‘tree’ position until another player decorates them with decorations.
History/Geography/Religious Education
Each activity in this section is designed to weave some Christmas magic into History, Geography and Religious Education lessons.
Tell the story of the nativity and the birth of Jesus.
Teach how different countries celebrate Christmas and their customs and traditions.
Teach students about how Christmas has been celebrated over the years in different time periods e.g. when Christmas was banned by Oliver Crowmwell in the 17th century, or what Christmas was like for children in the Victorian era.
Dedicate time in your history lessons to explore the ‘Christmas truce,’ - when soldiers stopped fighting on Christmas to exchange gifts and play a friendly game of football on the battlefield.
Design a map for Santa and follow him on his journey around the world. Consider time zones, distance travelled and teach students how to read a compass. Discuss landmarks and cities in different destinations to improve geographical knowledge.
Write Christmas postcards to people all over the world. Teach students how to write “Merry Christmas” and other holiday greetings in different languages. Feliz Navidad! Use postcards of flags and ask students to match their flag to the right country.
Games
Now to the fun stuff! There are various games that can be played at school throughout December to celebrate the Christmas period. Many of them are fun, festive and educational plus they don’t require a lot of time and effort, equipment or resources.
A game of Christmas-themed charades can be great fun for the whole class.
Pin the nose on the reindeer - a Christmas twist on a classic game!
Play bingo with Christmas-related words and images. The winner shouts ‘Humbug!’
Instead of ‘Simon Says,’ Teachers can dress as Santa with a game of ‘Santa Says.’
Play table pong and swap the ping pong balls for snow balls or baubles.
Split the class into 2 teams, each sitting in a circle around some equipment and tools to build a snowman flat on the floor e.g. hula hoops, scarves etc. In a race against time, the first player runs around the circle twice, and is allowed to take one item from the circle. Each player follows and they must build a snowman before the other team.
Play Christmas-themed board games or make your own Christmas game.
Elf on the shelf is the Teachers opportunity to get up to some mischief and send pupils wild by moving the elf around the classroom before the school day. The mischief and mystery creates even more excitement.
In a competitive game of Santa vs the Grinch, one pupil plays Father Christmas trying to deliver presents (placing items in a sack), while the opposite team plays the Grinch, trying to steal the presents.
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