Toddlers love the magic of Santa Claus, and Christmas is the perfect time to create fun memories while building early skills through play.
These Santa-themed activities are simple, creative, and toddler-friendly—great for sensory play, crafts, and festive learning.
Here are 15 Christmas activities for toddlers all about Santa!
1. Santa Beard Cotton Ball Craft
Give your toddler a Santa face cutout and a bowl of cotton balls with glue.
Let them stick the cotton balls onto Santa’s beard, creating a fluffy, textured look.
This activity builds fine motor skills and sensory exploration while giving toddlers a fun, hands-on way to create their own Santa.
2. Santa Hat Sorting Game
Cut out red and white paper Santa hats in different sizes.
Have your toddler sort them into “big,” “medium,” and “small.” Sorting helps toddlers learn early math skills while enjoying the excitement of Santa-themed visuals.
You can also mix in pattern-making for an added challenge.
3. Santa Sensory Bin
Fill a sensory bin with red rice, pom-poms, tiny Santa figurines, bells, scoops, and cups.
Toddlers love digging, scooping, and finding hidden Santa items.
Sensory bins help build focus and fine motor skills while keeping toddlers engaged for a long time.
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4. Santa’s Boot Stamping Art
Cut a simple Santa boot shape from a sponge or potato stamp.
Dip it in black paint and let toddlers stamp Santa’s boots across their paper.
This fun art activity helps toddlers practice stamping motions, patterns, and expressive creativity.
5. Santa Play-Dough Invitation
Provide red, white, and black play-dough along with googly eyes, pompoms, and mini cookie cutters.
Encourage your toddler to create Santa faces, hats, or tiny Santa figures. Play-dough strengthens hand muscles and imaginative play.
6. Santa Hat Headband Craft
Cut a simple Santa hat shape from craft foam or paper and attach it to a headband.
Let toddlers decorate with glitter glue, cotton, or stickers.
They love wearing their creations, and it makes adorable holiday photos.
Read More: 9 Sensory play ideas
7. Santa Sticker Collage
Give your toddler a blank sheet of red or white paper and a variety of Santa-themed stickers.
Toddlers can freely arrange the stickers to make their own festive collage.
It’s an easy, mess-free craft perfect for quick Christmas activity time.
8. Santa Story Time + Puppet Play
Read a toddler-friendly Santa book and then let your child use a simple Santa puppet to reenact scenes.
Story reenactment improves language skills, imagination, and emotional connection to the holiday theme.
9. Santa-Themed Scavenger Hunt
Hide Santa hats, mini Santa toys, candy canes, and red pom-poms around the house.
Give your toddler a small basket and help them search for Santa-themed items.
This gets toddlers moving, observing, and using early problem-solving skills.
10. Santa Snack Time Faces
Use a rice cake or pancake as a base and let your toddler decorate it into a Santa face using strawberries (hat), banana slices (trim), and whipped cream (beard).
Toddlers love edible crafts, and it encourages creativity and healthy snack choices.
11. Footprint Santa Keepsake
Paint your toddler’s foot white and press it onto red paper.
Add eyes, a hat, and a beard to turn the footprint into a Santa face.
Parents adore this keepsake because it captures their child’s tiny foot size as a Christmas memory.
12. Santa Hat Toss Game
Make a simple toss game by placing red buckets or baskets around the room as “Santa hats.” Let toddlers toss soft balls or pom-poms into them.
This builds gross motor skills and is a great energy-burning holiday game.
13. Santa Dot Marker Art
Give your toddler a Santa outline and red, white, and black dot markers.
They can dot Santa’s hat, suit, and beard while practicing grip strength and coordination.
Dot markers are perfect for low-mess art time.
14. Santa’s Sleigh Pretend Play
Turn a cardboard box into Santa’s sleigh by adding red paper, bells, and pretend reins.
Toddlers can sit inside and deliver “presents” around the room.
Pretend play develops imagination, storytelling, and social skills.
15. Santa Dress-Up Corner
Set up a small dress-up station with Santa hats, red scarves, toddler-safe beards, boots, and mini gift bags.
Toddlers love copying Santa, and dress-up play encourages creativity, roleplay, and confidence.
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