Christmas Lesson Ideas
If you’re like me, you like to teach a little bit about culture in your ESL lessons. Once December rolls around, I always like to teach about Christmas, but sometimes it’s overwhelming to think about all the things there are to explain. Here’s a list of tons of things Americans do for Christmas! Depending on how much time you have, you can pick and choose what you’d like to talk about.
Something I like to do is give students a few minutes at the beginning to think about the topic themselves. (This also gives them the chance to speak, since you could be talking for a while.) So, I write on the board:
What do you already know about Christmas? With a partner, make a list and discuss all the things you know about Christmas
Christmas Colors
Red, green, yellow/gold
Christmas Symbols and Decorations
Christmas Tree
Some people use fake trees
Some people go to Christmas tree farms to pick out a real tree
The family will decorate the tree together as a family activity
Often, children will put the tree topper on the tree (this could be an angel or a star)
Ornaments
Many families will have a collection of ornaments that hold memories. For example, they might have an ornament from the first year they got married, or they could have one that says “Baby’s First Christmas” for their child.
Other families will make a Christmas tree theme with their ornaments, like snowmen or peppermint.
Stockings
Each member of the family will hang up stockings
On Christmas morning, these stockings will be filled with small gifts, like candy or toys.
Santa Claus
Each Christmas Eve, Santa will deliver present to all the children in the world.
Santa lives in the North Pole, and his elves help make presents for all the children.
His twelve reindeer help pull the sleigh. Rudolph is the head reindeer.
On Christmas Eve, he will go down the chimney to put toys under the tree.
Santa has a “naughty and nice” list. If you’ve been good, you get presents. If you’ve been bad, you get coal.
Snowmen and Snowflakes
Frosty the Snowman is a popular snowman you might see at this time. He comes from a song and a movie about a snowman who comes to life.
A Nativity
A nativity is a scene that shows Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and the shepherds on the night Jesus was born. This could be small enough to put inside your house, or it could be big enough to be put outside
Stars
Not only do we put stars on the top of our trees, but we like to decorate with them everywhere.
Christmas Lights
Not only do we put Christmas lights on the Christmas tree, but we’ll also hang them inside and outside our house! Some people really go crazy in decorating their houses.
Christmas Gifts
Who do we give gifts to on Christmas?
Almost everyone! We give gifts to friends, family, boyfriends/girlfriends, co-workers, neighbors, teachers, etc.
What kind of gift should we give?
If we don’t know the person that well, we will give them a generic gift. Maybe we will give them Christmas cookies we made from scratch, or maybe we will give them something anyone would like; for example, we might give them a candle or a gift card.
If we know the person well, then we will give a personal gift.
How can I think of a good Christmas gift?
We like to give useful gifts.
We like to give gifts that are things you might not buy for yourself.
We like to give many small presents instead of one large present. It’s more fun to open multiple gifts!
Christmas Activities
How long do we celebrate for?
25 days!
We still go to work and school, but we celebrate all month long.
How long is our break from school/work?
If you are a student, then your break is probably two weeks.
If you are an employee, then it really depends on your job. It could be anywhere from 3-10 days.
So what do we do to celebrate all month?
Christmas Parties
We’ll have Christmas parties at school, at work, and with different groups of friends.
Sometimes we have ugly sweater parties, where everyone wears an ugly sweater.
Christmas School Play or Concert
We will usually hold school plays, where children sing Christmas songs and act out the story of Christmas. This could also be a concert.
See Santa at the Mall
People will dress up like Santa in shopping malls, and children can go meet him and tell him what they want for Christmas.
Write Letters to Santa
Children will also write letters to Santa, telling him what they want for Christmas.
Bake Christmas Cookies
As a family, we’ll make Christmas cookies. This is a great way to spend time with our family, and most families have a few special cookies they always make as part of their tradition.
Make Gingerbread Houses
We also make gingerbread (which is a type of cookie) houses and decorate them with candy!
Listen to Christmas Songs
We have hundreds of Christmas songs, that we sing and listen to all month long. You’ll hear Christmas songs playing if you go to any store, restaurant, hospital, school, office, etc.
Watch Christmas movies
We have hundreds and hundreds of Christmas movies! Some people will even watch a Christmas movie every night in December.
Here are a few examples of popular Christmas movies:
Home Alone
A boy is left alone and fights against robbers who try to break into his house at Christmas.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
A grouchy creature named the Grinch tries to ruin Christmas for the small town, but discovers the true meaning of Christmas.
It’s a Wonderful Life
On Christmas Eve, a man wishes he were never born. He has the chance to see what life would be like without him.
Elf
A man grew up as an Elf with Santa. He goes to the real world to find his true dad and finds himself in a lot of strange situations.
Outdoor Christmas activities
Play in the snow! We might build snowmen or have a snowball fight
Ice skating
Walk or drive around to look at Christmas lights
What do we drink and eat?
Hot chocolate
Egg nog
Mulled wine
Candy canes
Mint-flavored things
Christmas Eve
What do we do on Christmas Eve?
On Christmas Eve, we will read a book called “The Night before Christmas.”
Children will put out milk and cookies for Santa to eat for a snack.
Many families have a tradition of opening up one present on Christmas Eve. Usually, we have a traditional gift for Christmas Eve. Can you guess what it is? It’s Christmas pajamas! We can wear the new pajamas to bed before another Christmas day.
Christmas Day
What do we do on Christmas Day?
On Christmas day, we stay inside with our family. We don’t have any more parties or really go outside. This is a day that should just be spent with family.
On Christmas morning, we’ll open up our presents.
In the afternoon, we’ll have a huge family meal. At this meal, we might eat ham or turkey.
Next time you teach about Christmas, maybe you can use this list to help spur some ideas!