Winter & Christmas Preschool Activities

Of all the holidays, Christmas may be the favorite of preschoolers. During that time of year, they likely will participate in many Christmas activities, but it's also a suitable time to focus on seasonal activities. You can use winter as a time to incorporate both types of activities into your preschoolers' day.

Gingerbread Ornament

Gingerbread men aren't just for eating; they're also for decorating. With this craft, kids can make a personalized gingerbread man to decorate their trees at home. Cut gingerbread men shapes from brown craft foam or purchase pre-cut pieces from a craft supply store. Ask parents to bring in a wallet-size photo of their children that they will not mind being cut. Lay out craft supplies for your preschoolers, including cut pieces of ribbon, rhinestones and buttons along with craft glue. Cut out the face from each child's photo and help him glue the photo to the head of the gingerbread man. Encourage him to decorate his gingerbread man any way he likes. When he's done, tie a small piece of ribbon in a loop (to hang the gingerbread man), and glue it to the back of the gingerbread man's head with a hot-glue gun. Allow it to dry, then send the gingerbread men on their way home with your preschoolers.

Christmas Tree

Cut out Christmas tree shapes from green construction paper ahead of time. Purchase thin, silver tinsel (usually available with the curling ribbon in stores), glitter glue, mini pom-poms and Christmas stickers. Run a line of glue along the Christmas tree in a zig-zag pattern and help the children glue tinsel on the tree. Help the kids decorate the rest of their trees, perhaps by using the mini pom-poms as ornaments, and don't forget a tree topper. Turn an 8-oz., disposable, plastic cup upside down and glue the tree to it. The cup serves as the tree trunk, so you could let the children paint it brown. Alternative options for this activity include having the kids make a snowman (and gluing it on the cup so that the cup doesn't show but holds the snowman upright) or a reindeer face.

Snow Play

For some preschoolers, snow is exciting and pretty but too cold and wet to play in for long. With this indoor activity, kids can play with "snow" indoors for hours. Fill an activity table with real snow. (If you don't have an activity table, you can fill an under-the-bed storage container instead; these tend to be shallow but long enough for multiple kids.) Provide your kids with supplies such as plastic cups, small cars, bathtub toys and other items they would play with outside in the snow. Cover the floor with towels or a sheet, and make sure kids do this activity on a noncarpeted floor.

If you live in an area where it doesn't snow, make snow ahead of time. There are companies that sell snow "powder," which produces snow when combined with water.