Toddlers love Christmas, but most holiday crafts are made for older kids. These 20 Christmas activities for toddlers (ages 2 to 4) are short, low-mess and mostly use things you already have at home.
Sensory and play
- Jingle bell shaker: a few large bells in a well-sealed plastic bottle. Tape the lid shut.
- Wrapping paper crunch: let them scrunch, tear and stuff leftover paper into a box.
- Pom-pom transfer: red and green pom-poms moved from one bowl to another with a big spoon.
- Find the reindeer: hide a soft toy reindeer and give "warmer, colder" clues.
- Sticky-wall tree: tape contact paper sticky-side out on the wall in a tree shape, and let them stick on paper shapes.
Easy crafts
- Handprint reindeer: brown handprint, googly eyes, red nose.
- Dot-sticker ornaments: round stickers on a paper bauble.
- Cotton ball snowman: glue stick and three cotton balls.
- Paper plate wreath: cut out the middle and let them glue on torn green paper.
- Dot marker Christmas tree: dot markers are perfect for little hands that can't do fine coloring yet.
Learning through Christmas
- Sort ornaments (unbreakable ones) by color.
- Count presents under the tree together.
- Match socks into pairs for "stockings".
- Big and small: line up wrapped boxes by size.
- Shape hunt: find circles (baubles), triangles (trees) and stars around the house.
Calm and cosy
- Read one Christmas picture book every night in December.
- Look at the street lights from a stroller or the car window.
- Dance to Christmas songs with scarves.
- Bake (and mostly decorate) simple cookies.
- Call or video-call a grandparent to show them the tree.
Safety notes for toddlers
Small pieces, bells and pom-poms are a choking hazard for under-3s. Always play together, keep breakable ornaments and button batteries out of reach, and use non-toxic, washable supplies.
Printables that help
The Toddler Busy Book has 8 matching activities (colors, shapes, counting, letters) that come out again and again on holiday car rides and waits. The Dot Marker ABC & 123 pages are made for little hands. More in printables for ages 2 to 4, and our free Letter from Santa maker.