Would you like to inject a little bit of learning into your holiday festivities? Here’s a great list of free activities that you and your children can enjoy together this holiday season.
ABC Snack: G Is for Gobble, Gobble
This adorable turkey snack from our ABC Snacks series is a perfect way to begin your holiday feast. It will add just the right touch to your Thanksgiving or Christmas menu! Try our yummy snack and practice letter G with your little one!
Brrr! It’s time to bundle up! Our full-color Polar Bear Pack contains 30 printable pages of delightful reading and spelling activities that are positively popping with polar bears. Download our fun-filled Arctic activity collection for free!
Favorite Picture Books for Christmas
Take time out from the busyness of the season for family read-alouds! Whether it’s the story of a magical journey to the North Pole or a life-changing moment for an ornery camel, you won’t want to miss even one! Download our library list!
Around the World with Holiday Picture Books
The holidays are a special time, and this wonderful collection of picture books celebrates the rich diversity of holiday traditions practiced by people all around the world. Check out a few of our favorites. Download our library list!
Create a Christmas Book Advent Calendar
If you’re looking for an extra special way to incorporate read-aloud time into your holiday festivities this year, why not create your own Christmas Book Advent Calendar. Read our post and download printable advent calendar tags.
Jólabókaflód: A Tradition for Book-Loving Families
Jólabókaflód is a “Christmas Book Flood”! It’s a wonderful Icelandic tradition that you can enjoy this year with your family. Read our blog post and discover eight different ways to bring the love of books into your home this holiday season!
Ready to light up the holidays? Illuminate your child’s love of letters with this festive lowercase letter craft! This cheery string of colorful lights will brighten up any room. And it’s bound to light up your preschooler’s face, too!
If the snow is piling up in the yard, it’s time to build a snowman! This collection of sweet picture books will inspire you to create some wintertime magic with your children. Download our library list!
Wonderful Picture Books for Winter
Ahh…winter! There’s just so much to love—especially curling up in front of a crackling fire with a blanket, a cup of tea, and a wonderful picture book for winter! And speaking of books, download our Library List and grab a few of our favorites!
ABC Snack: M Is for Marvelous Mittens
When winter arrives and the snow piles up, it’s time to break out the hats, scarves, and mittens! But not ALL mittens are for wearing. These mittens are for eating! Warm up with our yummy snack and practice letter M with your preschooler!
What’s your favorite way to add learning to your holidays celebrations?
Angie B
says:Thank you so much! These ideas are great and I especially love the Christmas book advent calendar. Definitely adding that to next year December activities!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceGreat idea, Angie! Now is the time to find great Christmas books on sale too.
Katie Norling
says:I love the Christmas book advent calendar idea!
Alonna koch
says:We love to read as many holiday books together as possible! Great suggestions.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Alonna!
Khristina
says:Great ideas. I’m always late In finding these! Lol
Robin
says: Customer ServiceNot late, Khristina. You are early for the 2023 holiday season!
Jen
says:Fun ideas! I love all the book lists and links to free printables. Thank you!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Jen!
AnnaG
says:Thanks for the ideas! We love having so.e new ideas for over the holidays ❣
Theresa Huff
says:These are great ideas for learning in fun holiday ways! I love the Advent books idea. Thank you for helping children love to read!
Ashley MacTavish
says:You are a wealth of knowledge! Thank you for the fun and creative holiday ideas❤️ I’ve been using all about reading/spelling for 11 years of homeschooling now! Can’t imagine life without you!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceAwww, thank you, Ashley! It’s so wonderful to hear that All About Reading and All About Spelling have worked out so well for you!
Heather
says:The snowman picture book is one of our favorites!
Melissa Hernandez
says:As year round homeschoolers our home education program looks differently a couple times a year . With one of those times being the time after Thanksgiving through the middle of January. During this time we drop our science & social studies along with some extra curricular activities . Replacing them with all the holiday homemaking activities & adventures. The kids continue to work on their weekly math , 1 Writing Lesson , & we sue this time to review words we have learned or need more practice on in our AAR . The kids also enjoyed rereading some of their favorite stories from their AAR readers. There is much slower pace when it comes to curriculum use but it doesn’t all stop all together much of what they have learned is applied in our activities while baking , traveling, listening to audio books , & just living our daily life . We take the week of Christmas through new years off all together & take and extra week or two to easy back into a full schedule of all our subjects and extra curricular activities with AAR being the first one we dive fully back into along with math . The fact that the kids love their reading curriculum makes it so much easier as a mom to get them back in the swing of things .
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you for sharing how you approach a lighter schedule through the holidays, Melissa! This is a great!
Brittany Chapman
says:I love these ideas, and can’t wait to use the arctic pack with my son as we ease back into our school routine.
Kate
says:Good tips. We do normal school and add a few fun picture books to make it feel like Christmas. Love the idea to do a Christmas Book Advent Calendar.
Melissa Schweighardt
says:Love the Christmas book idea!
Britney
says:We are excited to try the Christmas book flood tradition in the coming year. I love getting ideas from other cultures
Robin
says: Customer ServiceWonderful, Britney!
TR
says:We have enjoyed AAR so much! We have started getting into AAS this year. So far we are loving it. This curriculum has truly helped my son who has been a struggling reader. Thank you!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceWonderful to hear, TR! It’s exciting to know that All About Reading and All About Spelling are helping your son.
Katie A
says:I love the book advent wreath idea! My adhd clan may have read all the books in a week though 🤣❤️
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI understand that, Katie! But reading and reading again is always fun too!
Grace
says:Thank you for these extra resources and activity ideas! We love your curriculum and I appreciate all the bonus material you put out for us to use!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceGrace,
It’s great to know that the extra resources we have are enjoyed and appreciated. Thank you!
Candice
says:I appreciate all your fun activities!
We will be enjoying a few of these this week!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI hope you have lots of fun and sweet holiday memories this week, Candice!
Beth C
says:I love the Christmas Book Advent Calendar idea, and we’ll have to use that next year. For several years now, we’ve kept our “holiday books” (Christmas/Winter, Halloween, Easter) in boxes with seasonal/holiday craft supplies and decorations, so we pull them out once a year. The anticipation of seeing these beloved favorites again at a special time of year is one of the joys of the season for us. When we were making our Christmas “To Do” list, one of my 10-year-old’s first entries was to “read Christmas books, especially the Poky Little Puppy”.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceBeth! I love that your child’s Christmas To Do list included enjoying books! What wonderfully sweet holiday memories you are creating together!
Margaret
says:Thank you for all of the creative and fun activities. Everything is always so nicely done, and I always enjoy learning more from your ideas and tips.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou are so welcome, Margaret. Thank you!
Katie Dorey
says:Great ideas, especially the advent book idea. 👍
Erica Elliot
says:Love the festive ideas!
Nikki
says:I absolutely love these ideas and holiday traditions that leans in with love of reading!
Heidi G
says:Have to love any tradition that includes giving books to each other!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI agree, Heidi!
Jenn
says:The advent book idea looks fun!
Shelly Bergman
says:Great book lists! We’re super book heavy this time of year!
Jessica
says:I love the book advent calendar idea!
Summer
says:I always need more ideas for making food interesting for my kids. Especially my 5 year old who is so picky! These are great ideas!
Dani
says:So many fun ideas! My family has enjoyed the Christmas book advent calendar.
Vicky
says:Thank you