Fun Christmas Activities for your ENGLISH Class - meaningful, learny ones!

As we approach the end of the term, finding ways to keep students engaged can be… challenging. Christmas-themed activities bring a fun element to lessons while still building on English skills. When you’re overwhelmed with work, it’s hard to keep the creative ideas flowing, so here are some fun Christmas activities for your ENGLISH class to help you out.

Art Projects

Christmas Bauble and Sweater/T-Shirt Design

Let students put a seasonal spin on character analysis by designing Christmas baubles or sweaters/t-shirts that represent characters or themes from texts they've studied. These hands-on projects encourage them to think about character traits or themes and how they express them visually. You could also ask them to explain their design choices to practice presenting and discussing their interpretations.

Themed Ornaments 

Similar to the bauble idea, students design ornaments for multiple characters from a text, using shapes, colors, and symbols that reflect each character’s personality or journey. If you’re studying a class novel, the ornaments could go on a tree representing all the characters in the text.

Holiday Playlist Covers

Students create album or playlist covers for holiday music their character might enjoy. They pick songs that match the character’s mood or storyline and design a festive cover that captures the character’s vibe. This is an interesting way to connect characters with music and art.

Literary-themed snow globes

Rather than just drawing a holiday scene, students can craft a snow globe that represents a significant setting or event from a book. For example, if they read The Hunger Games, they might create a snow globe depicting the arena or District 12 in a winter setting. This helps students visualize key settings while adding a festive element.

Language Techniques

Colouring can be an effective way to learn, especially when it involves figurative language. Students identify techniques like similes, metaphors, or alliteration and use them to colour sections of festive images. It’s a fun way to reinforce their knowledge of language techniques and create something seasonal.

Comprehension Skills

Holiday-themed reading passages add some fun to comprehension practice. Whether fiction or nonfiction, students focus on close reading, identify key details, and draw inferences. These passages can even lead to discussions about holiday traditions and customs, bringing a cultural angle into the classroom.

Creative Writing and Poetry

Encourage students to write from different perspectives, perhaps as a Christmas ornament, a snowflake, or even Santa himself! Picture prompts are also great for building narrative skills and letting students experiment with descriptive language. For poetry, have them describe a Christmas theme in free verse, haiku, or rhyming couplets, using figurative language to enhance their imagery.

Word Games

Quick, low-prep games like anagrams and word searches are great for reviewing vocabulary in a fun and festive way. You could even add a bit of friendly competition. Plus, they’re ideal for the last few minutes of class or as lesson starters.

Christmas Lists

Ask students what they think characters from a text, or well-known activists and celebrities might have on their Christmas lists this year. They could consider environmental, social, and global issues and compare their ideas with holiday traditions around the world.

These activities bring Christmas joy into English lessons, helping students stay focused during an exciting time of year. If you’re looking for ready-to-use materials, our Christmas Activities resource has templates and prompts to support these kinds of classroom projects.