Teaching preschoolers about Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to the holiday’s significance and traditions while nurturing their creativity and excitement.
One essential aspect is conveying the true meaning of Christmas, which goes beyond presents and decorations. Emphasize the importance of love, giving, and spending quality time with family.
Engage your preschooler in activities such as creating homemade cards for loved ones, spreading cheer by visiting nursing homes, and reading age-appropriate books that emphasize the values of the season.
What Can I Do with a 3-Year-Old for Christmas?
At the age of 3, children are curious and eager to participate in holiday festivities. Decorating for Christmas can be a wonderful shared experience. Let your child actively participate by placing non-breakable ornaments on the lower branches of the Christmas tree.
Consider dedicating a special “craft day” where your child can engage in activities like making paper snowflakes or handprint wreaths to display around the house.
Additionally, simple and enjoyable Christmas crafts for 3-year-olds can be a great way to foster creativity and fine motor skills.
Crafting projects like creating popsicle stick reindeer ornaments, crafting cotton ball Santa beards, or making handprint Christmas cards are all engaging options that your child will love.
Related Post: Easy DIY Christmas Ornaments for Kids
Popular Christmas Activities for Preschoolers
1. Decorating Gingerbread Houses
Decorating gingerbread houses is a beloved Christmas activity for preschoolers. To make it memorable, involve your child in the process.
Let them choose their favorite candy decorations, encouraging them to unleash their imagination. This activity not only sparks creativity but also helps in developing fine motor skills.
2. Visiting Santa Claus
For many preschoolers, their first visit to Santa Claus is an exciting event. To prepare your child for this experience, read books about Santa and the North Pole to build anticipation.
Practice what they might want to say to Santa, and reassure them that it’s okay to feel a little nervous. Don’t forget to capture the moment with a photo to cherish for years to come.
3. Christmas Caroling
Carol singing with preschoolers can be a delightful experience. Select well-known carols that are easy to sing along with and make it a family affair.
Dress up in festive attire, bring jingle bells, and consider organizing a small parade around your neighborhood to spread holiday cheer.
4. Baking Christmas Cookies
Baking Christmas cookies is not only a delicious endeavor but also an excellent opportunity to involve your preschooler.
Invite them to assist with age-appropriate tasks such as mixing cookie dough, decorating cookies, and using cookie cutters. This hands-on experience introduces them to the joy of holiday baking. You can also skip the baking by grabbing this ready to decorate cookie set here.
5. Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Create a Christmas-themed scavenger hunt around your home or in the backyard. Provide your preschooler with a list of holiday items or clues to find, such as a candy cane, an ornament, or a stuffed reindeer.
This activity encourages exploration and problem-solving while adding excitement to the holiday season.
6. DIY Christmas Cards
Set up a crafting station with colored paper, markers, stickers, and holiday-themed decorations. Help your preschooler make personalized Christmas cards for family members and friends.
This hands-on activity fosters creativity and allows your child to express their holiday cheer through art.
7. Christmas Storytime and Pajama Party
Host a cozy holiday-themed storytime and pajama party at home. Let your preschooler pick their favorite Christmas books or read classics like “The Night Before Christmas.” Serve hot cocoa and cookies for added warmth and comfort, creating cherished holiday memories.
8. Christmas Tree Toss Game
Set up a fun and safe game where your preschooler can “toss” soft, lightweight ornaments (made of fabric or foam) into a decorated Christmas tree target.
Assign point values to different parts of the tree and encourage your child to improve their aiming skills. It’s a festive and active way to enjoy the holiday spirit.
Related Post: Felt Christmas Tree Activity for Toddlers
9. Festive Dress-Up Parade
Organize a Christmas dress-up parade in your living room. Provide holiday-themed costumes or accessories like Santa hats, reindeer antlers, and jingle bells.
Let your preschooler and their friends or siblings participate in a parade, complete with music and cheers. It’s a delightful way to celebrate and encourage imaginative play.
10. Gingerbread House Decorating Contest
Host a friendly gingerbread house decorating competition. Provide each child with their gingerbread house kit, along with a variety of candies, icing, and edible decorations.
Let their creativity run wild as they design and decorate their gingerbread masterpieces. Once finished, have a “judging” session and award prizes for different categories like “Most Creative” or “Most Festive.”
Related Post: Gingerbread Printable
11. Christmas Movie Marathon
Set up a cozy movie night with classic Christmas films suitable for kids. Create a list of family favorites, prepare popcorn, and snuggle up together in blankets. Consider titles like “The Polar Express,” “Elf,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
12. Holiday Light Tour
Take the kids on an evening adventure to explore the beautifully decorated houses and neighborhoods in your area. Make it even more special by packing some hot cocoa and holiday treats to enjoy while driving or walking.
Encourage the children to pick their favorite displays, and maybe even bring along some holiday music to play in the car.
13. Make a Popcorn Garland
14. Christmas Craft Workshop
Set up a crafting station with a variety of Christmas-themed craft supplies such as colored paper, glue, glitter, and ribbon. Encourage kids to create holiday-themed crafts like paper plate wreaths, handprint ornaments, or beaded candy canes.
These crafts make for wonderful homemade decorations or gifts for loved ones.
Related Post: Christmas Tissue Paper Wreath
15.Letter to Santa
Help your preschooler write a letter to Santa Claus. Encourage them to express their holiday wishes and gratitude.
Afterward, you can “mail” the letter by placing it in a special mailbox or sending it to a designated Santa address. This activity combines creativity with the magic of believing in Santa.
16. Holiday Playdough Fun
Make festive holiday-themed playdough using basic ingredients like flour, salt, water, and food coloring. Add scents like peppermint or cinnamon for a sensory experience.
Provide cookie cutters, rolling pins, and small holiday-themed props for your preschooler to create their own Christmas playdough scenes and ornaments.
17. Countdown to Christmas Calendar
Create a homemade advent calendar with your preschooler. Use small envelopes or boxes numbered from 1 to 25.
Each day, open one and discover a special surprise or activity to do together. Activities can include reading a Christmas story, making a decoration, or enjoying a holiday-themed snack.
18. Christmas Nature Walk
Take a nature walk with your preschooler to collect natural materials like pinecones, leaves, and twigs.
Use these items to create Christmas-themed crafts when you return home. Pinecone bird feeders, leaf wreaths, and twig ornaments are fun and eco-friendly projects to consider.
19. Christmas-themed Sensory Bins
Create sensory bins filled with holiday-themed items like fake snow, jingle bells, small ornaments, and red and green sensory rice.
Let your preschooler explore and play with these materials. You can even hide small surprises in the bins for them to discover, adding an element of excitement.
20. Minty Match Christmas Printable Game
The Minty Match Color Matching game will be a hit with your preschoolers! They get to match candy canes and peppermints as they learn their colors.
21. Christmas Ornaments
I think ornaments that you or your kids make yourself are the best, it just makes them so much more special! And I love that you can use them for years to come.
22. Christmas Dot Activities
There are so many ways to use these activity sheets with different tools and materials! See this post for more details about each way and how they help to develop skills for your little one.
23. Christmas Beginning Letter Sound Clips
Figuring out the first sound of a word is a big part of phonemic awareness. These sound clip cards mix the reading skills with a hands-on activity kids love.
24. Christmas Cutting Strips
Scissor skills need to be taught to your child; it takes a lot of practice for their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination to work together and cut appropriately.
25. Christmas Playdough Fun With Cookie Cutters
This simple Christmas activity works several key skills your toddler and/or preschooler will need as they grow and develop.
26. Christmas Tissue Paper Wreath
Toddlers and preschoolers alike will delight in this fun Christmas craft. There is just something about tissue paper that excites children of all ages.
28. Christmas Sticker Activity
Stickers are a great way to work on your child’s fine motor skills (using the small muscles of your hands and fingers to grasp and manipulate objects).
They have to use their pincer grasp (thumb and pointer finger) to pick up the sticker and place it on the paper.
It also takes good hand-eye coordination to pick it off the sticker sheet and place it on the paper.
29. Christmas Bow Wall Stick Activity
30. Write a Letter to Santa
My kids love to write a special letter to Santa, tell him what they want for Christmas and a few of the good things they’ve done that year. If your kids love writing letters to Santa, these templates are exactly what you need!
31. Candy Cane Science Experiment
Preschoolers can make predictions and record the results of the experiment on my printable candy cane science experiment page.
Finding Additional Christmas Activities for Kids
Online Resources
Discovering Christmas activities for preschoolers online is easier than ever. Numerous websites offer free printable Christmas coloring pages, crafts, and activity ideas.
Pinterest is also a valuable platform for finding and saving a wide array of Christmas-themed crafts and activities that your preschooler will love.
Here are a few of our favorite Online Resources for Christmas Activities for Kids
Crayola Free Coloring Pages
Crayola has some terrific coloring pages free to you and your littles. Christmas themed coloring pages are an excellent way to spend time together.
Free Printable Christmas Crafts
Crafts made easy. You can find some adorable options for family night during the holidays here.
Printable ball ornaments, printable gift tags, printable Christmas cards, tracing, and more!
Printable Pre-school Christmas Worksheets
With a break down by grade levels, you can find the perfect worksheet for your little. They can learn how to trace Christmas trees or even enjoy a paper puzzle.
The options for your holiday season are terrific.
Local Events and Community Activities
To find local Christmas events suitable for preschoolers, check your community center, libraries, and town websites. These sources often provide information about Christmas parades, tree-lighting ceremonies, and holiday festivals that cater to young children.
Many communities offer child-friendly activities during the holiday season that can become cherished family traditions.
Educational Apps and Games
Educational apps and games with Christmas themes can be a fun way to entertain and educate preschoolers during the holiday season.
Look for apps that incorporate counting, sorting, and letter recognition while incorporating festive elements. These apps can be both engaging and educational for your little one.
Here are a few of our favorite educational apps and games for Christmas Time:
NORAD Tracks Santa
Starting December 1st, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) tracks Santa as he makes his journey around the globe.
You will not only be able to track Santa’s deliveries but also enjoy some super fun games and an advent calendar with a new game daily.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Your littles won’t even realize they are working on their fine motor skills and matching abilities while playing this game.
With an easy and hard level any age will enjoy this holiday game.
Seven Super Fun Online Christmas Games
Take a peek at 7 engaging holiday videos perfect for your home learning time. We love when learning can be fun and festive during these times of celebration.
Take it to the next level and check out their worksheets separated into grade level. From preschool to 8th grade you are sure to find some great material.
Christmas is a magical time for preschoolers, and by engaging them in age-appropriate activities while teaching them about the holiday’s values, you can create lasting memories.
Whether you’re decorating gingerbread houses, visiting Santa, or baking cookies together, these festive activities will not only provide entertainment but also nurture your child’s creativity and development.
Embrace the magic of Christmas and watch your little one’s eyes light up with the wonder of the holidays. Happy holidays to you and your preschooler!
