Printable Christmas Activities for Kids: Crafts, Puzzles and Coloring for Home or Class
December with kids comes in two speeds: too busy, and suddenly far too quiet. The first snow day, the last week of school, the stretch between Christmas and New Year. A folder of printable Christmas activities turns those afternoons into something calm. It costs a few sheets of paper and asks almost nothing of the grown-up in charge.
Below are the activities that work best at home or in a classroom, by age, with what you need for each. At the end there's a simple plan for a 90-minute craft afternoon.
Writing activities (ages 4 and up)
A letter to Santa. A lined letter page with prompts ("This year I was proud of...", "I'm wishing for...") helps younger kids write more than one line. Pre-readers can dictate it while a grown-up writes.
A Christmas wish list. A list with boxes for "something I want, something I need, something to wear, something to read" keeps it short and fair.
A Nice List certificate. Fill it in with the child's name and give it on Christmas Eve. It's a small thing that kids keep for years.
All three are in the Christmas Kids Activity Pack ($5, 16 pages, fillable PDF), along with reindeer food tags, puzzles and coloring pages.
Puzzles (ages 5 to 10)
- Mazes: "find the sleigh" or "reach the star" mazes are good for quiet time and car journeys.
- Word searches: winter and Christmas words. Easy grids for new readers, bigger grids for older kids.
- Put an answer key in a separate folder for the grown-up.
Tip: slide puzzle pages into a plastic sleeve and use a dry-erase marker, so you can reuse them.
Coloring pages (all ages)
Bold, simple outlines work best for little hands: a Christmas tree, a gingerbread house, a snowman, stockings by the fireplace. Older kids and adults often prefer detailed pages. Our Winter Calm Coloring Pages have bold-and-easy and detailed vintage designs.
Crafts that end up on the tree
The best kids' Christmas craft is one that ends up on the tree. Color-your-own paper ornaments do just that. Kids color, cut and punch a hole, and the ornament goes straight on the tree with a loop of ribbon.
- Print on cardstock, so the ornaments don't curl.
- Under 6s: a grown-up cuts and the child colors. 6 and up: kids cut along the thick outer line.
- A 3D slot-together star or tree is the "big project" for older kids: color both halves, cut the slots, slide them together.
The Color-Your-Own Paper Ornaments for Kids ($5) set has 12 folk-art ornaments plus a 3D star and tree. For more ideas, see our DIY paper Christmas ornaments guide.
For teachers: a classroom Christmas party
- One activity per table, rotating every 15 minutes: coloring, a maze, an ornament, a word search.
- Print one class set of ornaments. Each child hangs one on the classroom tree and takes a second one home.
- Check your school's rules on holidays. Everything above is non-religious.
A calm 90-minute craft afternoon
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | Snack, and write the letter to Santa |
| 0:20 | Color 2 to 3 paper ornaments |
| 0:45 | Cut, punch, add ribbon, hang them on the tree |
| 1:00 | A maze or word search while the grown-up tidies up |
| 1:15 | Coloring page with a Christmas song playing |
Make it a December routine
If you'd like one small thing every day, pair these with an activity Advent calendar. Our Family Advent Activity Calendar has 24 cards, and several of them are craft nights.
Get the Christmas Kids Activity Pack on Payhip ($5), or the Color-Your-Own Paper Ornaments ($5). Make room for what matters.
