EASY Holiday Learning Activities for Busy Parents
The SIMPLEST Holiday Learning Activities for Busy Parents
December is magical… but it’s also chaotic. Between school events, cookie baking, shopping, and endless to-dos, most parents are craving easy, low-prep activities that keep kids engaged and learning.
As a former kindergarten teacher and mom of 3, I’m all about simple, festive ideas that take just a few minutes to set up using materials you already have at home. These activities build fine motor skills, color recognition, counting, pre-writing, and creativity—without adding more stress to your already full plate.
Below are 15 holiday learning activities, starting with the first few ideas featured in my Activity-a-Day Advent Calendar (a freebie you can download here!). Then you’ll find more hands-on, seasonal ideas that I’ve done with my own kids over the years some of which you can also find in my digital learning journal membership, or in my reusable winter activity book.
Let’s make holiday learning EASY!
Activities from My Advent Calendar (Days 1–5):
These are the first five activities from my Activity-a-Day Advent Calendar—each one quick, fun, and easy to adapt for ages 2-6.
1. Ornament Color Sorting
Use red, green, and yellow markers to draw three large ornaments on large paper (I use these easel paper rolls for activities like this). You can sort any colored objects depending on the age of your child - pom poms, legos, buttons, Christmas bows, OR turn it into a cutting activity by making a tray of red, green, and yellow paper scraps for them to cut and glue like I did here with my 5 year old!
Skills: color recognition, sorting, fine motor, language development
Extension: If sorting objects, use mini tongs for extra fine motor practice
2. Decorate a Christmas Tree
Draw a large Christmas tree on a big piece of paper (using that same easel paper) and provide dot stickers for your child to add ornaments or Christmas lights to the tree. This activity would also work great shrunken down into a learning journal. If you do the activity in a learning journal, you could also use dot markers to decorate!
Skills: spatial awareness, fine motor skills, language development, creativity
Try This: to work on color matching, use colored markers to draw dots around the Christmas tree for toddlers to match the dot stickers or dot markers to.
3. Color Candy Cane Stripes
Draw a large candy cane outline and let kids color in the stripes using crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
Skills: patterning, pre-writing skills, color matching, fine motor skills
Modification: For older kids, challenge them to create AB, AAB, or ABC patterns
4. Build a Snowman with Play-Doh
Use white play doh + either simple loose parts (googly eyes, beads, pipe cleaners) OR more colored play doh to build a snowman.
Skills: dexterity, fine motor pinching, creativity and pretend play
Teacher Tip: Talk about “first, next, last” to build sequencing skills
5. Hot Cocoa Counting Cups
Write numbers on disposable cups. Kids count and add “marshmallows” (cotton balls or pom poms) to match the numbers. I found festive “to-go” cups at Target (or check Dollar Tree!) and cut the mouth part a little bigger to also make it a fine motor activity!
Skills: counting, number recognition, fine motor
Add-On: If you don’t have cups with lids, use tongs for transferring—great for strengthening little hands!
Again, these are just the first 5 days of activities from my Activity-a-Day Advent Calendar - if you like these and would love 18 more simple ideas to follow throughout December, download your freebie here!
More Easy, Festive Learning Activities
Here are some more ideas I’ve done with my own kids over the years…
6. Jingle Bell Color Sort (Fine Motor Boost!)
You’ll need:
3 colored bowls
mini tongs
3 colors of jingle bells
Kids sort bells by color using tongs.
Skills: fine motor, color recognition
Safety Note: Always supervise toddlers when using small objects.
7. Holiday Sensory Bin (with Crinkle Paper)
Fill a bin (literally just a clear, plastic storage bin) with red/green crinkle paper, mini ornaments (check Dollar Tree or your local craft store), festive cups, and/or tiny metal buckets.
Skills: sensory exploration, scooping/pouring, imaginative play
Tip: Add a pair of kid-safe tweezers or scoops to extend the play. If they’d be into it, give them a green and red bowl to try separating and sorting the crinkle paper!
8. Wrapping Paper Cutting Bin
Gather leftover wrapping paper scraps and place them in a bin with child-safe scissors.
Skills: scissor practice, fine motor, problem solving
Low Prep: This turns trash into purposeful practice!
9. Candy Cane Patterns (From My Winter Activity Book)
In my Reusable Winter Activity Book, kids build and complete patterns on candy canes using pom poms, removable dot stickers, bells, etc.
If you have the PDF version, you can also use dot markers!
We also pulled out pipe cleaners and pony beads and copied the patterns from the activity book by threading the beads - a great way to build fine motor skills!
Skills: patterning, early math concepts
Why I love it: It’s reusable and grows with kids!
Love the look + the ease of this winter activity book? Check out my blog post with all the details on this high-quality at-home learning resource!
10. Loose Parts Christmas Tree (Creativity + Fine Motor)
Cut out a large green tree from construction paper (or paint cardboard green). Offer loose parts in a tray—gems, ribbon, beads, pom poms, buttons. Kids glue on decorations.
Skills: gluing, creativity, small motor control
Tip: Practice tiny dots of glue (“just a dot, not a lot!”).
11. Christmas Bow Shape Match (Learning Journal Favorite!)
Draw a square “present” with a shape inside. Add matching shapes to the bottoms of Christmas bows. Kids match the bow to the present.
Skills: shape recognition, matching, language development
I have an entire blog post with more Christmas Learning Journal ideas you can check out here!
12. Christmas Light Letter Match
Two ways to play:
Learning Journal Version: One colored paper lightbulb for each letter in your child’s name. Cut, glue, and match.
Large Version: On big easel paper, draw a string of Christmas lights with letters from your child’s name in place of light bulbs. Assign a color code to the letters and use dot markers to dot the matching letters.
Skills: letter recognition, name spelling, color recognition and matching, spatial awareness, fine motor skills
Great For: ages 3–6
13. Festive Pom Pom Water Play
Fill a bin with water + sparkly red and green pom poms. Add scoops, cups, ladles.
Skills: sensory play, transferring, early science concepts
Pro Tip: Place a towel under the bin. Set clear boundaries: “Water stays in the tub.”
14. Baby/Toddler Sticky Christmas Bows (12 Months+)
Tape Christmas bows (Dollar Tree) to the wall using painter’s tape. Let babies/toddlers pull them off and “collect” them in a bin. Repeat again and again!
Skills: gross motor, hand-eye coordination, language development
Variation: Stick bows on a low window for a new surface.
Safety Tip: Always supervise babies and toddlers with painter’s tape.
15. Painter’s Tape Cookie Cutter Rescue (12–24 Months)
Tape plastic holiday cookie cutters to a baking tray using red & green painter’s tape. Let babies/toddlers “rescue” the cutters by peeling the tape.
Skills: finger strength, problem solving, hand-eye coordination
If you love these last two, I also have a whole blog post with more painter’s tape activities for ages 1–2!
Want More Easy Toddler Ideas?
If you liked these activities, you’ll love:
My blog post with even more baby/toddler activities (non-seasonal!)
My post with super simple activities for 1–2 year olds
My digital membership, which includes 4 age-grouped guides full of hundreds of learning journal ideas plus a growing and monthly updated library of printable activities
And all my reusable, wipe-clean activity books—the most perfect indoor activities for this time of year!
December doesn’t need more complexity or stress. These intentional, low-prep ideas can go a long way in keeping kids engaged, connected, and learning at home.
You’ve got this—and I’m always here to help you make playtime and learning at home easier!❤️
