Where Play Meets Potential
As soon as Halloween was over, we switched gears to Christmas. Thanksgiving was a small Autumn afterthought.
Christmas is just so magical, fun, and filled with lots of holiday traditions and engaging play ideas. We have to start early because there are so many great ideas out there to keep your toddler or preschooler busy and engaged.
When I was growing up, Christmas was filled with excitement and tradition. We loved to look at Christmas lights, put ornaments on the tree, and decorate cookies and gingerbread houses. These memories were impactful on my life and I want my children to experience the same kind of joy.
Of course we will celebrate with the classic traditions, but I wanted to extend those traditions into fun and creative play ideas. If you would like to do the same or if you are just looking for some fresh ideas to keep your little one busy this holiday season, then check out these simple ideas.
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We love playing with ice, so why not make a Christmas-theme ice tray.
I found a Christmas tree tray at the Dollar Tree and I knew right away I wanted to make ice with it. To make this I simply added pom poms and sparkly pipe cleaners into the tray. Then I covered those with green water and stuck it in the freezer.
To play I added a dropper and a pitcher of water to pour over the ice to melt it.
Ruby (16 months) loved this. She really loved the dropper and got water all over, so make sure you are prepared for some mess. With how large the ice tree was it was hard to get the objects out, so the dropper and pouring the water was more interesting.
Later, we played with the mostly melted tree and the green water and then the pom poms and the sparkly pipe cleaners were much more interesting.
I liked how this activity was two in one. Ice and then water play. With the ice, I could have added more tools for breaking it like a mini hammer, but it was still fun to feel the cold ice.
To continue with the ice idea, I simply added the frozen Christmas tree (this time with no color) and some paint to a bin. You could also use plain ice cubes to paint.
I also added one of Ruby’s current favorite books, which is simply an easy reader non-fiction book called “Ice.” She really gravitates towards any non-fiction book that shows people. I like that I can use some of my books from my kindergarten teaching days.
This was an open-ended way to explore ice and colors. I used red and green to make it feel festive.
Ruby was interested in touching the ice and the paint. She didn’t spend too much time painting the ice. She also was really excited to make the connection between the book and the experience with the ice.
You can get more water play ideas HERE and process art ideas HERE.
One of my favorite process art activities to do with toddlers is shake painting. They love to shake things and it prevents a ton of mess that usually happens with toddlers and art.
To do this type of painting you simply:
If you enjoy process art, such as this activity you may also want to check out my posts:
You could create a dry or wet Winter Wonderland depending on how adventurous you want to be. I went for a dry sensory bin so that I could leave it out for revisiting. The items I included were: cotton balls, “snow” sheets, snowmen and Christmas tree erasers, mini cups, and recycled containers.
Ruby enjoyed tearing apart the cotton balls and putting the cotton balls in the cups. She was not as engaged with this as I thought she would be, so I moved it to her indoor sensory table and added some other loose parts: The Curated Set Cones, Willow Pine TN wooden stackers, and wooden houses.
The beauty of this simple set up is that it was easy and inexpensive to put together, and since it was dry I could leave it out for Ruby to come and go as she was interested.
What is the best part of the presents on Christmas? The bows!
Get your toddler ready for unwrapping presents by adding bows and boxes to a sensory bin. This could not be any easier to put together. I stuck a few bows on the boxes and left some in the bin.
Ruby (16 months) loved this simple sensory bin. She pulled the bows off right away. She also took the boxes apart and attempted to put them back together. She put the bows into the boxes. Once I showed her how the bows were like stickers, she was all about sticking them onto the boxes and also onto herself.
This was another non-messy sensory bin that could be left out on the shelf for revisiting.
The Dollar Tree is so fabulous for Christmas activities. You can find so many great loose parts to use. One of the things I found that I thought was so great were these giant jingle bells. These are perfect for toddlers because they are not a choking hazard like the small bells. Please still use them with supervision.
I combined the bells with some short sparkly pipe cleaners as an invitation to string the bells. I strung a few myself so Ruby could decide to take the bells off or add bells on.
Wire is a great way to start threading because it is a lot less challenging than string.
Another way we used these giant bells was for color sorting and posting. The Dollar Tree also had plastic jars with lids that matched the colors of the bells. I put the two materials together on the light table and as soon as I turned on the light, Ruby wanted to come play.
We also used these materials in a bin, but Ruby was not immediately interested. Something about the light table that makes an activity feel more magical. This provided a multi-sensory experience without a mess to clean up. Adding the light table next to the mirror allows for even more to explore.
She is still a little young (16 months) for color sorting, but it was a great opportunity to naturally introduce and talk about colors. She did love putting the bells in the jars and trying to close the lids.
Be sure to check out my post “Quick, Easy, and Affordable DIY Light Table” for a full tutorial on how to make this light table and get some light table ideas.
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