12 days of Christmas – part 1
The countdown to Christmas is on! We know that your pupils are probably getting antsy around this time of year. Winding down for Christmas doesn’t have to be boring and this is the perfect time to start having fun in the classroom. Our fun Christmas classroom activities will keep them entertained while sharpening their reading, writing, and math skills. We have set out 12 days of Christmas fun and activities for you to do with your children in the classroom.
1. Google’s Santa tracker
Google’s Santa Tracker is a program that runs every December. It lets you track Santa during Christmas Eve and leading up to that, there are activities added daily from the 1st of December. To make things educational as well as fun, why not have them learn the capitals of the countries that Santa travels to? You can also simply click on one of the countries on the map to get a pop-up explainer of how Christmas is observed there. Click on France, for instance, and you’ll learn that kids leave their shoes by the fireplace with the hope that Père Noël (Father Christmas) will fill them with gifts.
This could be something you could let your pupils explore. Or, looking at the site as a class could be a fun way to begin or end the day in December. This can be a continuous activity during the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
2. Santa Says
A play on Simon Says, this activity targets verbs and action words: jump, run on the spot, touch your nose, hop, do a twirl, crouch down, etc. Up the Christmas spirit by having Santa ask the class to repeat holiday activities with him, such as decorating the classroom. Why not try and make some snowman wreaths to hang around the classroom? For more festive crafts, check out our magical foraged winter woodland using natural resources.
This activity is great for practising instruction following but can also be used in classes like P.E. to increase your class’s number of active minutes! Your class will have fun whilst learning simultaneously.
3. Letters to Santa
For another day of our 12 days of Christmas fun, children can let Father Christmas know what presents they’d like this year by writing and decorating a letter. Don’t just turn this into them listing all the things they want coming down their chimney this Christmas. Craft a persuasive piece of prose, with your pupils introducing themselves to Santa and letting them know about all the ways they’ve helped people out this year. Have your class decorate their letters and make them personal using our glitter glue pens. When it’s finished, put it in an envelope and send it to the North Pole via the Royal Mail and you’ll get a reply from Santa himself! The deadline for letters this year is 9th December.
If children want to, give them the option to read out their letters to the class. Have them practice their public speaking skills as well as their reading skills.
4. Make Christmas cards
A classic Christmas activity, but that means we can’t leave it out! Making and decorating Christmas cards is a great way to get the whole class involved with some festive fun. Let their creativity flow. Have them practice their writing skills beforehand and write a message to their family or friends. Help them improve their handwriting skills so when they make the card, they can write it in their favourite pen. Like our glitter pens or metallic pens. To decorate the cards provide them with everything they may need, like this craft box. With everything you need, from card to sequins, your class will never run out of supplies.
Once they’ve decorated their Christmas cards, they can write their message inside and give them to whomever they want to. Inspire them to write to different people, such as teachers. Show us your class’s Christmas cards on our Instagram and Twitter!
5. International Christmas traditions
Christmas also presents a great opportunity to compare traditions and customs from around the world and learn about the ways in which other cultures celebrate. Of course, some celebrate Christmas differently from the UK with exciting and different traditions, and some countries don’t celebrate it at all!
During your next Geography or Religious Education lesson, go on a round-the-world trip to explore how different countries celebrate the festive season. Use the Santa tracker to help. Then, split the class into different groups, allocating a different country to each group, and encourage them to get creative by making different pictures and crafts to represent that country to put up on display in your classroom or corridor!
There may be some children in your class that celebrate Christmas differently or not at all, so be sure to incorporate some activities for them too. Maybe even get them to tell the class how they celebrate Christmas or what they do during the holidays.
Inclusivity is important around this time of year so be sure to keep this in mind during the lead up to the Christmas holidays.
6. Pin the nose on Rudolph
An absolute classic for kids’ birthday parties for generations, with just a little twist pin the tail on the donkey becomes pin the red nose on Rudolph.
It’s super easy to get started. Print off a couple of pictures of Rudolph the red (now nose-less) reindeer. Cut the red nose out of the pictures and cut a few more circles from red paper and stick some double-sided tape on the back. Then task your class with getting the nose in the right spot.
Rather than spinning around a dizzy member of your class, you could encourage teamwork and split everyone into two teams. Ask for a volunteer each time and blindfold them. Then it’s up to the team to work together and offer instructions to get the nose to where it needs to be.
Get your class ready for the Christmas holidays with these fun and festive activities. We know how hard it can sometimes be to plan activities and keep your children entertained; especially when it comes to the end of the year. So why not use our activities each day leading up to the holidays? Our 12 days of Christmas fun doesn’t end here. Look out for part 2 for more Christmas activities!
