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The short answer: the best Christmas around the world activities for K to 3 turn your classroom into a trip. Give every child a passport, put up a big world map, visit one or two countries a day, and finish each stop with a simple craft that shows a real tradition, like a parol star from the Philippines or a Santa Lucia crown from Sweden.
I work in an elementary classroom, and a Christmas around the world week is one of the calmest ways to fill the busy days before winter break. Children are learning geography, listening to stories from other cultures and making something every day, and the passport keeps them excited to see where they are flying next.
Stock up on these and you can run almost every activity below (we earn a small commission if you buy, at no cost to you):
- Crayola construction paper bulk pack: every country in this post starts with paper.
- Elmer’s disappearing purple glue sticks: goes on purple so children can see where they glued, dries clear.
- Pacon Fadeless bulletin board paper: a roll in blue makes the ocean for your world map display.
- pipe cleaners: for parol star frames, lantern handles and kangaroo tails.
- Crayola washable paint: for clogs, beach scenes and Christmas cakes.
SaveFree printable
Free Dear Santa and Dear Winter Letters
Letter pages at two levels (K to 1 and 2 to 5), fold-up envelopes and a 2 minute calm moment to start. A cozy December writing lesson.
Free download. You will also get a couple of follow-up emails with classroom ideas. Unsubscribe anytime.
Before you start: a 2 minute setup tip
Decide your countries and your order before you print anything, and pin a small flag or picture for each one on the map now. Then each morning you only need to say where the class is flying today. Keep one tray of supplies per table and a folder for each child so the crafts from every country end up in one place.
Get your class ready to travel
1. Plan one country a day
SavePut a simple travel plan on the board: one or two countries a day for a week. Each stop has a short story or video, a fact or two, a craft and a passport stamp. Children love the routine, and you only plan one stop at a time.
You need: a list of countries, a picture or flag for each one, a sticky note to show where the class is today.
2. Make a big world map display
SaveCover a wall in blue paper for the ocean and add the continents in green. Each day, run a piece of red yarn from your town to the country you are visiting and pin that day’s crafts around it. By the end of the week the map tells the story of your trip.
You need: blue bulletin board paper, green construction paper, red yarn and pins.
3. Give everyone a paper suitcase
SaveFold a large sheet of card into a folder, add a handle and let children decorate it like a suitcase. Every craft and worksheet goes inside, so nothing gets lost and children carry the whole trip home on the last day.
You need: large card or file folders, pipe cleaners for handles, crayons.
4. Christmas around the world passports
SaveA passport is what makes this feel like a real trip. Each child gets a booklet with a page for every country. After each stop they draw one thing they learned and get a stamp. Even kindergarten children can draw a picture and point to the stamp proudly.
You need: a folded paper booklet per child, a stamp or stickers for each country, crayons.
Want it ready to print? Our Christmas Around the World Passport has 10 country pages, travel stamps and a World Traveler certificate, in US Letter and A4.
Mexico
5. Las Posadas paper lanterns
SaveIn Mexico, Las Posadas runs for nine nights from December 16 to 24. Families walk from house to house with candles, singing and remembering Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay, and each night ends with food and a party. Children fold and cut paper lanterns, then carry them in a short classroom walk.
You need: colored construction paper, scissors, a stapler or glue sticks.
6. Star piñata craft
SaveThe classic Christmas piñata in Mexico is a star with seven points, often filled with fruit and candy and broken at the end of a posada. Children make a mini version from a paper plate with seven paper cones and bright tissue paper streamers. No hitting needed.
You need: paper plates, card cones, tissue paper streamers, glue sticks.
Germany
7. Paper Advent calendar
SaveAdvent calendars began in Germany, where children count down the days to Christmas by opening a little door each morning. Children make a simple calendar from a paper house or tree with flaps to lift, with a small drawing behind each one.
You need: card, small paper squares for flaps, glue sticks, crayons.
8. Hide the pickle ornament
SaveMany Americans call the hidden pickle ornament a German tradition, though most families in Germany have never heard of it. It is a fun chance to talk about how stories travel between countries. Children paint a paper pickle, you hide one on the class tree, and the finder gets a small job like leading the line.
You need: green paper or green paint, a small class tree.
Italy
9. La Befana mini broom
SaveIn Italy, children hear about La Befana, a kind old woman who flies on her broom on the night of January 5 and fills stockings with sweets. Children make a tiny broom from a craft stick with a fringed paper brush, and a paper stocking to go with it.
You need: craft sticks, brown and yellow construction paper, glue, scissors.
Sweden
10. Santa Lucia candle crown
SaveOn December 13, Sweden celebrates Lucia Day. One child dresses in a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles, and others follow singing, with boys often joining as star boys in tall pointed hats. Children make a paper crown with green leaves and paper candles, or a star boy hat.
You need: a green paper band, white and yellow construction paper, a stapler.
11. Lussekatter dough buns
SaveSwedish families bake lussekatter, saffron buns rolled into an S shape with a raisin in each curl, for Lucia Day. Children roll yellow play dough into S shapes and add brown pom poms for raisins. It is great fine motor practice.
You need: yellow play dough, small brown pom poms.
The Philippines
12. Parol star lantern
SaveIn the Philippines, the Christmas season starts in September, and homes and streets glow with parols: bright star shaped lanterns that stand for the star of Bethlehem. Children build a five point star from craft sticks or pipe cleaners, cover it with tissue paper and add two long tails.
You need: craft sticks or pipe cleaners, colored tissue paper, glue, paper streamers.
Australia
13. Beach Christmas scene
SaveChristmas in Australia falls in summer, so many families spend the day at the beach, have a barbecue or eat outside. Children paint a sunny beach scene and add a Santa hat on a sandcastle. Mix a little sand into the glue for real texture.
You need: blue and yellow washable paint, sand, glue, red and white paper.
14. Six white kangaroos
SaveIn a popular Australian Christmas song, six white kangaroos pull Santa’s sleigh instead of reindeer. Children cut out white paper kangaroos and line them up in front of a paper sleigh on the wall. Count them, add them, and sing along.
You need: white and red construction paper, a kangaroo template, pipe cleaners for reins.
Japan
15. Christmas cake craft
SaveOnly a small number of people in Japan are Christian, so Christmas there is mostly a cheerful, fun time rather than a religious holiday. A favorite tradition is Christmas cake: a light sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries. Children make one from a paper plate with cotton ball cream and red pom pom strawberries.
You need: paper plates, cotton balls, red pom poms, glue.
16. Origami Christmas tree
SaveOrigami, the art of paper folding, comes from Japan. A simple folded tree uses three or four green squares stacked from big to small. Second and third graders can fold their own, and younger children can stack pre folded pieces.
You need: green paper squares in three sizes, a brown trunk, glue sticks.
From the Shinku shop
A Christmas party that stays calm
The Calm Christmas Party Pack has picture bingo with 30 different cards, would you rather cards, 40 gift tags and a simple 60 minute plan, so the party stays fun without tipping into chaos.
The United Kingdom
17. Christmas crackers
SaveIn the United Kingdom, families pull Christmas crackers at dinner. Two people tug each end, it snaps, and out falls a paper crown, a joke and a tiny toy. Children wrap a cardboard tube in paper, tie the ends and tuck a joke and a paper crown inside. Leave out the snap.
You need: cardboard tubes, wrapping or construction paper, ribbon, paper crowns.
18. Design a Christmas jumper
SaveMany schools in the UK hold a Christmas Jumper Day, when children wear a festive sweater (a jumper in British English) to school. Children decorate a paper sweater with stripes, snowflakes and pom poms, and you peg them on a line like a washing line.
You need: sweater templates, crayons, pom poms, glue.
The Netherlands
19. Shoes for Sinterklaas
SaveIn the Netherlands, Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat in mid November. Before his visit, children leave a shoe by the fireplace with a carrot or hay for his horse, and on the evening of December 5 families swap small gifts. Children paint a paper clog, add a paper carrot and line them up by the door.
You need: clog templates, washable paint, orange and green paper.
20. Sinterklaas steamboat
SaveChildren cut and glue a simple paper steamboat with a funnel and portholes, then float it across a blue paper sea on the world map from Spain to the Netherlands. A nice way to practice reading a map.
You need: construction paper in red, white and black, glue, scissors.
Brazil
21. Amigo secreto kindness swap
SaveIn Brazil, Christmas falls in summer, and many families play amigo secreto, or secret friend: everyone draws a name and gives that person a small gift. In class, children draw a name and make a card or drawing for their secret friend, then guess who made theirs.
You need: names in a hat, card, crayons, glue sticks.
Bring the whole trip together
22. Class tree of the world
SaveEach child picks a favorite country and makes one ornament for the class tree: a parol, a star piñata, a clog or a cracker. The finished tree is a lovely recap of the whole trip.
You need: a small tree or a paper tree on the wall, ornaments from the week.
23. Merry Christmas greetings garland
SaveChildren copy Merry Christmas in a language from the trip onto a paper pennant: Feliz Navidad, Frohe Weihnachten, Buon Natale, God Jul, Maligayang Pasko, Vrolijk Kerstfeest and Feliz Natal. Hang them across the room and practice saying one each morning.
You need: paper triangles, markers, string.
24. Postcard home from the trip
SaveOn the last day, children choose a favorite country and draw a postcard showing what they learned, then write a sentence on the back for their family. It is a simple writing task and a sweet keepsake.
You need: blank postcard sized card, crayons, pencils.
How to run a Christmas around the world week
Two countries a day over five days covers all ten countries in this post. Start each stop with the map and the passport, share a short picture book or video, make the craft, then stamp passports at the end. Here is a plan that works with K to 3:
Monday: hand out passports and suitcases, put up the world map, then visit Mexico for the paper lanterns and star piñata.
Tuesday: Germany and the Netherlands. Make an Advent calendar, hide the pickle and paint clogs for Sinterklaas.
Wednesday: Sweden and Italy. Santa Lucia crowns in the morning, La Befana brooms after lunch.
Thursday: the Philippines and Japan. Build parol star lanterns and fold origami trees.
Friday: Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Paint beach scenes, play amigo secreto and pull your crackers at a small class party, then send suitcases and postcards home.
Keeping it inclusive for every family
Some families in your class may not celebrate Christmas, and that is fine. Frame the week as learning how people around the world celebrate, rather than asking children to celebrate themselves, and send a short note home before you start so families know what to expect. Keep crafts cultural rather than religious, and always have an alternative ready, like a snowflake or winter scene, for any child who prefers it.
You can also widen the trip to winter traditions beyond Christmas: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, or Dongzhi, the winter solstice festival in China. Best of all, invite families to share their own traditions. A parent talking about how their family celebrates is often the highlight of the week.
Classroom craft supplies on Amazon
Christmas around the world books on Amazon
Keep reading
- 26 easy Christmas crafts for the classroom
- 24 Christmas classroom party ideas that aren’t total chaos
- 20 Christmas classroom displays parents will love
- 27 December bulletin board ideas for every winter theme
Frequently asked questions
They are lessons and crafts that teach children how Christmas is celebrated in different countries. A typical unit uses a passport, a world map and one craft for each country, such as a star piñata from Mexico or a parol lantern from the Philippines.
Keep each stop short: find the country on the map, share one picture book or video, make one simple craft and stamp the passport. Kindergarten children do best with cutting already done and crafts they can finish in 20 to 30 minutes.
Mexico, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Philippines, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Brazil give a good mix of traditions, climates and continents. If children in your class have family in other countries, add those too.
Most teachers run it for one week with two countries a day. You can also stretch it to two weeks with one country a day, which leaves more time for stories and writing.
Present the unit as learning about how other people celebrate, keep crafts cultural rather than religious, let families know ahead of time, and add other winter traditions like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Lunar New Year. Always have an alternative craft ready.
About the author: Shinku Studio is written by someone who works in an elementary classroom every day. These are activities that run well with real classes, with the supply lists kept as short as possible.