This time of year there is one thing on a preschooler’s mind: Christmas. The chatter around the classroom is all elves, reindeer and of course, Santa. Instead of trying to redirect their attention, why not dive into their interests and create a Santa’s Workshop Dramatic Play? There are so many benefits of dramatic play on children's growing minds and even more, kids love getting to act out the part of elves working in Santa's Workshop. 

Set-Up

When you are ready to transform your classroom into the North Pole, my Christmas Preschool Activities Pack has all of the signs, task cards, and blank letters for Santa. The great thing about this activity is you can use so many things you already have in your classroom or home. A play kitchen, sensory table, and kids table are what I used, but anything can be transformed into part of the workshop. 

The other Christmas items in my Santa's workshop were from Dollar Tree. This would also be a great opportunity to reuse some of your old gift wrap or decorations from home you no longer need! 

The Stations At A Glance:

In this dramatic play, the kids get to work as the elves in Santa’s Workshop. Each station has an activity for them to engage in. 

1. Toy Making Station
2. Toy Painting Station
3. Gift Wrap Station
4. Tree Decoration Station
5. Cookie Break Station
6. Letters To Santa
7. Elf Task Cards

Toy Making and Painting Station

In this station of Santa's Workshop, kids use their engineering skills to create their own toy out of materials of their choosing (lego, blocks, play-doh… the possibilities are endless!). Get out the watercolors or washable paint and let them paint toys or bust out the easel to paint pictures of toys for the painting station. 

Gift Wrap Station

This is a great place to use those Amazon boxes that seem to be arriving daily this time of year. Put out boxes of different sizes, gift wraps, bows, or whatever else you have on hand. Kids get to use those all-important fine motor skills to cut paper and use tape. Wrapping also encourages dialogue on problem-solving skills (“Oh no, the wrapping paper is too small for this gift- what should we do?”).  

Tree Decorating Station

Getting to decorate the tree is always a highlight of Christmas time for kids. This station can be set up in lots of different ways- a small artificial tree, a felt tree on the wall, or any type of cut-out Christmas tree. Get out the craft supplies and some Dollar Tree ornaments and let them show off their creativity. 

Being an elf is hard work! Which is why we can’t forget the cookie break station. Set up in the play kitchen, kids can make cookies and hot cocoa and kick up their feet for a bit before they get back to elf business.  

In this setup, kids can use their colors to draw pictures or write letters to Santa. If they get stuck on what to write, have them draw a picture of what they want for Christmas. Don’t forget to have some sort of mailbox set up so they can send them off! 

Elf Task Cards

For kids that need a little more prompting, I have also included Elf Task Cards. Each card gives a specific task for the student to complete in Santa’s Workshop. I have also included blank cards for you to create your own tasks, or even brainstorm some as a class to complete when modeling the stations. 

Looking for more Christmas activities? My Christmas Weekly Curriculum has five days of easy-to-follow plans to keep your kids engaged and learning.