Christmas Around the World Activities For Your Classroom
Have you decided to do a Christmas around-the-world unit with your class? Are you looking for Christmas around the world activities for your upper elementary school classroom?
If so, this post is for you. Let’s take your students on an imaginary journey around the world.
Check out these ideas for creating an immersive experience. I’ve gathered information about how Christmas is celebrated in 10 different countries. I’ve also found resources like videos and books to help you plan your unit.
Set The Scene For The Christmas Around The World Activities
Your Christmas around-the-world unit should be fun and immersive. Here are a few ways you can take it up a notch.
Set the scene with decorations. Make tablecloths from red bulletin board paper and hang up flags for the different countries.
Or, go all out and turn your classroom into a virtual airplane by moving the furniture and using bulletin paper decorations. If you have an interactive whiteboard, you can even play a flight simulation video and print pretend boarding passes. You could even dress up as a flight attendant or a tour guide if you want.
Music and food are also great ways to bring your unit to life. Try to find some Christmas music from each country to play in the background and recruit some help from your students’ families to get some special snacks like German gingerbread cookies, panettone from Italy, or a piñata with Mexican candy.
You might also want to build some background knowledge with a video. about Christmas traditions around the world. I’ve listed a few below, but be sure to preview them to see if they’re suitable for your specific classroom.
Ready to start exploring? Don’t forget your passport! Grab a free holiday passport for your students to use as you explore each of the countries.
Visit Each Destination With Fun Christmas Around The World Activities
Now that you’ve gotten some ideas for setting the scene, let’s talk about each country. Students can learn about the traditions of each country by reading nonfiction passages, they can learn about folklore through short stories, and they can experience the culture through any snacks or music that you share.
Souvenirs are a part of any major trip. This Christmas around-the-world trip is no different. During the unit, your students can take notes on each country and assemble them into a suitcase, and each student can pick one country to write a report on. The reports and suitcases look great displayed around the room.
1. Germany
Gift Giver: St. Nicolas on December 5th and Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas) or Christkind on Christmas Eve
Date Celebrated: Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th. Advent (the 4 weeks before Christmas) is also an important part of the season in Germany.
Some Popular Foods: sausages, roast goose, roast pork, turkey cabbage, duck, carp, sauerkraut, roasted nuts, stollen, star cookies, springerle, gingerbread, marzipan, and chocolate
Fun Fact: Did you know that Christmas trees originally came from Germany? Gingerbread cookies also came from Germany.
2. Italy
Gift Giver: La Befana is the traditional gift giver. She brings gifts on January 6th for Epiphany. In some parts of Italy, Saint Lucia brings treats on December 13th too. Babbo Natale (Father Christmas) also commonly brings gifts on Christmas Eve. The gift-giving traditions vary by region.
Date Celebrated: Italy celebrates Christmas on December 25th.
Some Popular Foods: chicken and stuffing, baked eel, seafood, pasta, and panettone
Fun Fact: One building in Milan, Italy, turns into a living Advent calendar each year. one more window opens each day. A musician plays from each window.
3. Mexico
Gift Giver: Santa comes on Christmas Eve in some parts of Mexico. In other regions, children receive their gifts from the Magi on el Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings’ Day).
Date Celebrated: Although Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th, the Christmas season in Mexico runs from the middle of December until February 2nd.
Some Popular Foods: tortillas, tamales, sweetbreads, hot chocolate, turkey, fish, steak, and punch
Fun Fact: One popular tradition is Los Pastorelas. Los Pastorelas are a type of Christmas play about the shepherds from the first Christmas.
4. France
Gift Giver: Père Noël (Father Christmas) comes on Christmas Eve.
Date Celebrated: Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th.
Some Popular Foods: roast goose, turkey, chestnuts, oysters, bread, pate, lamb, cheeses, salad, fruit, crepes, marzipan, and a chocolate log
Fun Fact: Every child who writes to Father Christmas receives a postcard from him. It’s the law in France!
5. Australia
Gift Giver: Santa Claus gives gifts in Australia.
Date Celebrated: Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th, which is in the summer in Australia.
Some Popular Foods: lamb, ham, barbequed seafood, billy can pudding, drover’s plum pudding, and a fruit and nut salad
Fun Fact: Santa uses six white kangaroos instead of reindeer in Australia
6. England
Gift Giver: Father Christmas (also called Santa) is the gift giver.
Date Celebrated: December 25th
Some Popular Foods: wassail, plum pudding, mince pies, turkey, goose, stuffing, roast vegetables, sausages, cranberry sauce, Christmas pudding, trifle, and Christmas cake
Fun Fact: A Christmas cracker is a small package holding toys, candy, a paper hat, and sometimes other small items. People pull on the Christmas crackers, and they pop open revealing a surprise.
7. Russia
Gift Giver: Russians don’t usually exchange gifts on Christmas Day. Instead, people give gifts on New Year’s Eve. Ded Moroz (Father Frost) and his granddaughter, Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden), bring gifts on the night of New Year’s Eve.
Date Celebrated: Most Russians celebrate Christmas Day on January 7th, but the official government holiday period runs from December 3rd until January 10th.
Some Popular Foods: olivie salad, beet salad, smoked herring, sauerkraut, porridge dishes, kutya, kissel, tea, and tangerines
Fun Fact: From 1917 to 1991, Russia was ruled by a communist government. Public displays of religion were banned, and many Russian Christmas traditions changed during that time.
8. The Netherlands
Gift Giver: Sinterklass (St. Nicholas) brings gifts on December 5th. On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus brings more presents.
Date Celebrated: Christmas is celebrated on December 25th and December 26th. The days are known as First and Second Christmas.
Some Popular Foods: shrimp, smoked fish, eel, roasted meats, seasonal vegetables, boiled chestnuts, marzipan, apple fritters, pastries, kerststol, stollen, cookies, and hot chocolate
Fun Fact: In some parts of the Netherlands, mid-winter horn-blowing is a tradition that marks the Advent season.
9. Brazil
Gift Giver: Papai Noel (Father Christmas) is the gift giver in Brazil.
Date Celebrated: Christmas Day is on December 25th, but most Brazilians do the majority of their celebrating on Christmas Eve. The Christmas season begins in early December and lasts until Three Kings’ Day on January 6th.
Some Popular Foods: roast turkey, stuffing, dried cod, fruit, and rabanada
Fun Fact: In Rio de Janeiro, the world’s largest floating Christmas tree is set up each year.
10. Sweden
Gift Giver: Jutomten is the gift giver in Sweden.
Date Celebrated: The season starts with St. Lucia’s Day on December 13th. Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th. The season wraps up with St. Knut’s Day on January 13th.
Some Popular Foods: fish, potatoes, soup, ham, rye bread, gubbröra, and rice pudding
Fun Fact: Gifts are often accompanied by poems and riddles that give clues about what is being given.
Plan your Christmas Around The World Activities The Easy Way
I hope you’ve gotten plenty of Christmas around the world activities and ideas to help your class explore holiday traditions around the world. I’ve put together informational reading passages, the suitcase craft, the holiday passport, and Christmas around the world writing pennants for each of the countries in this post. You can get them all at my TPT store.
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“These are great articles for the Holidays Around the World studies! They are engaging and informative! I’m getting great conversations from my students about what they are learning! The reading level of the passages is great for my class!” – Janet ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Don’t forget your passport!
If you’re going to travel abroad, you’ll need a passport. Get the free holiday passport so your students can collect their passport stamps as they travel throughout each of the countries.
