As the Christmas season approaches, it’s time to fill our preschool classrooms with joy, meaning, and hands-on preschool Christmas activities that reflect the true spirit of the holiday. One of my favorite verses, “You are loved beyond measure” (Ephesians 3:19), reminds us of the depth of God’s love—something we can share with our little ones in big and small ways.
Preschool Christmas activities
The holiday season is upon us! Whether you’re celebrating at home, school, or church, you can do plenty of fun things to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Here are some easy, heartfelt ideas to help you teach preschool Christmas activities, including products I’ve created with care and purpose for this magical season.
A Small Wooden Nativity Set: A Precious Gift to Treasure
Each year, I gift my preschoolers a small wooden nativity set. This timeless keepsake helps children learn about the true meaning of Christmas in a tangible way. As they arrange Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and the animals, they engage with the story of Jesus’ birth in a way that feels personal and meaningful.
This tradition is a simple yet impactful reminder of God’s love and the gift of Jesus. I love gifting my little learners with a manger scene that they are allowed to touch, play with, and explore. If you want to make them for your little learners it is an expensive gift that they will cherish. I pick up a few boxes of wooden stacking games from the store. Print out a nativity set for each child and Mod-Podge them to the pieces. It takes me one night to glue and under $15 for my entire class of 14 students. Parents are always so appreciative of this sweet, personal, hand-made gift as well. If you are looking for more detailed instructions you can read about all of the sets I have available and directions in this blog post (click here to read).
Christmas Cookie Activities: A Sweet Way to Learn
Who doesn’t love cookies during the holidays? Incorporate the festive fun of baking into your preschool Christmas activities:
- Cookie Recipe Exchange Book: Invite families to share their favorite recipes, then compile them into a classroom recipe book. This activity creates a beautiful keepsake while fostering a sense of community. You can also have them bake a class set to share in a cookie exchange and for added fun, you can have the children dictate their interpretation of the recipe and include the children’s recipe in the cookbook. Each child gets to take home one of each cookie to taste test.
- Christmas Cookie Dramatic Play: Set up a “cookie shop” in your dramatic play center with pretend cookies, baking supplies, and a cash register. It’s a delightful way to teach counting, turn-taking, and creativity. I like to cut out “gingerbread dough” from brown felt. The children can roll it with a rolling pin.
- Around the World Christmas Cookies: Explore holiday traditions by learning about cookies from different cultures. This is my first year doing this activity. My daughter who also teaches needed an around-the-world activity for her Christmas countdown. All of the ones we were finding seemed above the little learner’s heads. So, she and I worked together to come up with the “Around the World countdown” and my class is very interested. There is a recipe book with a story to teach students about different countries around the world while tying it back to Jesus after every visit.
Bulletin Board Sets: Celebrate the Season
Deck the walls of your classroom with bulletin board displays that shine with the message of Christmas! Two of my favorite sets include:
- “Loved Beyond Measure” Gingerbread Bulletin Board: This sweet set features a gingerbread theme tied to the beautiful message of being loved beyond measure. It’s a nice way to remind students of God’s infinite love during this season of giving.
- “Spread Joy” Christmas Village Bulletin Board: Turn your board into a festive village filled with colorful houses and a joyful message that encourages students to share kindness and joy. Our class made paper gingerbread houses shaped like envelopes. My assistant and I made life-sized cardboard gingerbread people that we used to decorate the classroom but, before we did that, we folded the cardboard heads back and took each child’s picture. we added the picture printout to the insides of the paper houses and hung them on the bulletin board. The kids looked so cute peaking out of the paper gingerbread houses and this adds a sweet addition to their end-of-the-year scrapbooks.
These bulletin boards are more than decor—they’re tools for building a classroom environment centered on love, gratitude, and celebration.
Gingerbread Fun: Sweet Lessons with Meaning
The gingerbread unit in my classroom is always a favorite! From building gingerbread houses to reading classic stories like The Gingerbread Man, this unit blends literature, math, and hands-on creativity.
One standout activity is tying the gingerbread theme to our faith. The phrase “You are loved beyond measure” fits perfectly when we use measuring cups and spoons during a baking activity. It’s a natural way to connect the fun of Christmas with God’s message of love.
Teaching with Joy and Meaning
Preschool Christmas activities should be joyful, meaningful, and filled with reminders of God’s love. Whether you’re gifting a wooden nativity set, decorating with bulletin boards, or baking cookies with your students, these activities create moments of connection and learning that children will treasure.
This season, remember that we are all loved beyond measure, and share that message with the little ones in your care. How do you plan to celebrate and teach the spirit of Christmas in your classroom? Share your favorite ideas in the comments!
