As the festive season approaches and the tinsel starts appearing in classroom corners, many teachers find themselves navigating the delicate balance between maintaining order and embracing the mounting Christmas excitement. Whether you're an early career teacher facing your first December in the classroom or a seasoned professional seeking fresh ideas, these practical tips will help you harness seasonal energy whilst keeping your sanity intact.
10 tips for primary teachers to survive the pre-Christmas chaos
From creative teaching strategies to festive teaching resources that save you time, we've gathered our best tips and tricks to help you not just survive, but thrive during this magical (albeit slightly chaotic) time of year.
1. Embrace the festive spirit (within reason)
Add Christmas-themed elements to your lessons to boost engagement. This festive approach keeps children focused while bringing joy to the classroom. Here are some brilliant ideas to spark excitement in your class while helping children meet key learning objectives.
Countdown to Christmas activities
Christmas literacy resources
For EYFS
- It's Christmas! - Bingo picture and word boards
- Christmas word hunt
- Christmas initial sounds - label and colour
For KS1
For KS2
- Letter to Scrooge writing activity
- Christmas persuasive writing
- A Christmas Carol - questions and activities
Christmas maths resources
For EYFS
For KS1
- Help your elf! Christmas word problems for year 1
- Christmas stars — shape investigation
- Fraction Christmas baubles
For KS2
Christmas games, puzzles and quizzes
Explore all Christmas resources for EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
2. Maintain routines (with a twist)
Stick to your usual timetable, but add festive elements. For example, use Christmas songs for transition times or holiday-themed reward systems. For younger children, you could create a Christmas tree themed reward chart, where children earn baubles for positive behaviour. For older children, you could try a ‘Polar Express’ ticket system in which children earn golden tickets for behaviour or academic achievements. Class rewards could include storytime with hot chocolate, a Christmas film afternoon, or extra playtime with festive music.
3. Plan strategic breaks
Schedule short, festive-themed brain breaks throughout the day. A quick round of 'Pin the Nose on Rudolph' or a Christmas-themed Simon Says can help children refocus. On YouTube, Santa Says or Gingerbread Man Chase are fun ways to help children move their bodies for a quick Christmassy brain break. For something calmer, try Snowy Sensation, a wintery mindfulness brain break activity.
4. Take learning outside
Take advantage of the crisp winter air with outdoor lessons. This Outdoor learning pack is brimming with teaching ideas and resources to get children learning outside any time of the year. It features seasonal ideas, including those that celebrate the outdoors during winter.
In the run-up to Christmas, you might like to get children exploring the winter world through these outdoor activities:
- Become nature detectives by looking for signs of hibernating animals
- Plan a day of foraging and nest-building (perfect for mapping skills!)
- Design treasure maps and story trails around the playground, perhaps leading to Father Christmas's workshop
- Practise memory skills by hiding and finding pinecones and conkers, just like woodland creatures do
- Get creative with natural materials to craft beautiful Christmas decorations from twigs, holly and pine cones
- Become weather watchers by measuring rainfall, checking temperatures and tracking winter weather patterns
- Set up a winter bird café and observe which feathered friends come to visit (keeping a tally chart is brilliant for maths!)
5. Collaborate on classroom decorations
Involve students in decorating the classroom—it can be tied into art lessons and gives them a sense of ownership over their learning environment. These Christmas door decoration ideas include plenty of creative options, from snow globe selfies to cosy Christmas stockings. DIY bauble crafts offer another engaging way for children to personalize their learning space. These can decorate an old artificial Christmas tree or be strung across the room.
6. Implement a kindness calendar
Create a class advent calendar focused on acts of kindness. Each day, children can perform a small act of kindness, fostering a positive classroom atmosphere. Use this advent calendar template and these acts of kindness ideas to get started. Alternatively, create a festive-themed ‘kindness jar’ which children fill with slips of paper describing their acts of kindness.
7. Organise a class 'Secret Santa' for good deeds
Assign each student a classmate to secretly do nice things for throughout the week. This promotes thoughtfulness and can be a fun, ongoing activity.
8. Create a festive reading nook
Set up a cosy corner with holiday-themed books and soft lighting. This can be a reward for completed work or a calming space for overstimulated students.
9. Plan a 'Christmas around the world' project
Explore how different cultures celebrate winter holidays. This can tie into geography, RE and cultural studies while broadening children’s perspectives. These Christmas traditions in the UK and Christmas traditions around the world comprehension tasks are a great for introducing the project while building important reading and comprehension skills.
10. Prepare for the last day wisely
For the final day before your break up for the holidays, plan calm yet engaging activities. You might show a class film with educational connections or set up festive activity stations where students can work quietly. This Christmas craft and colouring pack provides peaceful, creative options and our Christmas resource collections offer many resources to match your class's needs.
Final thoughts
While maintaining routine and structure is crucial in these final weeks before the Christmas holidays, embracing the season's excitement can wonderfully engage and motivate children. Our Christmas resources for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 provide engaging ways to continue learning with a festive flair — and they'll save you precious time! Remember to stay flexible, keep your sense of humour, and most importantly, take time to enjoy the magic of the season yourself!
