Christmas is in the air when December rolls along and kids are beside themselves with festive cheer. It is the time to bring out the tinsel, red glitter, and pine cones and get crafty with a number of festive December activities. From Christmas tree yoga to Santa beard masks, there is no limit to the fun that is to be had this December. Here is a look at 31 of the coolest Christmas-themed activities that preschoolers can do in December.
1. Gumdrop Tower
Fun learning activities are made exponentially better when food (especially candy) is involved. This STEM activity lets kids build a tower with toothpicks and Christmas-colored gum drops.
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2. Footprint Gift Bags
This homemade gift bag is the perfect addition under the Christmas tree this year. Make a green footprint on a paper bag and decorate it with paint and glitter for a creative gift bag.
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3. Pine Cone Tree
This fun holiday craft makes the perfect mantlepiece ornament or table decoration. All you need is a few basic craft supplies like paint and pom-poms and you can turn any old pinecone into a cute miniature Christmas tree.
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4. Q-tip Art
Q-tips make for excellent paintbrush substitutes and also help kids improve their fine motor skills and concentration. Use these inexpensive craft aids to create holiday-themed artworks like Christmas trees.
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5. Christmas Yoga
Start each morning off right this December with a session of Christmas-themed yoga. These poses are perfect for preschoolers and are a great holiday activity to get kids moving and breathing deeply.
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6. Santa Beard Cutting
Santa’s beard offers tons of ways to get creative with crafts and holiday activities. Use this cutting activity for motor skills development as they need to cut thin strips and then curl them with scissors if they can.
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7. Paint Chip Garland
This fun art project is a great way to upcycle old paint chips and create cool decorations for the holiday party. Let kids draw holiday-themed shapes like candy canes and stars on the colorful card, cut them out, and string them up.
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8. Make Candy cane Paint
Recreate the iconic red and white stripes of a candy cane with shaving cream, glitter, and some food dye. Cut the outline of a candy cane from some white paper and dip it into the marbled shaving foam for a fun effect.
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9. Holiday Lava Lamp Experiment
Turn a classic lava lamp science activity into a holiday-themed one by using green and red food coloring. Use colored water, cooking oil, and Alka Seltzer tablets to create this fun visual spectacle and teach kids about the density of liquids.
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10. Christmas Tree Writing Tray
The scent of pine needles is an essential part of Christmas so why not introduce it into your December learning activities. Dump some salt (aka snow) in an oven tray and let kids practice sight words or letter writing by using a small pine branch.
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11. Christmas Tree Counting
Cut up a sheet of green paper into strips, descending from smallest to biggest, to create a Christmas tree. Number each strip from 1 to 10 and let kids arrange them in the correct order. To make it a little more difficult, you can cut each strip into smaller pieces and create math problems like 1+1 for the strip numbered “2”.
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12. Christmas Playdoh Mats
Play-Doh mats are a fun and easy way to make playtime themed. These printable mats let kids add clay to a snowman, wreath, gingerbread house, and more!
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13. Christmas Tree Garland
There is no limit to the amount of fun holiday decor kids can make this December. Use colored card stock or flattened toilet rolls to cut these shapes and stick them together to make cute Christmas trees.
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14. Christmas Tree STGEM Activity
Another way to introduce the holiday into your lesson plan is to make Christmas trees from straws and clay for a STEM challenge. See which group hand builds the strongest or tallest tree for some added fun.
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15. Reindeer Races
Balloon races are always a hit and combine the fun of crafting and the wonder of science. This is a great activity for preschool kids who like a bit of competition as they will spend hours racing reindeer across the room.
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16. Santa Beard
Kids love all sorts of Santa-themed crafts and this mask is a sure-fire way to get them laughing and role-playing. Cut out a beard template and cover it in cotton wool. Then glue it to a popsicle stick and you have a fun Santa beard in an instant!
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17. Salt Dough Craft
Salt dough recipes are easy and non-toxic, the perfect medium to make tree decorations with. Use cookie cutters to cut out stars, trees, and gingerbread man shapes, paint them, and add some glitter. This is the perfect art activity for the beginning of the month before you set up your tree for decorating.
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18. Read Mooseltoe
Mooseltoe is a fun and kookie book that kids can read in December. Make Moose’s mustache with some pipe cleaners and a washing peg and decorate it just like in the book. Kids will beg you to read this book over and over again!
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19. Gingerbread Man Paper Craft
Here’s an easy and inexpensive craft to add to your Christmas-themed lesson plans. Using brown cardstock paper, you’ll invite your little ones to create charming gingerbread men that they can then decorate with festive accessories and googly eyes.
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20. Hungry Gingerbreadman
This adorable gingerbread activity is the perfect way to practice fine motor skills and color recognition. Kids use small plastic tongs to sort pom poms into the correct bins and feed the hungry gingerbread people.
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21. Tree Finger Painting
Kids love getting their hands dirty with some finger painting. This snow-covered tree art project is the perfect excuse for them to dip their fingers in some white paint. Use a q-tip to make snowflakes around the tree for some added flair.
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22. Painting With Colored Ice
Keeping with the winter theme, make some colored ice and let kids use it to paint beautiful watercolor pictures. Add some popsicle sticks to the ice to prevent them from freezing their little fingers off though!
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23. Hand Print Mittens
This is just another way kids can get their hands dirty and make a super cute craft at the same time. Let them print their painted hands on some colored paper and cut it out in the shape of mittens. Add some pom poms for decoration and some string to keep them together.
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24. Exploding Snowman
There are tons of super fun science experiments that your preschoolers can do that will fit perfectly into a winter theme. This exploding snowman experiment is no exception, as you’ll blow them away with a bit of frosty science, and all it’ll take is some baking soda and vinegar.
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25. Make Snowflake Crystals
Kids love making crystals but in the winter this is an especially appropriate activity. It takes a little patience but before long, mesmerizing salt crystals will start to form around your snowflake-shaped pipe cleaners.
26. Build an Indoor Ice-Skating Rink
Of all the wonderful indoor activities that your kids can do in winter, you’ve probably never thought of building your own ice rink! All it’ll take is a few rolls of aluminum foil laid down across your classroom floor. Once you’ve secured your DIY ice rink with tape, you’re free to invite your little ones to take off their shoes and slide around the slippery foil as if they’re skating on real ice!
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27. Feed the Penguin
This is the perfect preschool math activity for December. Kids roll a dice to see how many goldfish the hungry penguin gets. If they do a good job, kids could even share the goldfish with the cute little penguin!
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28. Winter Animal Movement Dice
Print out this cool (no pun intended!) winter-themed die that features 6 frosty animals. Each one comes with a fun prompt that kids can follow. This gross motor activity will see preschoolers crawling like a polar bear, running like a fox, and waddling like a penguin.
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29. Make Fake Snow
Snow can be cold, messy, and dirty, that is if you are even lucky enough to get snow where you live. Opt for this easy-to-make 2-ingredient snow that is clean and never melts. And who would have guessed: the surprising 2 ingredients are hair conditioner and baking soda!
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30. Snowman Launcher
Kids always love a good old-fashioned DIY confetti canon. Give this craft a wintery twist by decorating the paper cup like a snowman and only adding white confetti, marshmallows, or cotton balls to the cup. Kids will love to make it snow with their new snowman launchers!
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31. Ice Painting
This time around, kids get to paint on the ice instead of WITH the ice. Fill a bin with ice cubes and prepare some water by mixing it with paint. Kids then paint the ice in an array of fun colors and get to practice their motor skills at the same time.
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