12 Christmas Writing Activities for Elementary Students
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The weeks leading up to winter break can be some of the most exciting (and busiest!) days of the school year. Students are looking forward to the holidays, classroom schedules get rearranged, and teachers are trying to keep everyone learning while still enjoying the season.
That’s where Christmas writing activities come in handy! I’ve found that giving students a chance to practice important writing skills while adding a little holiday fun to the assignment makes all the difference. Whether you want to try creative writing prompts, a festive writing craft that doubles as adorable decor, or an easy activity to use during December writing time, these ideas will help keep your students engaged right up until break.
Here are 12 of my favorite low-prep Christmas writing activities for elementary students that you can use in your classroom this holiday season.
1. Christmas Writing Craftivities
If you want to combine writing practice with a festive classroom display, a Christmas writing craftivity is a great place to start!
Students respond to a creative writing prompt, work through the writing process, and turn their finished writing into a holiday-themed craft. You get meaningful writing practice and a fun piece of student work to display on a bulletin board or in the hallway.
My Christmas Writing Craftivities Pack includes four creative writing prompts and five unique toppers so your students can really let their creativity shine! Teachers often tell me that their students absolutely love getting to choose which craftivity they’re going to do. You’ll also love the festive and unique display you can create with the final products! With brainstorm activity pages, practice sentence sheets, and final draft pages all included, you’ll just print and go with this resource!
Want to try one for free first?
I also have a free Christmas writing craftivity sample taken from the full pack! Just subscribe to my email list below to get the sample and try it with your students.
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2. Write a Letter to Santa
This one might seem obvious since it’s something so many kids grow up doing each December. But we can make it more intentional with a few guidelines! Letter writing is a natural fit for the holiday season and a great way to practice writing for a specific audience.
Have students write a letter to Santa explaining what they hope for this Christmas. To make the activity more meaningful, encourage them to include details about their interests, something they’ve learned this year, or a way they’ve helped someone else.
You can also use the activity to review the parts of a friendly letter, including a greeting, body, closing, and signature.
Writing skills to practice: Letter format, complete sentences, adding details, and writing for an audience.
3. Finish a Christmas Story Starter
Sometimes students have plenty of imagination but need a little help getting started. A story starter gives them that first idea so they can focus on developing the rest of their story.
Write a Christmas-themed opening sentence on the board, then invite students to continue the story. Here are a few ideas to get them going:
- On Christmas Eve, I heard a strange noise coming from the roof…
- When I opened the door, a tiny reindeer was standing on my porch…
- Santa had an important problem, and I was the only person who could help…
- I woke up on Christmas morning to discover that all the presents had disappeared!
Encourage students to include a beginning, middle, and end. Younger writers might draw a picture and write a few sentences, while older students can develop a longer story with dialogue and descriptive details.
Writing skills to practice: Story structure, sequencing, imagination, and descriptive writing.
4. Imagine You Could Help Santa
What if Santa needed an extra helper this Christmas? What job would you do?
Invite students to imagine that they’ve been hired to help Santa prepare for Christmas. They might help make toys, organize presents, feed the reindeer, deliver gifts, or invent a brand-new job at the North Pole.
Ask students to explain what their job would be and why they would be good at it. Encourage them to add specific details about what a typical day in their new role might look like.
For an extra challenge, have students write a short application to Santa explaining why they should be hired!
Writing skills to practice: Descriptive writing, supporting details, and persuasive writing.
5. Design a New Toy for Santa’s Workshop
Santa’s workshop needs new ideas! Challenge students to invent a toy they think children would love to receive for Christmas.
First, have students draw and label their invention. Then, ask them to describe what the toy does, who would enjoy it, and what makes it special.
To incorporate persuasive writing, students can write a short pitch convincing Santa to add their invention to his workshop. Encourage them to explain why children would love the toy and what makes it different from other toys.
Take it a step further and have students present their inventions to the class! Volunteers can read their pieces aloud and hear each other’s ideas.
Writing skills to practice: Informative writing, descriptive details, and persuasive writing.
6. Explore Christmas Around the World Through Writing
The holiday season is a great opportunity to explore how people celebrate in different parts of the world.
After learning about a Christmas tradition from another country, have students write a short informational paragraph explaining what they learned. They might describe a special food, decoration, celebration, or tradition.
You could also invite students to compare that tradition with something familiar to them. What’s similar? What’s different? What would they like to experience from another country’s traditions?
This activity pairs well with a social studies lesson or a classroom study of holiday traditions around the world.
Writing skills to practice: Informational writing, comparing and contrasting, and summarizing information.
Want to make this activity even easier? For a ready-to-print option, my Christmas Around the World Writing Activities Pack walks students through the writing process with brainstorming maps, practice sentence sheets, final draft pages, and craft toppers. It includes options for the following countries: America, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Sweden.
7. Write About a Favorite Holiday Tradition
Students can write about a holiday tradition they enjoy with their family, friends, or classroom community.
Start with a brainstorming session. What is something they look forward to each December? It might be decorating, baking, reading a special book, watching a favorite movie, giving gifts, or spending time together.
Have students explain what the tradition is, what happens, and why it is meaningful to them. If a student doesn’t celebrate Christmas or doesn’t have a particular holiday tradition, they can write about a favorite winter activity or a special tradition from their classroom or community instead.
This is a simple way to practice personal narrative writing while giving students a chance to share a little about themselves.
Writing skills to practice: Personal narratives, sequencing, and adding meaningful details.
8. Write a How-To: Make a Holiday Treat or Decoration
Procedural writing becomes much more engaging when students write about something they can picture making!
Ask students to choose a holiday treat, decoration, or craft and explain how to make it. They could describe how to decorate a cookie, make a paper snowflake, wrap a present, or create a simple classroom decoration.
Remind students to include the materials or ingredients needed and list the steps in the correct order. Transition words such as first, next, then, and finally can help their directions make sense.
If you have time, have students exchange instructions with a partner. Can their partner follow the directions?
Writing skills to practice: Procedural writing, sequencing, and transition words.
9. Describe the Perfect Christmas Gift
What would make the perfect Christmas gift? It doesn’t have to be something expensive or something a student can buy.
Invite students to imagine a gift they’d love to give or receive. It might be a book, a special experience, a homemade present, or something completely imaginary.
Have them describe the gift using specific details. What does it look like? How would it be used? Why would it be special?
You can also turn this into a persuasive writing activity by asking students to explain why their chosen gift would be the best one to give someone.
Writing skills to practice: Descriptive language, elaboration, and opinion writing.
10. Create a Christmas Acrostic Poem
Acrostic poems are a simple way to bring a little poetry into your December writing plans.
Choose a word like CHRISTMAS, WINTER, SNOW, or JOY. Students then write the word vertically down the side of the page and use each letter to begin a word, phrase, or sentence related to the topic.
For example, a poem using the word SNOW might include descriptions of winter weather, outdoor activities, or the feeling of watching snow fall.
S – Skiing down a mountain
N – Nose is frosty
O – Only the sound of snow beneath my skis
W – White snow is all around me
Younger students can write single words or short phrases, while older students can create complete lines with more descriptive language.
Then pull out the glitter and glue! Have students add illustrations or festive borders to make their poems ready to display.
Writing skills to practice: Vocabulary, word choice, poetry, and descriptive language.
11. Use Quick Christmas Writing Prompts for Daily Practice
December can be such a busy month, so don’t feel pressured to make every writing activity a big project. Short Christmas writing prompts are perfect for morning work, writing warm-ups, early finishers, or those days when your schedule looks a little different… like when you’re working around a special assembly or holiday party, perhaps?
For a low-key, easy-to-implement writing option, try giving students one prompt each day with a set amount of time to write. Depending on their grade level, they might write a few sentences or develop a complete paragraph. But you can keep it simple, i.e. here’s the prompt, open your notebook, and write for 10 minutes.
Here are some seasonally relevant prompts to try:
- If I could spend one day at the North Pole, I would…
- The funniest thing that could happen on Christmas Eve is…
- If I could invent a new holiday tradition, it would be…
- My favorite winter activity is…
- If I could give one special gift to the world, it would be…
- The best way to spread kindness during the holidays is…
- If I were in charge of planning a classroom holiday party, I would…
You can keep the prompts open-ended or connect them to the type of writing you’re currently teaching. For example, ask students to write an opinion paragraph, tell a story, or explain their reasoning.
Writing skills to practice: Writing fluency, idea generation, and different types of writing.
12. Publish and Display Student Christmas Writing
Give students an audience for their writing by turning finished pieces into a classroom display or a small collection of published work!
Students can illustrate their stories, add a final title, and prepare their writing to share with classmates. You could create a Christmas writing bulletin board, assemble a class book, or invite students to read their work aloud.
Students’ completed writing craftivities are especially fun to showcase in the hallway or around the classroom. Their finished writing and holiday-themed craft can come together to create a display that celebrates both their creativity and their writing progress.
Remember that the goal isn’t perfect writing. It’s giving students a chance to see how their ideas can grow from a first draft into a finished piece they’re proud to share.
Writing skills to practice: Revising, editing, publishing, and sharing writing with an audience.
Make Your December Writing Plans Easier
The holiday season is busy enough without adding elaborate writing projects to your to-do list! A mix of quick prompts, ready-to-print creative writing projects, and longer writing activities can help keep students engaged while continuing to practice important writing skills.
If you’re looking for a ready-to-use option, my Christmas Writing Craftivities Pack includes creative prompts, brainstorming pages, sentence practice sheets, final draft pages, and festive craft toppers to help students take their writing from an idea to a finished project you can proudly display.
And if you’d like to try one before using the full pack, remember to grab the free Christmas writing craftivity sample by joining my email list!
I hope these Christmas writing activities make your December plans a little easier and give your students plenty of opportunities to write, create, and share their ideas.
Looking for a fun way to show off your students’ holiday writing? Check out these Christmas Bulletin Board Ideas for inspiration to create a festive classroom display!
