The holiday season is a magical time, especially for (very) young learners. It’s the perfect opportunity to incorporate festive themes into your English lessons, making learning both fun and memorable. Here are some innovative Christmas games and activities you can create in your classrooms that will captivate your preschoolers and enhance their language skills.
Christmas Mystery Box:
Create a «mystery box» filled with Christmas-themed items such as ornaments, candy canes, small toys, and holiday decorations. If you need to check vocabulary, click here.
Each child takes turns reaching into the box, describing the item they feel without looking (blindfolded), and guessing what it is. This activity boosts vocabulary and descriptive language skills.
Santa’s Workshop Role Play:
Transform your classroom into Santa’s workshop (exclusive for Newsletter subscribers). Assign roles like elves, reindeer, and Santa. Set up different «stations» where students can practice various skills: wrapping pretend gifts (fine motor skills), writing Christmas cards or letters (writing practice), and singing carols (speaking and listening). This immersive experience encourages creativity and teamwork.
Christmas Sound Hunt:
Record various Christmas sounds (e.g., jingle bells, wrapping paper, Santa’s «ho ho ho») or find them on YouTube and play them for the class. This is the one I use. Have the children guess the sound and discuss what it might relate to.
This game enhances listening skills and helps with sound recognition.
Festive Freeze Dance:
Put a twist on the classic freeze dance by using Christmas music. When the music stops, instead of just freezing, call out a Christmas-related action or pose (e.g., «be a Christmas tree» or «pretend to be a snowman»).
This activity is great for listening comprehension and following instructions.
Gingerbread Man Story Adventure:
Read the story of the Gingerbread Man and then create an obstacle course that represents his journey. As the children navigate the course, they can practice phrases from the story, such as «Run, run, as fast as you can!»
This active game combines storytelling with physical activity and language practice.
Dear Santa for very young learners:
If you feel the Gingerbread Man story is too complicated for your students, try the Dear Santa book, which will be the perfect fit, so much so that I have a fantastic guide as a book companion, ideal for retelling the story in classes and encouraging your little ones to do so. DEAR SANTA retelling.
It includes easy-to-cut pieces for interactive storytelling. Discover the surprise toys hidden inside each present!
Help Santa with his MESS:
This is an interactive book in which kids need to help Santa with an accidental mess. Letters and presents got mixed up, and now Santa has no idea which presents belong to each house. Oh No! No, no, indeed! Preschoolers enjoy this story so much, but the best part is that they get the satisfactory feeling to organize it all and help restore Christmas. Take a look at it here.
These creative Christmas activities not only bring the festive spirit into your classroom but also provide a dynamic way for preschoolers to practice English. By engaging their senses and imagination, these games help young learners develop language skills in an enjoyable and memorable way. So, deck the halls of your classroom with these delightful activities and watch your students’ excitement and language abilities grow!
I leave you the resources I used for my preschool & kindergarten classes so that you can check them out in detail.
Happy ELTeaching and Merry Christmas!
