Fun, Easy, & Cheap Christmas Activities for Your Toddler

Happy Saturday! Today, one of my best friends, Chrystal Paull, has written a guest post about Christmas toddler activities. A few months ago, she began a YouTube channel that focuses on motherhood and lifestyle content. But, even if you’re not a parent, the tips she shares can work for more than just parenting. I do hope you all check out her channel and follow her on social media. She has so much planned for the upcoming months, and she’s all about helping you save time, stress less, and do more!

All of Chrystal’s accounts on social media will be linked down below as well as her YouTube video that pairs with this blog post! Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

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Christmas Toddler Activities

Of all things I worry about as a mom, figuring out what activities to do with my son every day is high on the list. Especially, around the holidays in the middle of a pandemic.

I spend hours on Pinterest and YouTube looking for the right ways to entertain and educate my almost 2 year old toddler. I ended up finding some activities that keep my son busy for upwards of 30 minutes. Yes, 30 minutes! 

When I was thinking of what Christmas activities we could do stuck in the house thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, I came up with some fun, easy and cheap ideas. And get this: my son loves them!

I compiled a list of some of those activities to help other moms also stressing about what activities to provide their little one this Christmas season.

From arts and crafts to sensory and montessori activities, below you’ll find ideas that could entertain your little one all December long. And, most supplies you already have in the house or may need just a quick run to the Dollar Tree to get.

Christmas Sensory Bin

Get ready for them to play with this for a while. This activity is meant to stimulate your child’s senses and help your toddler develop fine motor skills. In a plastic container or a box you probably already have, put some materials or objects that would be fun to touch. I used rice (not too much, only enough you would want to clean up), Christmas sprinkles, red and green pom poms, a cup, a pitcher and a measuring spoon. Your toddler will love pouring (a fine motor skill) the rice/sprinkle mixture, touching the textures of all the materials and throwing the pom poms around.

Christmas Sticky Wall

On my trip to the Dollar Tree for some supplies, I found some contact paper and I thought about a Christmas-theme sticky wall. Contact paper, painters tape and Christmas bows are all you’ll need. First, tape the contact paper on the wall (sticky part facing you) with the painters tape. Then, have your toddler stick the Christmas bows on the contact paper. You could also make this activity into a vocabulary lesson. Talk about how the paper is sticky or the different colors of the bows.

Christmas Mystery Tin

I also picked up a mailbox tin from Dollar Tree and I knew my son would love to put things in or discovering objects inside. I ended up putting clothespins, pipe cleaners and pom poms in the tin and let him explore the materials. You can change the materials inside every few days or even provide a small activity for them to find. 

Christmas Dress-Up Dance Party

I don’t need to explain this one, but…blast the Christmas tunes and dance! You could also pick up some fun holiday headbands and bell necklaces from the Dollar Tree to dress up a bit.

Christmas Arts & Crafts

Let your toddler’s imagination run wild, but if you’re looking for something specific, try making Christmas cavanas art. I picked up a pack of three small canvases from Dollar Tree. I then used painters tape to make a triangle and let my toddler paint with whatever colors he liked. Tip: tape the canvas to the table so it doesn’t slide all over the place. Once he was done, I peeled back the painters tape, added a stem and boom: a Christmas tree. You could make candy cans or whatever shape you want and then admire the artwork hanging around the house. Or you could give the grandparents a toddler masterpiece as a Christmas gift.

Make & Bake Christmas Cookies

Who doesn’t love cookies? Depending on your toddlers’ age or skill level, you could have them help you make Christmas cookies. They’ll love getting their hands messy mixing together the dough. After the cookies bake and cool down, decorate them. It’s edible artwork! Every toddler will love that. You could use writing icing or make your own.

Don’t Forget About Reindeer Food!

We put out cookies for Santa, so why not make sure his reindeer get a little snack too. All you need are some oats, Christmas sprinkles and maybe some edible glitter (I don’t think you need to make a special trip if you already have the other 2 ingredients). Have your toddler mix the ingredients into a bowl or bag and then on Christmas Eve night, sprinkle the mixture on the lawn for Santa’s reindeer. It’s not only a great tradition to implement, but just imagine how much fun it’s going to be for your little one mixing and then throwing oats and sprinkles all over the yard.

These are only a few Christmas activities I plan on doing with my son this December. To see all of my ideas, watch the video below. I also love sharing my tips and tricks to help moms stress less, save time and do more over on my YouTube Channel. 

Give these Christmas activities a try and comment below what worked.

Before you run off and start playing, keep in mind: all that matters is that you make your little one smile.

You’ve got this mama!

Written by Chrystal Paull

You can follow Chrystal on social media here:

Do you need help purchasing gifts? Check out my kids gift guide here, or see all of my gift guides!