Teaching Christmas in primary schools can be a joyful and inclusive experience filled with fun activities. With a well-planned approach, teachers can integrate Christmas themes across subjects, helping children build skills while celebrating the season. This guide covers essential elements of teaching Christmas in primary school and how you can have a lot of fun with it.
Lots of us can remember the time just before Christmas at school, when not a great deal got done. Teachers who are smart about things can also find a way to teach using Christmas as inspiration and a way to make subjects more interesting and exciting.
Lesson Plans with Christmas Themes
Christmas Lesson Plans for primary schools can cover various subjects all while infusing festive themes. As the festive period approaches there is almost an expectation that Christmas is involved.
A study in 2023 showed that 88% of people in the UK celebrate Christmas. Even if it is not religious for everybody, it is an important part of British culture.
Literacy and Storytelling
Exploring Christmas stories offers an engaging way for students to improve reading and comprehension skills. Classic Christmas books like A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens or The Snowman by Raymond Briggs are excellent starting points.
Lessons can focus on story structure, character development, and the morals of generosity and kindness. For younger students, Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs or Stick Man by Julia Donaldson introduces seasonal themes through simple language and illustrations.
Creative Writing
Students could write letters to Santa, craft their own Christmas stories, or even write from the perspective of a Christmas tree or reindeer. These activities encourage imagination and writing skills.
Poetry
Have children write short poems about winter scenes or Christmas morning. Haiku or other simple poetry formats are simple for younger children and help them think creatively about vocabulary.
Maths with a Festive Twist
Christmas-themed maths lessons can keep children engaged while reinforcing their skills. Use Christmas imagery for counting exercises as well as some of the more advanced parts of maths like multiplication and division, often taught in primary schools.
Christmas Budgeting
For older children, a fun way to incorporate maths is to give them a “Christmas shopping” project where they plan a budget to buy gifts within a set amount of money. This activity helps with addition, subtraction, and basic financial literacy.
Pattern Recognition
Younger children can create simple Christmas patterns using red and green items or pictures of baubles and presents to reinforce sequences and pattern recognition.
Christmas Art Activities
Decorations are everywhere at this time of year. It is great for kids to be able to do an activity at school that allows them to have a lot of fun while practising their art skills and even making something to bring home or gift to another student.
Art is central to celebrating Christmas in primary schools and lots of people take part in art activities at this time, allowing students to make creative decorations or take home crafts as gifts for their families.
Christmas Card Making
Making Christmas cards is a classic activity and a tradition around the world. It helps children develop craft, drawing, and writing skills. Teachers can provide pre-printed templates or encourage students to draw freehand designs.
- Stamped Cards: Provide children with Christmas-themed stamps or sponges to make unique designs.
- Recycled Cards: Encourage eco-friendly practices by using recycled materials, like old wrapping paper, magazines, or fabric scraps.
Crafting Ornaments
Creating tree ornaments teaches children about shapes, symmetry, and even improve motor skills – most of all, though, it’s a lot of fun for the festive period and one of the most common Christmas classroom ideas.
- Salt Dough Ornaments: Simple salt dough can be shaped, baked, and painted. Children can make stars, Christmas trees, or reindeer, adding personal touches with glitter or stickers.
- Paper Baubles: Guide students to make baubles out of layered paper, which they can paint or decorate and take home for their trees.
Festive Art Displays
Decorating the classroom with the children’s artwork can create a festive atmosphere. Involve them in creating classroom-wide projects like a wall-sized Christmas tree made from handprints or a winter landscape mural featuring snow, trees, and festive characters.
Nativity!
It is even the title of one of the UK’s most famous Christmas films. Nativities are common around schools in the UK and can be a way to teach, too.
The Nativity play is a cherished tradition in primary schools. It provides an opportunity for children to develop their speaking skills, teamwork, and understanding of the Christmas story. Here are some ways to approach it.
Choosing a Suitable Script
Simpler nativity scripts work best for younger children. Traditional scripts focus on the birth of Jesus, the shepherds, and the three wise men, though many schools adapt the story for a more inclusive and contemporary spin. If your school prefers a non-religious approach, consider alternative holiday performances that celebrate kindness, giving, and togetherness.
The Salvation Army is one organisation that provides Christmas resources including nativity scripts.
Engaging the Whole Class
Assign each child a role, whether it’s Mary, Joseph, a shepherd, or even an animal. Some students can also work behind the scenes, helping with props or narrating. This helps to make everybody feel included but it also teaches them just how much goes into a production like this. Being able to engage the whole class is one of the most important aspects of being a teacher and a Nativity should be an ideal way to do so as it is such a joyous occassion.
Costumes and Props
Creating costumes can be another craft opportunity, with children helping to make simple costumes using old clothes, cardboard, or fabric scraps. If you are looking for Christmas classroom ideas that can last multiple lessons, you can get students to make the props before performing the play. This way, they feel involved in every part of the production and understand what preparation is required.
Music and Carol Singing
Not all teachers are musical but carols are part of Christmas and they are a great way to introduce music and rhythm in a festive context. Start with learning popular songs like Jingle Bells or Silent Night. Some Christmas songs from the charts are even popular.
Activity Ideas:
- Class Carol Book: Have each child decorate a page of carol lyrics, which you can compile into a class book of Christmas songs. This makes a lovely keepsake for the class.
- Performance for Parents: Plan a small carol performance where children sing in groups or solo, letting them build confidence in public speaking and performance.
Christmas Around the World
Exploring how other countries celebrate Christmas can broaden children’s cultural understanding. This can be part of a lesson in geography as well as the humanities. People celebrate this period in a lot of different ways.
A good and interesting approach can be to teach children about Christmas customs in different countries, like:
- Germany: Explain how German families celebrate with advent calendars, Christmas markets, and St. Nicholas Day.
- Italy: Discuss La Befana, the friendly witch who delivers gifts to Italian children.
- Mexico: Explain Las Posadas, a nine-day celebration with parades, singing, and breaking piñatas.
Activities:
- World Christmas Map: Create a classroom display featuring Christmas traditions from around the world, with pictures and maps showing where each tradition originates.
- Cultural Crafts: Have children make crafts inspired by other countries’ Christmas traditions, like Mexican paper lanterns or piñatas.
Christmas Stories and Drama Activities
Christmas stories, whether traditional or contemporary, help children engage in reading comprehension and drama. Besides the option for a nativity class there are a lot of other ways people can incorporate Christmas stories – people can even write their own as an English lesson.
Reading and Discussing Stories
Books like The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, and Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs are excellent for younger children. Discuss the themes of each book, such as generosity, wonder, and holiday magic.
Ask children to act out scenes from a Christmas story, encouraging teamwork, memory skills, and expression.
Writing Christmas Cards and Letters
Writing Christmas cards and letters can be a rewarding way to improve literacy skills. It is also a proud UK tradition. Students can create cards for family, friends, or even residents in a local care home, combining kindness with writing practice.
Letter to Father Christmas
Younger students can write letters to Santa or Father Christmas, practising handwriting and sentence structure. It’s also a great chance to discuss the concept of giving rather than just receiving.
Kindness Cards
Have children write cards with positive messages to classmates or teachers. This activity promotes gratitude and positive reinforcement.
Classroom Decorations and Christmas Days in Class
Allowing children to decorate the classroom gives them a sense of ownership and involvement in creating a festive environment. Teachers can plan special Christmas-themed days (obviously before the Christmas break gets underway).
- Christmas Jumper Day. Encourage everyone to wear a Christmas jumper, raising funds for charity in the process.
- Christmas Movie. Show a family-friendly Christmas film, like The Snowman or Elf, creating a relaxed and festive atmosphere.
- Gift Exchange. Organise a small gift exchange or Secret Santa game where each child brings in a wrapped present within a set price range. This promotes the spirit of giving without being overly commercial.
Learn More About Teaching Christmas With Superprof
A lot of teachers turn to other experienced professionals to help them with their Christmas classroom ideas. There are a lot of ways to celebrate and teach including Christmas art activities for primary schools.
Superprof can help you to connect with teachers who have done it all before, as well as education experts who can help you to plan the perfect lessons for kids at this time of year.
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