Are you looking for fun Christmas sensory activities for kids?! You will love these options!
Whether you’re looking for a sensory bin or a sensory craft, I have you covered with these fun options! The best part?! These sensory activities are low prep, use items you have on-hand, and are themed for Christmas!
Gearing up for Christmas?! You will also love this list of holiday books!
Christmas Sensory Bins for Kids
Sensory bins are a great activity with kids – it leads to fine motor development, open-ended play, STEM exploration, hands-on learning, exploration of cause and effect, and so much more. In other words, your kids are developing in countless ways all while having FUN!
These are my two favorite Christmas Sensory Bins!!
Melt and Thaw Christmas Sensory Activity
Materials: ice cube tray, red and green objects (like pompoms and counting bears), pipette or medicine dropper (for dropping the warm water on the ice), salt (optional), and food coloring (optional).
Directions: Freeze objects in the ice cube tray with dyed water the day before. Next, place the frozen cubes in a bin and let kiddos explore melting with warm water.
Why: This Christmas sensory activity is an amazing opportunity for STEM learning for kids!! They’re exploring cause and effect as they melt the ice and release the objects! This is also great for fine motor development. Most importantly, kids are able to direct their own learning and explore the materials in ways that interest them!!
Want more sensory play ideas?! Check out this list of over 100 Sensory Bin Fillers for Kids!!
Fizzy Christmas Sensory Bin
Materials: baking soda, vinegar, cookie cutters, pipette or medicine dropper, food coloring (optional)
Directions: To begin with, set cookie cutters in a bin. After that, fill each with baking soda and prep cups of vinegar (may add food coloring if desired). Finally, let kiddos explore adding vinegar to the shapes!
Why: This festive sensory bin and STEM experiment is a total slam dunk!! Kids get to explore cause and effect, develop fine motor skills, and engage in self directed exploration. Overall, this is a total winner for us, because it holds my kids’ interest and keeps them engaged.
Play Dough Christmas Sensory Activity for Kids
2 ingredient play dough recipe!! Most importantly, this is a NO bake play dough recipe! No bake sensory recipes are always a win here!
On top of that, you probably have everything you need on hand. And it’s SO dang easy!!!
Materials: 1/3 cup baby lotion (+ food coloring optional!), 2/3 cup cornstarch
Directions: stir well and then knead until fully mixed!! Silky gluten free play dough!!
Why: this fabulous holiday sensory activity ticks all the boxes!! This activity offers fine motor development, can be a calming strategy for kids, STEAM exploration, and hands-on learning. Plus homemade play dough is just plain fun – all of this rolled into one easy kids’ sensory activity!
Holiday Sensory Bag for Kids
Fine motor sensory bags are SO fun for fine motor development and as a calming strategy! They’re also taste safe. As a result, this sensory bag is one of the best Christmas Sensory Activities for kids or babies of all ages!!
Materials: gallon bag, hair gel or body wash/shower gel, painters tape, pompoms, permanent marker. (You can also use nail polish remover to remove any label on the gallon bag!)
Directions: draw any image desired on the gallon bag (I did a tree and circle for the ornaments/pompoms), fill the gallon bag with the body wash or hair gel, add food coloring as desired, and add the pompoms. Tape to the table or window with thick painters tape.
Why: Support diverse needs by offering high interest calming options like a Christmas Sensory Bag!! Moving objects around inside the bag is soothing and calming for many kids (and adults!). Similarly, watching the gel flow and moving it side to side is often relaxing!
Christmas Sensory Crafts for Kids
DIY Puffy Paint Sensory Craft
Materials: shaving cream, school glue (like white Elmer’s glue), paint brush, thick paper, food coloring (optional)
Directions: first, draw any image desired on the gallon bag (I did the outline of a tree). Second, mix 1:1 ratio of school glue and shaving cream with food coloring (the recipe is very forgiving). Finally, paint the puffy paint onto the images to make trees, snowmen, or anything you like!!
Why: this is SO FUN. The paint dries solid, and it really catches kids’ attention! Therefore, if you’re looking to switch it up and try painting in a new way, this sensory activity is for you!!
Q-Tip Painted Lights Sensory Craft
Materials: thick paper, paint, Q-Tips, silver or black marker
Directions: first, draw the string on the paper! Following that, kids can use the q-tip to dot the lights along to sting the lights.
Why: this sensory craft offers excellent fine motor development. Additionally, the repeating motion of dipping in the paint and stamping is calming for many kids! (Did you know the repetitive motions like string beads is calming and centering for kids and adults?!)
Pompom Painted Trees – Sensory Craft
Materials: thick paper, paint, clothespin, painters tape)
Directions: cut out a shape (I did a tree) and tape it to the paper. Use the clothespin and cotton ball to stamp around the shape. Lift the shape to reveal the image when done!
Why: This is another fun sensory craft for fine motor development, self expression, and exploring cause and effect! Consequently, kids are learning and developing fine motor skills all while having fun!!
To sum it up, I hope you and your family enjoy these Christmas sensory activities for kids and they bring joy to your holiday season!! The holiday season can be busy, but I hope you can slow down enough to enjoy those little moments with your kids. Above all else, I can promise that the thing they care about most is spending time with YOU. Perfection certainly isn’t needed!!
Thanks so much for reading!
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