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Christmas absentee list
(Open Christmas absentee list) Print and display. This list will help you plan, along with parents, which days children will be absent from daycare during the holidays.
Christmas workshops
(Open Christmas workshops) Print and display to identify your various workshops. Set up your daycare to look like Santa's workshop. Collect several large cardboard boxes. Use them to create divisions within the workshop. You may include Santa's bedroom, the toy workshop, the mailroom, Mrs. Claus' kitchen, etc. Limit the number of children in each section of the workshop. Use paint, crayons, wrapping paper, ribbon, felt, pinecones, newspaper, cardboard, or any other material on hand to decorate the area.
Santa's bedroom
This area could be used as a relaxation area. Children can go to it to relax before napping like Santa does. Add cushions, Christmas books, a flashlight, Christmas pictures, an old Christmas pyjama, slippers, a blanket, a stuffed animal, etc.
Mailroom
This is where Santa's elves can draw and write. Include paper, envelopes, stamps, crayons, pictures, etc.
Toy workshop
Add toys, cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, bows, small gift cards, elf hats, mittens, a scarf, etc. Children will be hard at work as Santa's elves.
Mrs. Claus' kitchen
Invite children to pretend to be Mrs. Claus. Provide them with modeling dough, cookie cutters, utensils, an apron, oven mitts, etc.
Giant Christmas tree
Trace the shape of a Christmas tree onto a large piece of white paper. Display it on the wall. In the weeks to come, children may add Christmas decorations they make to the tree. What an original tree!
Christmas card
Hang a clothesline across the daycare. Children can use it to hang their crafts and drawings or any Christmas cards received at the daycare.
Fun decorating
Organize a treasure hunt. Children search for Christmas decorations. Play Christmas carols and decorate the daycare with their findings.
PICTURE GAME
The pictures may be used as a memory game or to spark a conversation with the group. Use them to decorate the daycare or a specific thematic corner. (Open picture game-Christmas) Print, laminate, and store in a "Ziploc" bag or in your thematic bins.
ACTIVITY SHEETS
(Open activity sheets - Christmas workbook) Print and link the pages together so each child has his own workbook. Children complete their workbook during writing workshops throughout the month of December.
VARIOUS WORKSHOPS
Construction or building blocks:
Arts & crafts:
Drawing:
Role play:
Manipulation:
Pre-reading:
Pre-writing:
Motor skills:
Sensory bins:
Science:
Kitchen:
Make your own eggnog and enjoy with the group:
Beat all ingredients together, pour into attractive glasses, and top with grated nutmeg. Serve immediately.
Bake sugar cookies. Children love measuring, calculating, pouring, etc. They can even make their favourite shapes.
A nice cup of hot chocolate! Mmmmm.
LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES
Word flashcards
The flashcards may be used during circle time to spark a conversation with the group or in your reading and writing area. They may also be used to identify your thematic bins.
(Open word flashcards - Christmas) gingerbread man, candle, choir, chimney, Christmas tree, workshop, Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, elf, gifts, garland, sled, mistletoe, Christmas stocking, bells, light, star, candy cane, reindeer, angel, fairy, North Pole, ornament, wreath
Picture clue story
(Open picture clue story - The Magic Christmas Key) Print. Sit in a circle with the group. Begin reading the picture clue story. Pause for each picture clue. Point to the clue and have children guess the missing word. Complete the activity by making your own magic Christmas key. Children will love to take it home.
WRITING ACTIVITY
(Open model - Letter to Santa) Ask children what they would like Santa to bring for them this year. Write their suggestions in a letter to Santa. Have each child draw a picture and include the drawings with the letter. Mail everything to Santa.
Variation for younger children: Children cut or tear out pictures of toys from a catalogue. For very young children, you may cut out the picture of the toy which seemed to interest them most.
Mail to:
SANTA CLAUS
NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
CANADA
Remember to include your return address so Santa can respond.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS
A shower of gifts
(Open model-gifts) Print and cut out enough gifts so there are at least ten per child. Deposit all the gifts in the centre of a parachute or blanket. Children firmly hold the edges of the parachute. When you give the signal, they raise the parachute. When the gifts fall back down, children try to collect as many as possible. Have them count the gifts.
Variation for younger children: Have them try to catch gifts you release from high above their heads.
Christmas Eve
Tap into children's imagination. Ask them what they like most about Christmas then pretend it is Christmas Eve. Provide wrapping paper and ribbon. Have children wrap toys within the daycare. Together, pretend it is time to open them, etc.
Variation for younger children: Allow them to manipulate wrapping paper, bows, etc. They can tear the paper into tiny pieces, crumple it into balls, stick bows on themselves, etc. Have a mirror handy!
The musical elf
Deposit hoola hoops on the floor. Little elves walk around them to the sound of Christmas music. When the music stops, each elf must find a home (hoola hoop). Remove one hoola hoop each time just as you would remove a chair in musical chairs.
Variation for younger children: Encourage children to hop from one hoop to the next to the sound of music. Hold babies in your arms and hop.
The magical hat
Ask children to sit in a circle. One child wears Santa Claus' hat. Play music and have them pass the hat around the circle. The child wearing the hat when the music stops selects a Christmas carol for the group to sing. The duration of this game varies according to the group's interest. Instead of a Santa Claus hat, you may use antlers or earmuffs. Children must place the hat on their head before passing it along to the next player.
I am ringing the bell
Draw a large bell on a coloured piece of cardboard. Use ribbon to attach tiny bells to it. One at a time, children throw bean bags towards the large bell and try to make the tiny bells jingle.
Santa Claus
Children take turns playing the role of Santa Claus. The other children are elves. The elves hide Santa's hat while he is another room. Once this is done, Santa returns and must find his hat. The game continues until each child has had a turn.
Variation for younger children: You are the elf. Hide several hats in easy to find places throughout the daycare. Children all pretend to be Santa and search for the hats.
Christmas Eve race
Divide the group into two teams. Each team must have ten gifts. You will need two large bags. Children stand single file. They pass gifts up their team's line through their legs. The first team to have deposited all their gifts in their bag wins.
Catch the gift thieves
This game is a lot like the cat and mouse game. Children are sneaky elves who steal gifts. There is one (or two depending on the size of the group) good elves among them. The good elf tries to capture the sneaky elves. Once he touches a sneaky elf, they hold hands and team up to try to catch the other elves.
Christmas Twister
(Open game - Christmas Twister) Print and place the large designs on the floor in a 4 x 4 sq. ft area. The leader of the game selects one Christmas card and one body part card. He calls out the cards as you would in the traditional Twister game. For example, he might say, "Place one foot on the bell."
Variation for younger children: Use the cards to decorate the daycare or play a recognition game. Have children find various cards. Babies will admire the cards if they are set on the floor.
Christmas bowling
This game requires ten 1-Litre bottles with approximately an inch of water in each of them. Glue a Christmas design onto each bottle. Children use a small ball to try to make a specific bottle fall down. You may call out the object or you may have a second set of Christmas designs and have children pick cards.
Variation for younger children: Line up the bottles and provide children with small balls. They can make any bottle fall down. You may add food colouring or various objects to the bottles. Cotton balls, sparkles, and confetti are all great additions. Children can shake the bottles.
Obstacle course
Each child wears antlers or a Santa Claus hat (crafted or store-bought) around the obstacle course. Include a beam (walking on the roof), a tunnel (going through the chimney), a table (milk and cookies), etc. Have children transport gifts to a specific location. Remember to play Christmas music!
Reindeer workout
Reindeer must be strong for their trip around the world with Santa. Pretend to be Santa. Lead a workout session for your reindeer!
O' Christmas tree
Play this song. One child pretends to be a Christmas tree. The other children hang garlands around the child. Take pictures and print them. (Open Christmas frame) Have children cut out, color, and glue their frame to a piece of cardboard and add their picture in the centre.
Santa's footprints
(Open model-Santa and elf footprints) Print and deposit on the floor throughout the daycare. Have children walk with heavy steps on Santa's footprints and light steps on the elf footprints.
Santa lost a gift
Children are seated in a circle. Select a child to be Santa. He sits in the centre of the circle with his eyes closed. Children pass a gift around the circle while music plays. When the music stops, children all keep their hands behind their back. The child in the centre must guess who is holding the gift.
Christmas race
Divide children into teams. Deposit Santa clothing at the other end of the room. Children must dress up as Santa, return to the starting line, remove the clothing and give it to the next child in their team. You may use large rain boots, a tuque, a large red vest, etc.
Variation for younger children: Place a large box filled with clothing in the centre of the room. Allow children to discover its content. Help them dress up with the clothing they prefer.
Hooray for gifts
Wrap a gift with several layers of adhesive tape. Sit in a circle with the group. Deposit mittens and a tuque in the center of the circle. One at a time, children roll a die. The object of the game is to roll a "1". When a child succeeds, he puts on the mittens and tuque and tries to open the gift. When another child rolls a "1", it is his turn to put on the mittens and tuque and try to open the gift and so on. The game ends when the gift is completely open.
Variation for younger children: Wrap the gift with only one or two layers of wrapping paper and a small quantity of adhesive tape. Provide children with mittens and let them open the gift together.
We have prepared designs to create a giant die (Open giant die). Laminate and glue the designs onto a cardboard box filled with paper and taped closed.
Musical Christmas dance
Deposit several large Christmas images on the floor (purchase large gift bags and cut out the images). Begin the game with one image less than the number of players. This game is like musical chairs. Play Christmas music and have children dance. When the music stops, children must sit down on a Christmas image. The child who does not have an image is eliminated. Remember to remove one image before starting the music again.
The bow on the gift
Hang a large piece of wrapping paper on the wall. Add a large ribbon to it, like a cross. Use various colours of Christmas bows. Attach adhesive putty under each one. Blindfold children, spin them around three times, and direct them towards the gift. The object of the game is to stick the bow as close as possible to the centre of the gift.
Elves
Play music and let children dance about the daycare. You are Santa. When you touch them with your magic wand, they become elves. When you touch them again, they resume dancing. The game ends at the end of the song.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Scavenger hunt
Hide various Christmas items throughout your yard. Give each child two pictures which correspond to the items he must find. They must find only the objects on their own pictures. Have them deposit the items in Santa's bag or in a gift box.
I am picking out my tree
One child is a lumberjack. The other children stand, legs apart. The lumberjack chooses his Christmas tree. When he touches the "tree" he wants, the child runs after the lumberjack. If he catches him, the two exchange roles.
The elf parade
Children all wear elf hats. Give them each a piece of a Christmas garland they can wear as a scarf. Paint their cheeks and the tips of their nose red. Take musical instruments outside and parade around the block. Take pictures of your elves!
Variation for younger children: For babies, simply have a hat, red nose, and musical instruments on hand. Sing Christmas carols to them and they will love their own little parade!
ACTIVITIES IMPLICATING PARENTS
Create personalized Advent calendars for your group. Select different surprises with parents and insert them in sparkly envelopes numbered for each day of December.
We have prepared suggestions of surprises (Open Advent calendar).
Print and place in envelopes. Leave the envelopes on the wall at children's eye level or deposit them in a special box. Each day, have a child open the envelope corresponding to the date and announce the day's special activity.
COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES
Giant Christmas tic-tac-toe
On a large piece of white cardboard, trace a tic-tac-toe grid. (Open game - Christmas tic-tac-toe) The candy canes replace the "x's" while the ornaments replace the "o's". Children take turns depositing the symbols on the grid. The first to line up three identical symbols in a straight line or diagonally, wins.
Variation for younger children: Place a few tic-tac-toe grids on the floor. Let children deposit the images in the squares as they please.
Christmas hunt and seek
(Open hunt and seek - Christmas) Print and laminate. Children pick cards and must find the elements in the scene.
Christmas paper dolls
(Open paper dolls - Christmas) Print and laminate. Present the pieces to children. They will enjoy dressing the dolls.
Christmas lacing
(Open lacing - Christmas) Print, trace onto cardboard, and cut out. Perforate the contour using a hole-punch. Children thread a shoelace through the holes.
Hidden picture
Print a picture of Santa's workshop or a gingerbread house. Cut out the windows and the door so children can open them. Hide a picture behind the workshop. Allow children to open the windows and door to peek inside and ask them to guess what is hiding in the house. To make it more difficult, let them open a single window at a time.
Christmas tree pyramid
Use empty yogurt containers to build pyramids which look like Christmas trees. Make small ones with individual containers or large ones using large containers.
Variation for younger children: Show them how to build pyramids. Watch how much fun they will have making them fall down!
Christmas memory game
(Open story and memory game - Christmas) Glue the pictures onto cardboard and laminate. Children try to turn over identical cards. Store this game in a small Christmas gift box in your quiet game area. Children may also invent stories in relation to the illustrations. You may make your own memory game using the tops of empty frozen juice cans. On one side, apply Christmas stickers. Each sticker must be found on two different tops.
Christmas bingo
(Open bingo - Christmas) Play bingo with the group. Print, laminate, and store in a Christmas gift box.
Christmas snakes and ladders
(Open snakes and ladders - Christmas) Print and laminate. Use a die and wrapped Christmas candy pieces as pawns. The object of the game is for all children to reach the end of the game. Once everyone has succeeded, they may eat their candy.
Hidden object
Show children a Christmas item you are about to hide. Have them hide their eyes while you find a hiding place. When you give them the signal, they can search for it. Tell them individually whether they are "hot" or "cold". As soon as a child has spotted the object, he joins you. Continue the game until everyone has found it. Children who know where the object is hidden may help you guide their peers.
MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Pyjama Day
(Open perpetual calendar - Pyjama Day) Invite children to wear their favourite pyjama to daycare. You must also do the same. Allow them to bring their blanket or teddy bear too. They may present them to the group. Serve hot chocolate at snack time. For lunch, serve breakfast. Organize an activity involving cushions children can throw and catch. Play movies and allow free play throughout the day.
Crafted gift exchange
Throughout the week, children craft a gift of their choice. Arrange for children to exchange gifts. Use one pair of mittens per child. Deposit one mitten in a bag and give the other one to a child. One by one, children pick a mitten from the bag and exchange gifts with the child who has the matching mitten.
Angel voices
Prepare a recording of the group singing Christmas carols. They will love listening to themselves. It also makes a great gift for parents or grandparents.
My scrapbook
(Open scrapbook) Print several copies and have children colour the different pages. Take pictures of children and add them to their scrapbooks. Add personalized comments. Glue the cover page onto heavy cardboard and join the pages together.
Christmas scrapbook page
(Open scrapbook-Christmas) Print this new scrapbook page for each child. Add it to their scrapbooks. Interactive story (Open thematic letter-Achoo the Elf)
Print the letters and prepare the scenario. Place the story in a sparkly envelope. One day per week, leave the envelope in an easy to find location in the daycare. Read portions of the story to the group. Follow the instructions to add a touch of magic to the season.
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES
"Froot Loops" garland
Pour cereal in the centre of the table. Place children two by two with a long string. Standing at either ends of the string, have them thread cereal until the garland is complete. Tie both ends and hang in the Christmas tree. Children will love snacking on the cereal!
The elves' houses
Purchase tea biscuits such as "Social Tea" cookies. Assemble them with icing to make them look like tiny houses. Completely cover them with icing and decorate with small candy pieces.
Variation for younger children: Watch out for candy pieces which are very small. Replace icing with pudding. Larger cookies may ease manipulation. Be sure to have several towels nearby for cleanup!
Christmas potpourri
At snack time, keep orange or clementine peels. Add them to small pieces of thin fabric (lace or netting) along with cinnamon stick pieces and five cloves. Gather the fabric and tie with ribbon. Hang the potpourri in the Christmas tree until you are ready to give it away. You may also boil the preparation in a small pot. It will fill the daycare with a comforting Christmas scent.
Christmas scent
Give each child an orange. Punch holes using a knitting needle. Have children place cloves in the holes. Roll oranges in cinnamon until completely covered. Tie ribbon around them and deposit them in brown paper bags. Seal for two weeks. Hang oranges in the tree. You will love the scent!
COLORING PAGES
(Open coloring pages theme - Christmas coloring book) Print for each child. Punch holes using a hole-punch and join the pages with ribbon. Throughout the month of December, children can add their coloured pages to their scrapbook or offer their coloured pages as gifts.
(Open creative coloring - Christmas) Print for each child. Have children complete the picture by drawing what they see in the snow globe.
SONGS & RHYMES
Christmas time
by: Patricia Morrison
Sung to: Jingle Bells
Christmas lights shine bright
In every Christmas tree
Stars of gold on top
And candy canes below
What is that I smell
Cookies baking...yum!
All these things together put
A glimmer in our eyes
Oh! Christmas time, Christmas time
Christmas time is here
Oh what fun! I wish it could be
Christmas time all year
The Santa Pokey
by: Patricia Morrison
Sung to: Jingle Bells
You put your beard in
You take your beard out
You put your beard in
And you shake it all about
You do the Santa pokey
And you turn yourself about
That's what it's all about
You put your belly in
You take your belly out
You put your belly in
And you shake it all about
You do the Santa pokey
And you turn yourself about
That's what it's all about
You put your hat in
You take your hat out
You put your hat in
And you shake it all about
You do the Santa pokey
And you turn yourself about
That's what it's all about
You put your boot in
You take your boot out
You put your boot in
And you shake it all about
You do the Santa pokey
And you turn yourself about
That's what it's all about
Have nice day!
Educatall team
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Themes & Activities
