12 Simple Christmas Activities for Preschoolers

The holiday season is the perfect time to bring joy, creativity, and festive cheer into your daycare. With toddlers and preschoolers, it’s all about creating hands-on experiences that are fun, simple, and safe. Here are 12 easy Christmas activities we did last year with the kids. They all worked out great. These are very affordable and will keep the kids busy for hours!

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1. Decorate the Tree

What you need: A small child-safe Christmas tree, plastic ornaments, felt ornaments, and ribbons.

How to do it: Set up a kid-friendly Christmas tree in your classroom or play area. Provide soft, non-breakable ornaments and let the children decorate it however they wish. Encourage them to hang ornaments, drape ribbons, and maybe even add a felt star on top.

Pro Tip: Rotate decorations daily so every child gets a chance to decorate. This also keeps the activity fresh throughout December.

2. Decorate Cookies

What you need: Sugar cookies, frosting, sprinkles, small bowls, and plastic knives.

How to do it: Bake or buy plain sugar cookies and set out small bowls of frosting and sprinkles. Each child can decorate their own cookie, adding colorful sprinkles or spreading frosting.

Pro Tip: Use a muffin tin to separate different toppings. This makes cleanup easier and helps portion control.

3. Have a Hot Cocoa Party

What you need: Hot cocoa mix, warm milk, mini marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles, and small cups.

How to do it: Prepare warm cocoa (not too hot) and let children top their drink with marshmallows, sprinkles, or whipped cream.

Check out all the tips and tricks for hosting a hot cocoa party.

4. Make Santa Cups

What you need: Red plastic cups, pink, yellow, white, black construction paper (we used yellow and pink felt).

How to do it: Have children glue on the beard and the nose. Then add black paper around the rim of the cup for Santa’s belt with buckle. Make sure the pink nose sticks out above so it lines up with the child's nose when they drink. Add water or juice to the cups and take fun pictures!

Pro Tip: Pre-cut paper pieces for younger toddlers to make it easier for them to assemble.

5. Take Fun Pics with Props

What you need: Santa hats, reindeer antlers, elf ears, scarves, and a festive backdrop.

How to do it: Create a mini photo booth with Christmas props. Let children dress up and take silly pictures.

Pro Tip: Print the photos and send them home as keepsakes for parents. Parents love these holiday snapshots!

6. Reindeer Toss

What you need: A cardboard box decorated as a reindeer, rings or beanbags.

How to do it: Cut out a hole for the reindeer’s mouth and have children toss rings or beanbags to try and “feed” the reindeer.

Pro Tip: Adjust the distance for younger or older kids so everyone has fun and feels successful.

7. Make a Wreath

What you need: Green construction paper, scissors, glue, red paper circles, and ribbon.

How to do it: Trace children’s hands on green construction paper, cut them out, and glue them in a circle to form a wreath. Add red paper dots as berries and a ribbon for decoration.

Pro Tip: This doubles as a great keepsake for parents because it uses the children’s handprints.

8. Reindeer Footprints

What you need: Brown paint, white paper, googly eyes, red pom-poms, and markers.

How to do it: Dip each child’s foot in brown paint and press it onto the paper to make the reindeer’s face. Add antlers with painted handprints, glue on googly eyes, and a red pom-pom nose.

Pro Tip: Use washable, non-toxic paint to keep cleanup easy.

9. Christmas Tree Handprint

What you need: Green paint, white paper, yellow star stickers, and brown construction paper.

How to do it: Have children dip their hands in green paint and press onto paper in a triangle shape to form a Christmas tree. Add a brown paper trunk and a star sticker on top.

Pro Tip: Let kids decorate their tree with fingerprints in different colors to mimic ornaments.

10. Welcome Elf on the Shelf

What you need: An Elf on the Shelf doll and a fun setup.

How to do it: Introduce the elf to your daycare by placing it in a silly spot. Each day, move the elf to a new location to surprise the kids.

Pro Tip: Keep the elf’s antics simple for toddlers – hiding it in toy bins, sitting on a bookshelf, or peeking out of stockings works perfectly.

11. Read Christmas Books in Pajamas

What you need: A cozy reading corner, Christmas books, and pajamas.

How to do it: Invite kids to wear pajamas for the day and gather together for storytime. Read holiday classics like The Night Before Christmas or board books with Christmas themes.

Tip: Dim the lights, add twinkling string lights, and serve a small snack to make it extra cozy.

12. Gingerbread Cookie Plate Craft

What you need: Paper plates, brown paint, googly eyes, red, white, and pink construction paper, black marker.

How to do it: Paint the paper plate brown, add googly eyes (or make some with construction paper). Trace the top of the plate on the white construction paper to make the icing hair. Add a red bow with red paper. Draw a smile and add pink dots for cheeks.

Pro Tip: Hang these plates on the wall for a fun holiday display.

These simple and festive activities are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers because they combine sensory play, creativity, and holiday cheer. Best of all, most require inexpensive supplies and little prep time. By incorporating these crafts and games into your December daycare schedule, you’ll create really fun moments the kids will go home talking about.