The holidays are a busy time for everyone. There may be instances where we need to keep our little ones occupied so we can get things done. Putting together a few Christmas-themed busy bags is the perfect way to entertain your children while you accomplish your "to-do" list.
Busy bags are beneficial because they promote creativity, higher level thinking, and practice of fine motor skills. These activities will also get your little ones in the holiday spirit.
Snow-Themed Busy Bags
1. Make Your Own Snowman
Providing your children with play-dough and all the fixings to make a colorful snowman is a great way to keep your kids entertained for a little while. They will also work on their fine motor skills as they form their very own adorable snowmen.
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2. Marshmallow Snowflake
Now, this is a busy bag that I would love to put together myself! This craft is not only tasty and adorable, but it is also the perfect craft for a snow day. I highly recommend pairing your marshmallow snowflake with a cup of hot chocolate.
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3. Melted Snowman
I love this melted snowman idea for a busy bag. You will need to pack some pre-cut felt, buttons, googly eyes, pipe cleaner, skinny sticks, glue, and pom-poms.
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4. Snowman Counting Sticks
Snowman counting sticks are an awesome idea for a Christmas busy bag. This educational activity is great for children to practice their counting. You will need to pre-cut and label the snowmen and hats and add popsicle sticks and buttons for your child to count.
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5. Printable Counting Book
This is another counting activity for kids. Your child will draw the number of buttons on each snowman and color in the cubes from one through ten. To prepare your busy bag, you will print out these free printable pages and add crayons or markers. Easy peasy!
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Christmas Tree-Themed Busy Bags
6. Christmas Tree Scratch Art
Your little ones can make their own Christmas tree design with this Christmas tree ornament scratch art activity. To include in a busy bag, you will just need the Christmas tree scratch card, a scratcher pen, and a little piece of ribbon to make it an ornament.
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7. Christmas Sticker Activity
If your children love stickers as much as mine do, they will have a blast with this interactive Christmas sticker book. This activity allows children to be creative and practice their fine motor skills. This activity for toddlers makes a great addition to any holiday busy bag.
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8. Christmas Color Sorting
Have your children explore a variety of colors with this color sorting printable activity. You can easily print these picture cards and have your children sort colors to match each Christmas tree. This is a quiet activity that is perfect for a holiday busy bag.
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9. Scrap Ribbon Tree Ornaments
I love this creative tree decorating activity. You will need a ribbon, a straight stick or cinnamon stick, and twine. This is a really great activity for your children to practice tying knots.
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10. Popsicle Stick Christmas Trees
Popsicle stick Christmas trees are an excellent addition to your holiday-themed busy bag for kids. Don't forget to include the twine so you can use these as an ornament to decorate your Christmas tree.
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11. Candy Cane Counting
Invite your children to use this candy cane counting busy bag. You will need to prepare white pipe cleaners, red pony beads, and a number label that tells your child how many beads to put on their candy cane. This will be a fun Christmas-inspired counting game for your child.
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12. Candy Cane Mice
How adorable are these little candy cane mice? This is a fun holiday-themed activity for your little ones to put together. You can prepare the mice ahead of time and have your children put the ears, eyes, nose, and candy cane together from their busy bag.
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13. Candy Cane Hide & Seek Game
I love this game idea for your Christmas busy bag. You can prepare a little bag of candy canes and include this note for your children or students to find the candy canes that are hidden. Get ready for the little ones to have a blast searching for candy canes!
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14. Reindeer Candy Cane Craft
I love this reindeer candy cane craft because it comes with a free printable holder, eliminating the need for hot glue. For your busy bag, you will need to prepare the candy cane holder, googly eyes, pom-poms, sequins, and two candy canes.
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15. Candy Cane Collage
Let your child's creativity shine by creating their own candy cane collage. You can include the candy cane picture and as many fun supplies as you wish in this busy bag. This activity is suitable for all ages.
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Other Christmas Themes
16. Paper Bag Reindeer Puppet
This paper bag reindeer puppet is a fun activity for the holiday season. I would recommend preparing all of the pieces for your child ahead of time so your busy bag is ready to go. The kids will have a blast putting their special reindeer together.
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17. Gingerbread Men Size Sequencing
Keep your little one busy by having them arrange the gingerbread men in order from tallest to shortest, or vice versa. You can also have them point out the similarities and differences of the gingerbread men. This is a perfect quiet time activity for the Christmas season.
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18. Toilet Paper Roll Santas
Start saving your toilet paper rolls! This craft is too cute not to make. You will need to prepare for your busy bag: 3 sheets of felt, 2 googly eyes, 1 red pom-pom, 1 yellow button, 5 cotton balls, 1 mini red cup, and 1 empty toilet paper roll.
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19. Printable Christmas Jigsaw Puzzle
I love the idea of printable puzzles for a Christmas busy bag. You can print out this elf puzzle, cut out the pieces and have your child use a glue stick to glue down each piece to construction paper. Your child will feel so proud when their puzzle is complete.
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20. Christmas Sensory Bag
This Christmas sensory bag is great for children who like to feel different textures. They can explore and squish without any mess. You can take this a step further and include paper and pencil for children to write a description of what they observe with their senses.
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