Montessori Christmas Activities

Did you catch our post of twenty-four Christmas activities for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers?

If you haven’t, you should go check it out…if only to see pictures when my boys were babies. It’s crazy to think how fast they grow!

Moving on…

Because I can’t leave well enough alone and my kids are growing kids changing needs and interests, I’ve got nearly 30 new Montessori-inspired Christmas activities!

You’ll find activities for babies, toddlers, and primary  (3 – 6) ages. I’ve given these general categories, but you know your child best. An activity marked toddler may be a good fit for your three-year-old. Or you may have a young three-year-old with the skill matched to a primary activity. Follow the child.

Most of the activities are new, while there are a few repeats with a new twist from past years.

I know it may sound weird, but I really do enjoy thinking up different activities and putting them together. I hope you find some that’ll work with your family or class this year.

Babies (3 months – 12 months)

Christmas Treasure Basket

A treasure basket is a group of various items (usually 15 to 20) that are found around the house. The purpose of the activity is to provide the infant with the opportunity to explore and discover on their own.

The items in the basket should appeal to the 5 senses (sight, touch, taste, hear, smell) and made of varying materials, preferably natural materials. For safety reasons, activities geared toward babies should always be observed.

Stacking Presents

This is a simple activity for babies to begin stacking and knocking down objects. I wrapped empty ornament boxes for these. You could add a new aspect to stacking with objects of different shapes (with flat top and bottom though).

Exploring Ornaments

How often do little one’s want to discover Christmas ornaments! With this activity, babies can safely explore ornaments. Choose 4 – 6 ornaments of varying weights, sizes, and textures for the child to explore. This is a great activity to do with your child, observing as they turn the ornament over in their hands.

Observing a Christmas Tree with a Mirror

I’m sad to say I don’t have a picture of this one, but all my children have loved laying near the Christmas tree and looking at the lights. What child doesn’t? It’s a new and exciting part of their environment to explore.

Sensory Sounds with Bells

Gather your various bells and let your little one discover all the sound they can make! This is a great activity for a child that is able to sit on their own.

Hearing a Christmas Carol or Poem

Connect with your littlest one by singing a Christmas carol or reading a poem just to them. “Love Came Down at Christmas” by Christina Rossetti is one of my favorite Christmas poems. We’re going to be learning it together as a family in December.

Coin Box

In & Out

Mix up this simple in and out activity with different types of “sticks.” Try paper straws, chenille straws, or even cinnamon sticks.

Most of the rest of these activities are pretty self-explanatory.

Toddlers (24 Months – 36 Months)

Play Dough Christmas Tree Tray

Decorate a Felt Tree

Tonging Christmas Pom Poms

Matching Ornaments to Colored Tablets

Matching Candy Cane Colors

Matching Christmas Objects to Picture

Sorting Ornaments by Type

Experiencing Christmas Scents

This is like the traditional Smelling Bottles, but without the matching component. I put a cotton ball into each container and dropped a different essential oil (or element) into each. We used cinnamon, peppermint, clove, vanilla, wintergreen, and sweet orange. If you don’t have essential oils, you could use extracts (ie, peppermint extract or vanilla extract) on the cotton ball.

Also, saving empty spice jars pays off!

Christmas Lacing Cards

Primary (3 – 6 Years)

Decorate a Christmas Tree

Patterning Christmas Lights

Gingerbread Play Dough Tray

Wrapping a Present

Christmas Card Tray

Stringing Christmas Garlands

I’d love to try this with some popcorn and maybe even cranberries sometime.

Handwork – Stitching a Christmas Tree

For the embroidery work, I drew the outline of the tree on both sides of the fabric so they could see where to put the needle on both sides of the fabric.

Christmas Smelling Bottles (& Matching to Object)

Similar to the Experiencing Christmas Scents in the toddler section, except now we’re matching the scents to the objects. As an added extension, matching the scents to the picture cards.

The scents we used are cinnamon, peppermint, clove, vanilla, wintergreen, and sweet orange.

Counting with Christmas Lights

Peppermint-Scented Sand Tray

This is a fun way to practice pre-writing skills allowing the child to feel texture. I added a little peppermint essential oil and glitter to give it a Christmas sparkle.

If you’re still looking for that perfect gift for Christmas, then check out our Montessori Christmas Gift Guide! You’ll find gifts for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, 5- 7 year old’s, subscription gift ideas for families, and even a gift list for homeschool families!

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Linking up with Montessori Monday at Living Montessori Now.