10 Christmas STEM Activities for Preschoolers

With the festive season just around the corner, it’s the perfect opportunity to sprinkle a little learning into the magic of Christmas! At Little Bear’s Nursery, we’re passionate about transforming everyday moments into meaningful educational experiences. Christmas STEM activities for preschoolers offer a fantastic way to spark curiosity in science, technology, engineering, and maths while celebrating the joy of the holidays.

These activities combine festive fun with hands-on exploration to help children develop critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Ready to dive into the holiday spirit? Here are ten engaging activities, each with simple, step-by-step instructions to inspire festive learning at home.

1. Building a Gingerbread House

This sweet activity combines engineering, design, and a bit of maths!

Instructions:

  1. Gather gingerbread pieces, biscuits, or crackers, and provide a bowl of icing to act as glue.
  2. Show your child how to construct a basic house by creating walls and a roof.
  3. Let them experiment with shapes and designs to build their structure.
  4. Once complete, decorate the house with sweets, counting and sorting them by colour or size as you go.

If you’d like to create your gingerbread pieces from scratch with your little one, here’s a simple recipe to try at home!

Tip: Discuss why some structures might be sturdier than others and how changing the shape affects stability.

image of gingerbread house - christmas stem activities

2. Melting Snowman Science

Watch your snowman melt away with a fizzy chemical reaction!

Instructions:

  1. Mix 1 cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of water to form a dough.
  2. Shape the dough into a small snowman and place it in the freezer overnight.
  3. The next day, set the snowman on a tray and give your child a small bowl of vinegar.
  4. Let them pour or pipette the vinegar over the snowman and watch it fizz and dissolve!

Explain: The fizzing occurs because vinegar reacts with baking soda to produce carbon dioxide gas.

3. Christmas Light Circuits

Bring a little glow to your Christmas tree art with this simple circuit activity.

Instructions:

  1. Cut out a Christmas tree shape from card or paper.
  2. Use markers, glitter, or stickers to decorate the tree.
  3. Help your child create a simple circuit using a coin battery, conductive tape, and a small LED light.
  4. Attach the circuit to the back of the tree and turn it on to make the light shine.

Teach: This is how electricity flows through a circuit to power the light.

4. Snowflake Symmetry 

A creative way to learn about shapes and symmetry while making beautiful snowflakes.

Instructions:

  1. Fold a piece of paper in half, then in half again, and one more time diagonally to form a triangle.
  2. Use scissors to cut small shapes out of the edges of the triangle.
  3. Unfold the paper to reveal a symmetrical snowflake design.
  4. Discuss how the shapes are mirrored on each side.

Ask: Can you create a snowflake with six points like real snowflakes in nature?

5. Frozen Ice Ornaments

Explore the science of freezing while making beautiful outdoor decorations.

Instructions:

  1. Fill small containers or muffin tins with water.
  2. Add festive items like holly, pine needles, or berries for decoration.
  3. Place a loop of string in each container so the ornaments can hang.
  4. Leave the containers outside (if cold enough) or in the freezer overnight.
  5. Once frozen, pop out the ornaments and hang them on a tree or bush.

Discuss: How does water turn into ice? What happens when the temperature rises?

6. Candy Cane Sink or Float

This fun experiment explores buoyancy and density using Christmas-themed items.

Instructions:

  1. Fill a large bowl or tub with water.
  2. Gather a selection of festive items, such as a candy cane, bauble, pinecone, and small gift box.
  3. Ask your child to guess whether each item will sink or float, then test their predictions.
  4. Talk about why some items float and others sink.

Extend: Try changing the conditions by wrapping items in foil or attaching weights to see the effect.

7. Santa’s Sleigh Challenge

Can your child design a sleigh that can carry presents?

Instructions:

  1. Provide building materials like cardboard, straws, tape, and blocks.
  2. Encourage your child to construct a sleigh, experimenting with different shapes and designs.
  3. Test the sleigh by loading it with small “presents” (toys, blocks, or wrapped sweets).
  4. See if the sleigh can slide across different surfaces, such as carpet, tiles, or snow (if you’re lucky!).

Talk: What makes the sleigh strong? How can you improve its ability to carry more presents?

8. Hot Chocolate Science

Turn a cosy drink into a science experiment about heat and solubility.

Instructions:

  1. Prepare three cups of liquid—milk, water, and almond milk (or any alternatives you have).
  2. Let your child add equal amounts of cocoa powder to each cup and stir.
  3. Observe and compare how well the cocoa dissolves in each liquid.
  4. Add marshmallows to the hot chocolate and watch how heat causes them to melt.

Ask: Why does the hot liquid dissolve the cocoa faster than cold?

9. Christmas Pattern Play

Get festive with patterns using beads, buttons, or even sweets!

Instructions:

  1. Provide red and green beads, buttons, or small sweets.
  2. Start by creating a simple pattern (e.g., red-green-red-green) and ask your child to copy it.
  3. Encourage them to make their own patterns and describe what comes next in the sequence.
  4. Use the patterns to create a garland, bracelet, or decoration.

Extend: Talk about repeating patterns in nature, such as stripes on candy canes or pinecones.

10. Jingle Bell Maze Challenge

Guide a jingle bell through a maze while exploring magnetism!

Instructions:

  1. Gather supplies: a shallow box or tray, a jingle bell, a magnet, and craft materials to build a maze (e.g., straws, cardboard strips, or blocks).
  2. Help your child create a simple maze by attaching barriers inside the box using tape or glue.
  3. Place the jingle bell at the start of the maze.
  4. Hold the magnet underneath the box and demonstrate how to move the bell by guiding it with the magnet.
  5. Let your child take over and try navigating the bell through the maze.

Discuss: Explain how magnets attract certain metals and how the jingle bell is moving without being touched. 

Why Christmas STEM Activities?

Christmas STEM activities for preschoolers bring the holiday spirit into learning, turning festive excitement into meaningful exploration. These hands-on experiences introduce important concepts in science, technology, engineering, and maths while encouraging creativity and critical thinking.

At Little Bear’s Nursery, we’re passionate about making learning fun and accessible for young children. These activities are designed to foster curiosity and create magical memories that will last long after the Christmas decorations come down.

From all of us at Little Bear’s Nursery, we wish you and your family a Merry Christmas filled with joy, wonder, and a little bit of STEM magic!

At Little Bear’s Nursery, we’re dedicated to providing flexible, high-quality childcare that supports families year-round. From festive Christmas STEM activities to everyday learning, our team is here to inspire and help every step of the way. Get in touch today! 
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