15 Fun and Engaging Christmas Activities for the Classroom (2024)

As the holidays approach, kids get a little antsy, and it’s hard to keep them on task with everything you need to get done. To satisfy their craving for holiday fun, use some of the Fun and Engaging Christmas Activities for the Classroom listed below. Kids will love the silly games, party ideas, writing, and craft ideas that you add to your classroom fun this year!

Christmas Craft and Writing Activity

I love pairing a craft with a writing activity. It gives the kids something of purpose to work on, with a little sprinkle of fun. Invite your kids to write about a holiday topic (of their choice or yours) and then attach the writing to one of four crafts. There’s a gingerbread person, ornament, gift, or Christmas tree.

These fun accordion Christmas Writing Crafts make super cute bulletin board displays in the winter. Classmates and coworkers will love looking at your class’s hard work up on the walls.

Christmas Charades

Write several holiday activities on notecards or scrapbook paper. Have your students help if you wish by writing a few each day until you have a big collection. You can also find premade charades online if you don’t want to make your own.

Place the cards in a bowl and have the kids take turns drawing and acting out cards on the week before holiday break as a fun brain break. This is also a great activity to have on hand during a holiday party.

Christmas Newsletters

Send the holiday cheer home using these holiday-themed newsletters. They are completely editable so you can add any information necessary to the sheets you send home.

These are not grade-specific, so use them for any classroom!

Using a newsletter is a great way to build classroom community and bring the home community together. Use the newsletters to send important information to parents and guardians and keep them in the loop. You may also include:

• current vocabulary
• upcoming due dates
• fun events happening
• reminders
• important dates
• your contact information
• and so much more!

Kids and parents will love the Christmas Newsletters this holiday season.

Snowman Drawing Game

Give each child a paper plate and a marker. They must put the plate on their head and draw a snowman on top of the plate while it’s on their head. Drawing without seeing the picture is harder than it may seem!

Add this activity as a silly brain break during the winter weeks or as an activity for your holiday party.

Editable Christmas Postcards

Want a fun way to send your kids off before the holiday break? Use an adorable gift and label to show them you care and will miss them.

These Editable Christmas Postcards are an easy way to label small gifts or to leave them on their desk on the last day before break. Some teachers pass them out without a gift, and others attach a small trinket or candy. Either way, kids will appreciate the thought!

Holiday Book Swap

Invite your students to purchase their favorite book (holiday or otherwise) to gift to a friend. The twist is that they don’t get to choose which friend receives the book. Have them wrap the gift without their name. On the game day, students will take turns choosing a book and unwrapping it.

Make this into a white elephant or Yankee swap game if you think your students can handle it.

FREE Snowman Craft

Crafts are a fantastic way to get kids excited about the winter months. The best craft is a FREE craft.

Use this simple Snowman Craft for a holiday celebration, classroom party, fine motor activity, or just for fun in the classroom. It is also a great craft to complete after reading an adorable snowman story aloud with your kids.

All you need are styrofoam cups, the printables template, and some glue!

Find it in my Freebie Vault!

Christmas Tree Bowling Game

Find some green plastic bottles and decorate them to look like Christmas trees. Use stickers or foam ornaments and a gold star at the top. Line the 10 bottles up in a triangle formation and roll a whiffle ball towards them to knock them down.

Add this activity to a classroom party or holiday celebration for some extra fun!

21 Elementary Writing Prompts for Christmas

At this point in the year, some students find it difficult to stay focused and on task in the classroom. One way to keep them engaged and get them practicing their literacy skills is to invite them to complete fun writing prompts about the holidays.

Use some of the FREE writing prompts in my Freebie Vault to brainstorm exciting ideas that will keep kids engaged during these holiday months.

• writing prompts about Christmas trees
• writing prompts about gifts
• writing prompts about gingerbread
• writing prompts about ornaments

Christmas Scent Game

The holidays are filled with amazing scents. Bottle these up and let kids guess the smells as a fun sensory activity.

Simply grab some mason jars or concealed containers. Attach a lid and poke holes in the top. Pass the containers around for kids to guess what is inside. Use this during a class celebration, science activity, or just for fun.

Editable Winter Labels Freebie

Winter is a super fun time to incorporate games in the classroom. Kids of all ages enjoy playing games to enhance their learning. Use these FREE Editable Winter Labels from my Freebie Vault to set up a fun snowball game.

What can you use the snowball game for?

• sight word review
• math practice
• vocabulary memorization
• brain break
• “get to know you” activity
• classroom celebration game

Minute to Win It Games

If you are hosting a holiday party with your class, try incorporating a few minute-to-win-it games for a little contest. Some great ideas for games include:

• Cup stacking – See how high kids can stack cups using red solo cups and pieces of cardstock. Remember, you only have a minute!
• Reindeer antler toss – Purchase a reindeer antler headband and some soft rings. One child wears the antlers, while another throws the rings, trying to get them on the antlers. The goal is to get all the rings on the antlers by the time a minute is up.
• Candy Cane Hook ‘Em Game – Place candy canes in a bowl and give the students one candy cane to hold in their mouth. They will use that candy cane to hook other canes and remove them from the bowl within a minute.

Christmas Movie Trivia

Create a list on your own (or let your class get involved) of Christmas or holiday movies. Write questions about the movies and play a class game. Divide the class into teams and see who can answer the most correctly. Kids will love this little brain break during the winter months.

Christmas Character Guess Who

Make a list of Christmas characters and write their names on notecards. Attach the cards to students’ heads and let them walk around the room, giving clues to reveal who is on their own forehead. This is a great holiday party idea or a “get to know you” activity if you have new students.

Silver Bells Memory Game

Using Hershey Kisses and circle yard sale stickers, make your own memory game. Write sight words, letters, numbers, math equations, ten frames, and whatever else you can think of on the bottom of the Kisses. Kids will play memory match, and they get to eat the matches they create!

Use these fun ideas and activities in your classroom by clicking the links or signing up for the Freebie Vault below. Just enter your name and email address, and the password will be sent to your inbox.

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• 21 Writing Prompts About Christmas Elementary Students Will Love

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