December holiday writing activities are a festive way to practice writing skills during the winter season! They also connect beautifully to the traditions and memories that make this time of year so meaningful.
One of my favorite childhood memories is the annual holiday concert at my elementary school. I played clarinet in the band and sang with the chorus. There was something so magical about dressing up, gathering with my friends at school in the evening, and performing on stage for our families.
During my first year in chorus, we sang only Christmas and winter-themed songs. But when Mr. Ambrogi joined the faculty as our new music teacher, he added a few Hanukkah selections. As part of an interfaith family, I finally felt my traditions represented. That moment of recognition has stayed with me ever since.
Inclusive December Holiday Writing And Craft Projects
Beyond music, December also meant holiday writing and craft projects in school, mostly centered on Christmas. One vivid memory I have is tying clear plastic sandwich bags around a wire coat hanger shaped into a wreath. Another time, I insisted on creating two separate holiday cards: one for Christmas and one for Chanukah (the way my dad spelled it), honoring both sides of my family.
Those experiences continue to guide me as I plan December classroom projects, where every student feels included. Whether students celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, all of them, or none at all, I feel that student choice is important. Through writing prompts, craftivities, and art projects, kids can share their holiday traditions or focus on the winter season itself, through snow days, winter break activities, and favorite indoor/outdoor adventures. Additionally, I do the same through other seasons of the school year as well, such as Lunar New Year, Losar, Easter, Passover, Ramadan, and Eid, when students can write about their traditions, create artwork showing how they celebrate, or choose to focus on the spring season itself.
Writing Activities: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s, and Winter
December holiday writing activities tap into so many rich possibilities: traditions, celebrations, imaginative stories, and even practical how-tos. Kids are experts in their experiences, so this is where they can shine!
My seasonal writing prompts for upper elementary are designed to meet students where they are, whether they’re writing independently, in small groups, or as part of a whole-class activity. The format is pretty similar across pages, but the writing prompts are differentiated so kids can choose their own topics and write about what’s important to them.
Each set of writing pages includes:
- Narrative Prompts
- Personal Narrative
- How-to Writing
- Opinion Writing
The printable pages are organized into these holiday sets:
- Writing Prompts for Christmas
- Activities for Hanukkah
- Activities for Kwanzaa
- New Year’s Writing Prompts
- Writing Prompts for Winter
Each set of holiday writing pages contains a content-specific word list that doubles as a spelling checklist to assist students with writing independence. The Kwanzaa and Hanukkah writing activities also include a special definitions page to provide context for students who may be unfamiliar with some of the terms.
Laminating the word lists and definition pages makes them durable for student use year to year. Alternatively, they can be printed two or four to a page, cut apart, and pasted into student notebooks as mini reference charts. Also, there are lined pages for students to generate personal word lists before beginning their writing.
With these differentiated December holiday writing activities, every student can find a fun, meaningful way to express themselves and practice valuable writing skills at the same time.
December Holiday Writing Activities: Writing + Crafting = Craftivities!
I love pairing writing with arts and crafts. It’s where student writing comes alive! That’s why I created these festive sets of December holiday writing craftivities. All of the craftivity sets follow a simple, predictable 5-step routine: Plan, Write, Color, Cut, and Glue. Each set includes 12 task cards with content-specific writing prompts, graphic organizers, and cut-and-paste art topper elements to help students creatively showcase their work. Students choose a task card to write about and a graphic organizer on which to plan their writing. Furthermore, there are three variations of publishing papers, and students also get to choose an art topper to accompany their published writing.
For every holiday, there are four themed sets of writing resources designed to highlight different aspects of the celebration.
December Holiday Writing Activities: Christmas
Create narratives, opinion pieces, or poetry and pair them with festive toppers like Christmas trees, ornaments, or stockings. Additionally, there’s Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, reindeer, snowmen, gingerbread cookies, holly leaves, and gift boxes.
Christmas Tree Writing Activity: Deck the Halls
Christmas Gifts Writing Activity: Gifts
Gingerbread Writing Activities: Gingerbread
Santa Writing Craftivity: Santa & Friends
December Holiday Writing Activities: Hanukkah
Reflect on family traditions while creating display-ready projects with menorah and dreidel-themed writing prompts. Decorate writing with Hanukkah signs (including the alternate spelling of Chanukah), candlelighting kids, latkes, doughnuts (sufganiyot), gift boxes, and dreidels.
Hanukkah Writing Craft: Dreidels & Gifts
Hanukkah Menorah Writing: Menorah Kids
Holiday Writing Hanukkah: Signs & Symbols
December Holiday Writing Activities: Kwanzaa
Reflect on the principles of Kwanzaa, writing about family, community, and celebrations. Decorate with a kinara, candelighting kids, a Kwanzaa flag, fruits and veggies from the harvest, gift boxes, and “Joyous Kwanzaa” signs.
Kwanzaa Writing Craftivity: Festive Kids
Kids Celebrate: Kwanzaa Writing and Craft
Kwanzaa Writing Prompts and Craft: Signs & Symbols
December Holiday Writing Activities: New Year’s
Ring in the new year with writing that highlights resolutions, goals, traditions, and celebrations. Decorate with New Year’s themed toppers like party hats, noisemakers, horns, kids partying, the Times Square crystal ball drop, clocks set to midnight, and New Year’s signs highlighting the new year.
New Years Writing Craftivity: Party Kids
New Years Writing Craft: Hats & Horns
Party Time: New Years Writing Activity and Craft
New Year’s Craft and Writing Activities: Signs & Symbols
December Holiday Writing Activities: Winter
Celebrate the season by writing about winter-themed narratives, opinion pieces, and mysteries, topped off with snowy trees, kids in coats, and snowmen for display. Perfect for students who don’t celebrate religious or cultural holidays in December or who choose to write about snowy adventures instead.
These holiday and seasonal writing crafts are a wonderful fit for writing centers, partner projects, seasonal celebrations, or even a fun Friday afternoon activity in December. Use supplies you already have in your classroom: pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, glue sticks, and construction paper. Additionally, the writing crafts are flexible for different student levels, so every student can be proud of their finished piece.
If you’re looking for a simple way to bring more creativity and purpose to December holiday writing, there are four sets for each holiday in my TPT store here.
Holiday Writing Sessions with Music and Snacks
While students are writing and working on art projects, I love to play music in the background. Sometimes, like on Halloween, I’ll play a selection of themed songs complete with lyrics. Other times, I opt for instrumental songs to create a cozy ambience so students can focus on their own words. I’ve linked some winter-themed playlists below in the Resources section.
Add in winter-themed decorations like paper snowflakes and snacks like hot chocolate and marshmallows for a more festive atmosphere. Or, save them for a winter-wonderland publishing party when students have completed their writing.
Pro Tip: For ad-free music, insert the YouTube playlist links below into blank Google Slides, enlarge full-size, and press play from there. That way, the ads won’t interrupt the writing flow.
Celebrating Student Traditions and Voice with December Holiday and Winter Writing
Whether your students are working on Christmas writing activities, exploring Hanukkah writing, reflecting on Kwanzaa writing prompts, setting New Year’s goals, or describing their favorite winter activity, December is full of opportunities to celebrate student voice.
Using differentiated writing prompts and scaffolded graphic organizers, you can meet your writers where they are while they practice writing skills in meaningful ways. Add a little background music and some cozy snacks for a perfect winter-themed writing session.
And finally, by embracing all of your students’ holidays and traditions, as well as offering student choice, writing becomes inclusive, giving all students a way to express themselves through writing and art.
May your classroom be filled with lots of creativity and personal, meaningful writing this December holiday season! 💙
Looking for more support with your writing instruction? Download my free Writing Strategy Guide here. It’s packed with practical strategies and classroom‑tested tips to help all learners, making your December holiday activities even more effective.
Resources: Bundles
Seasonal Writing Prompts Bundle (4 resources)
Fall to Winter Writing Bundle (7 resources)
Winter Holiday Craftivities Mega Bundle (16 resources)
YouTube Music Links
Beautiful Relaxing Music, Winter Wildlife – Tim Janis
Winter Wonderland with Relaxing Piano Music – Play+Listen
Cozy White Lounge Piano Fire Crackling & Snow Drifting – Winter Hearth Lounge
Winter is Coming with Snoopy Cozy Jazz & Chill Music – Mellow Vibes
Instrumental Music by the Fireplace – Dreamy Christmas Ambience