Christmas Art Activities
Here are some fun art activities to do in December.
By Elisa Jackson
During December, many students can be distracted. They can barely contain their excitement because of the approaching holiday. As teachers, we are expected to feed their love of the holiday, yet keep them on task at the same time. Here are some art activities to do at Christmas time that will, hopefully, do both.
The first activity is to create a Santa Claus light switch. For this art project, you need to cut out felt pieces for each bit of Santa’s face. You need pieces for the face, eyes, eyebrows, beard, and hat. In the face portion, you should cut out a section for the nose. This part stays open. Once students have glued it all together, they can put it over a light switch at home where the nose is supposed to be. Students can display their artwork at home in their bedroom, and look at it every time they turn on a light!
The second activity has to do with presents. Collect one tissue box for each student in your class. Have them paint the box their desired color. Once the paint is dry, students can decorate their box with sequins, bows, other colored paint, pipe cleaners, and more. Make sure they put their name somewhere on it. Having them use sequins for their name is especially effective, because their name really stands out. Once their box is done, have them put it under the classroom tree, or other designated "gift area." Since the top is still open, the teacher can slip in a small gift for the students to find the day before they leave for winter break.
This next activity is fun and requires virtually no planning on the teacher’s part. Put together an ornament making center. You can put card stock, construction paper, markers, scissors, glue, sequins, beads, yarn, and whatever else you have at the center. Students can go to the center and make an ornament of their own. This lets students use their imagination and gives them the freedom to create. Once they are done, they can hang the ornament on the classroom Christmas tree. This gives them ownership in the tree, and they like to show off what they have done.
The last activity is a classroom advent calendar. On a wall, you can create a large advent calendar by making a five by five chart with the numbers 1 through 25 on it. Students design easy to make art to put on the calendar. They could make a picture of Santa, an ornament, a tree, or whatever else you want them to do. One student puts their art work on the wall each day. Keep in mind that whatever they make needs to be small and light in order to hang on the wall and fit into your desired number chart. This provides a fun count down until Christmas!
Here are some more activities to do with your class as the Christmas holiday approaches.
Christmas Art Activities Lesson Plans
This wonderful lesson has students create a poem in the shape of a Christmas tree! Students use a word processing program and discover how to center their text in a way that has the final product come out in the shape of a tree. I especially like the way this lesson combines the use of technology, writing, and artistry.
In this creative cooking lesson, students make an ornament for their family’s holiday tree or as a window decoration. This lesson cleverly combines elements of math, along with cooking skills. Students will be very proud of their ornaments!
This simple lesson is ideal for very young students. They create their own Christmas cards for loved ones using construction paper and crayons.
This worksheet provides another good art activity for young students. They color in a Christmas scene using markers, colored pencils, or crayons.