Need some December holiday activities and ideas that aren’t just based around religious holidays; we’ve got some ideas for both the expected and unexpected holidays in December!
December is a month that often feels like it absolutely flies by. Starting just a few days after Thanksgiving break and ending early for Winter break is one of the shortest months of the school year.
December falls in the middle of the school year as well, which is a sweet spot where teachers are not overly concerned anymore with teaching classroom procedures or introducing students to brand-new concepts. Instead, December tends to be a month where we build on previously learned skills while also trying to add some festive holiday ideas and activities.
As you begin to plan for December, we want to give you plenty of fun options (including many unrelated to Christmas at all) for celebrating the season in unexpected ways!
When looking for some non-religious holidays to celebrate in December, take a look at the December Holiday of the Day Writing Prompts. These prompts encourage celebrating different unexpected holidays all year long with daily writing prompts for upper elementary students.
Each day, students will learn a little bit about that day’s holiday by reading a short passage and a writing prompt. They then get in some writing practice by completing the prompts. These passages can be used in a variety of ways throughout the year, so for even more ideas, check out this blog post!
To highlight some of the holidays that are a part of the December Holiday of the Day Writing Prompts, let’s explore some of the less obvious December holiday activities and ideas.
December Holiday Activities and Ideas (for unexpected holidays)
National Taco Day (12/4):
On National Taco Day, learn about the cultural significance of tacos and explore different types of tacos from around the world.
You can also play off the idea of tacos on this day by doing activities focused on layering. For Math, mix and match counting collection items to make something that looks like a taco for kids to count or graph the results of a taco-based survey. During reading time, read books about tacos like Taco Falls Apart by Brenda S. Miles, Ph.D a sweet story of a taco who is trying to be his best even when everything feels hard.
World Teacher’s Day (December 5th):
It is no surprise that teachers are often exhausted and overworked, so any time we get a chance to acknowledge them and make their day a little brighter, we like to take it.
On World Teacher’s Day, encourage students to express their gratitude to their teachers by writing thank-you notes or creating appreciation cards or posters to give to teachers or hang up around the school. When making these notes and cards, don’t forget to consider your extras and specials teachers!
Another fun activity you could try is asking students to collaborate on a classroom project where students create a display showcasing their appreciation for teachers and what different teachers have taught them over the years.
Curious Events Day (December 9th):
Another fun, unexpected holiday in December is Curious Events Day!
On this holiday, explore various mysterious or curious events in history, science, or culture with the class. National Geographic is often a good place to start for ideas when trying to come up with curious events to dig into on this day.
If you want to go so far as to have students do a project, ask them to research and present on different curious events, sharing the details and potential explanations. You could also have students practice creative writing by asking them to write their own theory about the event.
Our last idea if you’re willing to put a little more time into this holiday, our last idea is to organize a “Curiosity Fair” where students showcase projects related to curious events, such as experiments, models, or presentations. This can be especially fun if students really get into the presentations and create an atmosphere and tone of curiosity.
National Chocolate-Covered Insect Day (December 14th):
Once you learn about this December holiday, I’m not sure if you’re going to love it or hate it. Either way we’ve got some special December holiday activities and ideas specifically for this bug-eater’s day ready to go!
If you’ve never tried chocolate-covered crickets, then today is your day!
On National Chocolate-Covered Insects Day, spend some time learning about the concept of entomophagy (eating insects) and its cultural and environmental significance. Which insects are the most nutritious, and which ones should be avoided? If students are willing, get some chocolate-covered insects for them to try, and for those who accomplish this feat, give them a certificate of achievement!
Remember, eating insects may seem weird to your students in the US, but in other places around the world, this may not seem odd at all. See if you can find some examples of places where this might be common!
Global Handwashing Day (December 15th):
Anyone who lived through 2020 knows the importance of handwashing, and on this holiday, you get to help others learn exactly why this is so important.
On Global Handwashing Day, teach students about the importance of handwashing for personal hygiene and preventing the spread of illnesses. Talk about how germs are spread, how easy it is for illness to move from one person to another, and what we can do to prevent the spread of illnesses.
My favorite project idea for this day is to conduct a handwashing experiment using glitter or similar material to demonstrate how germs can spread and the effectiveness of proper handwashing. If you’ve ever used glitter before, you know why this kind of experiment is so effective! Just have a plan for getting that glitter off of everything when you’re done.
International Sloth Day (December 20th):
Explore the world of sloths on International Sloth Day by learning about their habitats, behaviors, and unique characteristics.
I like to celebrate this day by watching documentaries or videos about sloths in their natural environments and then have students create sloth-themed art projects and write imaginative stories about sloths ‘saving the day’ or the sloth’s ‘bad day’ or something along those lines.
National Black Cat Day (December 27th):
National Black Cat Day comes in December, just a couple of days after Christmas. To learn more about black cats on this holiday, discuss the history and superstitions associated with black cats.
If you don’t want to focus on black cats and superstition specifically, you can also just use this day to talk about animal adoptions and rescue organizations. This is also a great time to ask someone from a local animal shelter to come talk to your class about what shelters do, what kind of needs they have, how students can volunteer, and any other information they would like to share.
National Internet Day (December 29th):
Although for your students, the internet has been around their whole lives, that was not the case for many adults.
Help your elementary students learn a little more about just how ‘new’ the internet is on this December holiday.
Explore the history of the internet, including its development and impact on society.
This is also a great day to discuss internet safety, responsible online behavior, and the importance of digital literacy. To help them explore internet safety and positive internet use, have students participate in activities that promote positive internet use, such as creating online safety posters or sharing tips on safe browsing. These can be placed around the school, or students can share presentations or informational videos they’ve created with other classes.
Winter-Themed Classroom Activities
We always like to make sure we have some activities ready to go that aren’t aligned with a holiday at all—that way, the activity can be done at any time throughout December.
These December Close Reads include passages related to penguins, ice hockey, and candy canes. Each passage has different levels for differentiation and includes mystery pictures that students can color in as they answer the included reading comprehension questions.
Christmas Activities and Ideas
It wouldn’t be a true December holiday ideas and activities post if we didn’t mention a few Christmas resources.
The first Christmas resource is the Christmas Close Reads with Mystery Pictures. This close-read set includes passages about a train, the history of Santa Claus, and Christmas traditions from around the world.
We also have a December Holidays Sticker Style Activity. This reading comprehension activity is fully digital and a great transition activity or reading review activity for students during the last week before the holiday break.
Last but not least, we have a December activity that you can use with the whole class. This December Holidays Game Show will ask students questions about December holidays from around the world. You can do this game show as a full group activity or break students into smaller groups. If you choose to do this activity as part of your class party, consider up-leveling your game show with some of the suggestions from this post!
More Holiday Fun
For even more monthly ideas, check out the full-year list of monthly blog posts below!
- January Holiday Activities and Ideas
- February Holiday Activities and Ideas
- March Holiday Activities and Ideas (Coming Soon)
- April Holiday Activities and Idea
- May Holiday Activities and Ideas
- June Holiday Activities and Ideas
- July Holiday Activities and Ideas
- August Holiday Activities and Ideas
- September Holiday Activities and Ideas
- October Holiday Activities and Ideas
- November Holiday Activities and Ideas
- December Holiday Activities and Ideas
