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Teacher guide · 3 min read

25 Christmas Classroom Activities (No-Prep and Printable)

December is wonderful and exhausting. Attention is short, excitement is high, and you still have lessons to teach. These activities keep the learning going while letting students enjoy the season.

By the Bellkit team · Updated

Start with a countdown

A countdown on the board gives December a shape. Students check it every morning, and it's a natural hook for quick math: how many days, how many school days, how many hours? Put the live Christmas countdown on the projector each morning.

Countdown to a DateCount down to any date, with "sleeps to go" for little ones and school days left for older students.Open tool →

Printable activities

  1. Christmas bingo. Holiday words on unique cards for the whole class. Use the ready-made Christmas bingo list.
  2. Winter bingo for classes that don't celebrate Christmas: snow, mittens, hot cocoa. See winter bingo.
  3. Holiday word search. Add your own seasonal words; the answer key prints too.
  4. Christmas crossword. Write clues for each word to turn vocabulary into a puzzle.
  5. Holiday times tables. Print a times tables worksheet with an answer key; early finishers draw a winter scene on the back.
  6. Reward chart for December. Each good choice fills a star until the class reaches a holiday reward.
Word Search MakerType your holiday words, pick Easy, Medium or Hard, and print. Hard adds backwards and diagonal words, and the answer key prints on page 2.Open tool →

Math activities

  1. Countdown math. "How many days until Christmas? How many weeks is that? How many hours?"
  2. Gift budget. Give students a pretend budget and a catalogue page; they choose gifts and add up the total.
  3. Cookie fractions. Share pretend cookies between friends: what fraction does each person get?
  4. Elf measuring. Measure classroom objects in "elf feet" (a paper strip), then in centimeters.
  5. Snowflake symmetry. Fold and cut paper snowflakes and find the lines of symmetry.

Writing and reading activities

  1. Letter to a future self: what do you hope next year looks like?
  2. How-to writing: how to build a snowman, wrap a present or make hot chocolate.
  3. Holiday traditions: each student shares one tradition from their family, whatever they celebrate.
  4. Story starter: "The reindeer refused to fly because…"
  5. Acrostic poems using WINTER, HOLIDAY or a student's name.
  6. Read-aloud and draw: read a winter picture book and students draw their favourite scene.

Games and class fun

  1. Holiday would you rather: snowball fight or sledding? Students move to one side.
  2. Spin the gift wheel: put small rewards on a wheel (extra recess, homework pass, sit anywhere).
  3. Team trivia: a quiz on winter facts with a live scoreboard.
  4. Freeze dance to holiday music as a brain break.
  5. Secret kindness elf: each student draws a name and does one kind thing for that person in secret.
  6. Last-day award show: silly awards for every student (best laugh, most helpful, kindest).
  7. Class gift exchange of compliments: each student writes one kind sentence for a classmate.
  8. Holiday bingo party on the last afternoon, with a blackout round to finish.
Classroom ScoreboardRun team trivia with a big scoreboard on the projector. Number keys add points and Undo fixes mistakes.Open tool →

Keeping December calm

  • Keep your routines. Students handle excitement better when the day still feels normal.
  • Use timers for transitions. A visible countdown makes tidy-up and lining up faster. Try a 5 minute timer.
  • Plan calm-down breaks after recess and parties. See our brain break ideas.
  • Be inclusive. Not every family celebrates Christmas. Winter themes let everyone join in.
  • Save the big fun for the end of the day so it doesn't spill into lessons.

A sample plan for the last week before break

Spreading the fun across the week works better than saving it all for Friday. Students know something good is coming each day, so they're calmer during lessons, and you still finish the term with real learning in the room.

  1. Monday: a normal lesson, plus a holiday word search for early finishers. Start the class countdown if you haven't already.
  2. Tuesday: a writing lesson using a holiday story starter. Students share their favourite line at the end.
  3. Wednesday: math with a seasonal twist, such as the gift budget activity or countdown math, then a calm brain break.
  4. Thursday: team trivia to review the term's topics. Keep score on the board and give the winning team first pick of reward.
  5. Friday: the holiday bingo party and compliments exchange in the afternoon, after a short morning lesson so the day still has a familiar shape.

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