Christmas Time is Here!

Tis the season to be toddlers!

Christmas time is one of my favorite times of the year, and seeing it through the eyes of little tots is the most special of all!

In this post I will share some of the activities that I do every year – some I do all month long, and others are some of my favorite gifts I make for the families!

Read on and enjoy! – And if you like these activities, there’s plenty more where that came from!

I’ve put all my best activities, lessons, and tips from all my years and all my classes in my Toddler Curriculum Christmas Unit – 4 weeks of fun filled activities that celebrate Christmas in toddler-style while boosting every area of their development! This includes more than enough activities for 4 full weeks of learning as well as step by step instructions for every activity, all the needed printouts, flashcards, and links, detailed lesson plans, and a full Bible lesson for each week covering the entire Nativity story!

Click here to get one week at time or get all 4 weeks bundled at a discounted price!

I’ve made them all incredibly affordable because I honestly just want to share what I’ve made with as many as need and appreciate it! When I started out as a toddler teacher, I found there was very little out there for my age group. Most ideas, activities, and lesson plans were aimed at older preschool ages and anything meant for toddlers honestly just wouldn’t give my kiddos what they needed to grow and develop in a well rounded way. So I started inventing! I researched, imagined, created and learned from experience – and from that I’ve put together everything I wish I could have had starting out!

My sincere hope is that everything I create reaches the people who will love it, use it, and create their own memories with it ❤️ So if you love what you see here, check out my Christmas Curriculum Unit for more!

So without any further ado, let me share some of our Class Christmas with you!

Just like in my curriculum, I’ll give you how-tos, pictures, tips, and developmental area tags (the colored circles) to show you the main areas of child development that these activities focus on!

Click from this menu to jump straight to one activity or read on for everything!

Every Year:

All Month Long:

Special Gifts:

Every Year

Stocking Art Fireplace

Let the kiddos design their own stocking! You can make construction paper stockings and let them color, paint, and decorate with stickers or other little decorations or purchase real stockings for each kiddo to decorate with glitter glue, fabric paint and other decorations. I always make a paper fireplace, stick it to the classroom wall, and hang their created stockings on the mantle. I love adding paper candles and pictures of us to the mantle too 🙂 Once the fireplace is up, have a pajama day, sit around the “fire” and drink hot chocolate together! You can even use a sound app to play crackling fire sounds or set up a screen and play one of the YouTube fireplace videos 😄

Class Christmas Tree (click here)

Check out my post on this cute class project! I’ll share all the steps, tips I’ve learned over the years, and lots of cute pics 😉 It takes two days so the paint can dry before step 2 – all you need is a big sheet of paper, cups/bowls, green paint, and dot markers! Doing a project all together as a class and being able to display something you all created together is a great social/emotional experience for them!

Class Presents

I have them make little gifts for each other or do a gift exchange with another class – but my absolute favorite is something I start at the beginning of the month. I slowly and sneakily start wrapping up toys from the classroom and putting them under the class tree. The kiddos never notice this and don’t seem bothered at all that by the 4th week there aren’t that many toys in the class anymore 😀 (and I’m definitely never bothered by how much cleaner the room gets every week as toys disappear hahahaha) but the BEST part is how they react to opening those presents at the party. They are ECSTATIC! They don’t care at all that it is toys that have always been theirs 😀  I even split up buckets of toys into several boxes and one kiddo opened multiple presents with legos and his face was priceless. “Legos!!!!!! *opens next box* “More legos!!!!!!” He was so happy. Another friend got multiple cars and proudly declared “CAR!” with every one she pulled out😍 Around Thanksgiving I just start saving every tissue box, diaper box, amazon box that we empty and use those for the gifts.

Another great idea is to do a class donation to someone in need! There are always lots of opportunities this time of year for providing food or gifts for others. Do this as a class! If possible, assign one child in need to each family and let the kiddos be an active participant in picking out, wrapping, and sending the gift. Depending on the program you choose, they might even be able to add drawings or hand-made items to make it even more personal! Have a little lesson on how we should be thankful for having everything we need because there are others who don’t – the Bible says it’s up to us to share what we have been given! The very first church actually shared everything they had! People sold all their houses and land, brought all their money and possessions, and shared it with everyone so no one was lacking anything and everyone’s needs were met. That’s how God wants us to live! 

Christmas Program

As a center we do a Christmas program. Usually they would have the toddlers with their jingle bell bracelets coming down to Jingle Bells. But this one year, they had us dress them as characters in the Nativity and come down to Away in a Manger and it was so so so cute! If your center isn’t doing one all together, plan one for your class and do it during the party! If you’re schooling at home, plan a little program for the family! Something as simple as turning on Jingle Bells and have them all sing and shake bells to the song or dress up like the characters and hold baby dolls to Away in a Manger. If you’re doing this at home or with multi-age classes, you can assign parts based on age!

We only had one Joseph…one Joseph to 3 Marys and 3 babies…quite the scandal 😆

All Month Long!

Christmas Scented Playdough

There are lots of great scents around the holiday season! Why not bring some to class! Have the kiddos play in some scented playdough and the room (and the kiddos!) will smell delicious for the rest of the day! Some of my favs are pine, cinnamon, gingerbread, and peppermint. I like to pick one a week and give them Christmas cookie cutters to make shapes with.

  • Playdough – there are lots of homemade playdough recipes online, some that require cooking, some not. You can google and find your fav. To get the scent you want, add it to the similar ingredients (if an oil or steeped water add to wet ingredients (water, oil etc) if a spice like ginger, cinnamon etc add with the dry ingredients (flour, salt etc). – check out this awesome taste-safe recipe for gingerbread playdough that smells divine! Give them gingerbread man shaped cookie dough cutters and let them make playdough gingerbread men!

Christmas Sensory Bucket (click here)

Check out my post on this activity! – I walk you through all the awesome ways such a simple sensory activity boosts several areas of their development! This is a great all month long go-to that is quick, easy to put together, and engaging! Every week I will trade out new pieces so it’s always a surprise! You can make it even more festive by always having them in “Santa’s Bag” or a “Sensory Stocking.” This is a great activity to set up for the kiddos to keep them engaged while you do crafts that require one-on-one attention.

Snow Sensory

Have any snow outside? Grab some and bring it in! My kiddos always loved eating…I mean playing 😉 with a snow sensory table! If it was snowing we would go for a quick wagon ride to catch snowflakes on our tongues and fill up our table. Then I either give them mittens while they play or keep some towels nearby that they can freely wipe and warm their hands on. Don’t have any real snow? Get some faux snow, use cotton balls, or use flour or moonsand! You can put it in the freezer the night before to get the cold effect.

We also had those big soft snowflake decorations and everyday it snowed (or that I wish it had snowed lol) we took them out and threw them around yelling “SNOW!”

Christmas Catapult

Catapults are always a HUGE crowd pleaser! Not only does this include engineering, but if you insist the kiddos retrieve what has been catapulted then they get a lot of gross motor activity! Start with two clothespins, a dixie cup (or equivalent), and two popsicle sticks. Glue the clothespins together and then one popsicle stick on top and on bottom like pictured. I recommend a hot glue gun for this to make sure it doesn’t come apart. Cut the cup so it’s just a little shallow holder for the balls and glue it on the top leaving a little edge of the popsicle stick poking out (so there’s a little lip to push down). Tape it down on the table so it doesn’t shift around and it’s ready to go! And be prepared to have as much fun as they do 😉

I use this for LOTS of themes – a couple we use for the Christmas month are:

  • Present Toss – toss mini presents into Santa’s Sleigh (can make this from a tissue box or if you want bigger a cardboard box)
  • Snow! – Let it snow let it snow let it snoooooooow! Use white puffballs or cotton balls and make it snow!

Christmas Puzzles (click here)

Print out these cute little Christmas pictures on cardstock (or print on paper and glue to cardstock, cardboard, or posterboard to make them more sturdy) and cut into puzzle pieces for the kiddos to put together! You can store each puzzle in a stocking for fun or to make it more challenging, mix all the pieces together so they have to sort out which piece goes to which picture! *When you purchase my curriculum weeks or bundles, these and other printables are all included for free!*

Puzzles are great STEM and critical thinking tools and build their fine motor skills as they pinch, pick up, and maneuver each piece together! The number of pieces you cut it into can change based on their skill level – start with just 2 pieces for younger tots or more for older ones 😊

Christmas Flashcards

Flashcards get a bad rap in my opinion – just the mention of “flashcards” may bring back memories of tedious study sessions, mind-numbing mathematics drills, or unengaging lessons…

…but flashcards are just packed with opportunities for learning and development!

You can hit so many aspects of both language and math easily from any set of flashcards – besides the obvious language aspect of seeing a word or a letter and linking it to the object, depending on how you use the cards you can hit every math concept outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

You can teach shapes, colors, numbers, comparisons (big vs small etc), measurements, spacial relationships (for example – the order you lay out or show the cards can teach what things come first, second, third etc and other relationships between what is pictured).

And if you print double, you can set up a matching game which teaches them to sort, classify, and recognize patterns!

But wait! There’s more! 😀

Use them in a sensory table to add a literacy and math component to a sensory activity! For example, I’ve used my bird flashcards in a sensory table filled with feathers, birdseed, Easter eggs, and more!

Flashcards can also be used for motor skills! Fine motor skills like grasping, pinching, pointing, holding more than one item in the hand, and hand-eye-coordination are used.

To introduce a gross motor action, hide one set of flashcards around the room in places they would need to walk, jump, reach, or climb to. Then give them the second set of cards and let them search for the matching cards!

Here are the flashcards I use during the Christmas season! *When you purchase my curriculum weeks or bundles, these and other printables are all included for free!*

Deck the Halls

My favorite song to do all month long and because you are practicing their names and making it special it has a social-emotional component! I insert their name into various parts of the song and of course, tickle them each time their name is sung for added emphasis 😀

Deck the halls with boughs of Josh! Ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja Josh!

Tis the season to be Josh! Ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja Josh!

Don we now our Josh apparel! Ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja Josh!

Sing the ancient Joshy carol! Ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja Jooooooooooooosh!

The kiddos LOVE this and request I do it for everyone 😀 this was our go to “sitting at the table, anxiously awaiting lunch, trying to distract them while it is being prepared” song 😉

Gifts for Jesus

I love this and it is a heart-melter 🥰(and it’s great for all ages!!!!) I’ll explain that Jesus said that when you do nice things for people it is just like you are doing these nice things for Him! It makes Him even more happy than any present we could give Him! He loves it when we are nice and love others. So all week (or all month) when you see a kiddo do something nice for someone else call attention to it and write it down on a little piece of paper (or if they are old enough to be aware themselves they can bring it up or you can ask at the end of the day for what they did and write it down then). Put them all in a jar and label it “Gifts for Jesus” Then at the Christmas/Jesus’ Birthday party, take them all out and read out loud the little “gifts” they have given Jesus that week/month! If the parents can’t be there to hear them, record them or send them home so they can see/hear!💕

Character hats

Break out the Santa hats, elf hats, and reindeer antlers for some dramatic play! We also love to take pictures with whatever snapchat Christmas frames are available 🙂 Dramatic play is a great social/emotional activity as it engages their imaginations and allows them to play out characters, scenarios and relationships!

Special Gifts!

Mistle-toes (click here)

Check out the how-to of this super cute keepsake! That post has a link to another footprint post where I walk you through how I get the best footprints (and make it a special one-on-one time with the kiddos 🥰) as well as how I make construction paper frames for these kind of keepsakes!

Ornaments

This is one of the gifts I make for the parents. I start with round glass ornaments – preferably light blue – and it has to have the matte texture. If it is the smooth glass or plastic surface, the paint just flakes right off. Paint the kiddo’s hand white and press the ornament into the palm of their hand and have them curl their fingers up lightly grabbing the ornament – this will make the best handprint for the craft (the quicker you can make the grabbing the ornament moment the better – if you try to do it slowly and carefully I’ve found it just gives them more time to smear their fingers around). Have extra ornaments so if the handprint is a total fail you can try again. If there are just a few smudges and doubled fingers its ok – you can actually wet a small piece of tissue or a q-tip and wipe those off (just don’t wipe too much because the color will come off the bulb eventually). You can even paint and press one finger at a time if the whole hand is just not happening😉 Once it’s dry, using fine-tipped permanent markers (metallic markers work great), draw little snowman faces, hats, twig arms and buttons on the fingers. Make little snowflakes all around and write whatever you want like their name and the year. Hang it up to dry and send home for Christmas! This is definitely time consuming if you’re really a perfectionist about it like I usually am😜 so start this on the first day of the week if not earlier so you have plenty of time to make them perfect or even to remake one if it breaks.

Class Pictures

This is my biggest project all year, takes a ton of work, but is TOTALLY worth it! You probably know that taking pictures of toddlers doesn’t usually go the way you hoped. My first picture day working with a toddler class resulted in every single child crying or refusing to go near the photographer😭. But as I became more picture crazy throughout the years, I looked at the amazing smiles I could get in the classroom and determined there had to be a way!!! I mean parents put so much effort into picking those super cute outfits, combing hair, color-coordinating bows – all I wanted was to get that adorable picture we were all hoping for! So I made it my mission to do my own photoshoots. It takes a lot of work but as you’ll see the results are too adorable to pass up! 😍

Here’s how I do it:

Spend time practicing!

If you try to do it without practicing, they will be too distracted. We always took pictures in front of decorated areas in the center and if it’s their first time seeing it all they will want to do is touch and explore. I made a big event out of it, bringing dress up hats and antlers, singing songs (jingle bells obviously 😄) and trying out all my tricks to make them smile to see which ones work best with the group.

Then on the big day just be realistic…not everyone is going to smile & look at the camera at the same time. So just take a million shots so you can give every parent a shot of at least their own kid smiling 😁

This is the “nice” class picture with both teachers – I enlisted help to take the pics

Last I did individual shots. These I took very seriously and pulled out all my tricks to get that perfect Christmas card shot for the families 🥰 (All my best tricks are included in Part 4 of my Christmas Unit!)

Then of course, end every child’s turn with some selfies together 😍🥰

I edit and post the best of all the pics to our class facebook page for the families to use, but I also use a collage maker on my phone to make a photo collage Christmas card for every family 🥰

And there you have it!

I hope you’ve gotten some great ideas or at least enjoyed some cute pics 🥰

If you really liked everything and it left you wanting more – click here to check out my 4-week Christmas Curriculum Unit! Every week comes with all included printables, a lesson plan, more in detail tips and how-tos, and even more adorable pictures 😍

Also if you know anyone else who might love this too please share! I’ve really put my heart into this in the hope that it can reach those who can use it and love it too!

Thank you!

and Merry Christmas!

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