Winter Holidays Around the World Teaching Resources
Winter Holidays Around the World Teaching Resources
December lessons that go past snowflakes and coloring pages. Compare how families around the world mark midwinter, with reading, art and writing tasks your K–8 class can finish before the break.
Browse winter resources →Resources that fit
Lessons for the last weeks of the term
Art and culture units that hold up in a restless December classroom, each with slides, leveled tasks and an answer key: tap any cover for the full preview, contents and price.
Christmas Craft: Paint the Christ Child – Printable Art for K–4
Back-to-School Garland Craft – Welcome Activity for Grades K–4
Printable Garland Craft – Final Touch Activity for Grades K–4
Peace Dove Craft Project – Reflective Worksheet for Grades K–4
Craft the Three Kings – Story-Based Activity for Grades K–4
Why teachers use these
Why teachers use these in December
The three weeks before winter break are the hardest teaching of the year: concerts pull half your class out, attendance wobbles, and nobody is at their sharpest. You still want the time to count for something. Comparing Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, St Lucia's Day, Lunar New Year and the solstice gives you real geography, history and art content that happens to be seasonal, and it means every child in the room sees something familiar at some point in the unit.
What's covered
What is inside each pack
These are teaching units with a seasonal subject, not a folder of party activities.
- Reading passages at four levels
- Editable slides with images
- Art and craft instructions
- Writing and comparison tasks
- Answer keys included
- Printable and digital versions
Make it work for everyone
Keeping it inclusive and useful
Treating one holiday as normal and the rest as exotic is the trap here, so the tasks put every celebration through the same questions: who takes part, what is eaten, what light or object matters, what the day is really about. Children whose families do not celebrate anything in December still have a genuine role, because the comparison work does not require personal participation.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this mostly a Christmas unit with a few extras?
No. Christmas appears as one tradition among several rather than the default that everything else is measured against. You will find Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, Las Posadas, Diwali, St Lucia's Day and the winter solstice treated with the same structure and the same depth of questioning, which is what makes the comparison work honest.
Some families in my class opt out of holiday activities. Can I still use this?
Many teachers do, because the framing is cultural geography rather than celebration. Students study what other communities do without being asked to take part. The files are editable Word and PowerPoint, so you can remove a section, drop a craft, or reframe a task as research if a family has asked you to.
Will this work if a substitute has my class?
Yes. Each unit has a lesson plan with timings, a slide deck to walk through and worksheets with answer keys, which is roughly what a substitute needs to run a purposeful period without knowing your class. Print the level most of your students use and leave the plan on the desk.
Sort out December before December
Pick up a winter holidays unit now and stop planning the last three weeks in the last three weeks.
Browse winter resources →